Scientists studying V Hydrae (V Hya) have witnessed the star’s mysterious death throes in unprecedented detail. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and data from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the team discovered six slowly-expanding rings and two hourglass-shaped structures caused by the high-speed ejection of matter out into space. The results of the study are published in The Astrophysical Journal. V Hya is a carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star located approximately 1,300 light-years from Earth in the constellation…
Neodymium-Bismuth crystals belong to the wide range of materials with interesting magnetic properties. The Fermi surface which is measured in the experiments contains information on the transport properties of charge carriers in the crystal. While usually the Fermi surface consists of closed contours, disconnected sections known as Fermi arcs are very rare and can be signatures of unusual electronic states. Unusual magnetic splittings In a study, published now in Nature, the team presents experimental evidence for such Fermi arcs. They…
The way electrons flow in materials determine its electronic properties. For example, when a voltage is sustained across a conducting material, electrons start flowing, generating an electrical current. These electrons are often thought to flow in straight paths, moving along the electric field, much like a ball rolling down a hill. Yet these are not the only trajectories electrons can take: when a magnetic field is applied, the electrons no longer travel in straight paths along the electric field, but…
Can the neutrino eyes of humanity, observatories such as the IceCube in Antarctica, really see neutrinos coming from deep space? The answer is beginning to come from experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) where, amongst others, the internal structure of protons is being studied. According to the latest model by physicists from the IFJ PAS, this structure seems to be richer in charm particles to a degree that makes it difficult for terrestrial neutrino observers to interpret what they see. Contrary to popular…
A research group led by Prof. WU Kaifeng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed the mechanism for molecular spin-triplets formation from rapid spin-flip in colloidal nanocrystals and demonstrated its photochemical applications. The study was published in Chem on March 24. Traditionally, semiconductor spin properties are a territory of physics. Recent developments in solution-grown semiconductor materials, such as lead halide perovskites and colloidal nanocrystals, start to include chemists into this game. But the…
Researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s (NYUAD) Center for Space Science have discovered a new set of waves in the Sun that, unexpectedly, appear to travel much faster than predicted by theory. In the study, Discovery of high-frequency-retrograde vorticity waves in the Sun, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the researchers – led by Research Associate Chris S. Hanson — detailed how they analyzed 25 years of space and ground-based data to detect these waves. The high-frequency retrograde (HFR) waves –…
Quantum memristor as missing link between artificial intelligence and quantum computing. In recent years, artificial intelligence has become ubiquitous, with applications such as speech interpretation, image recognition, medical diagnosis, and many more. At the same time, quantum technology has been proven capable of computational power well beyond the reach of even the world’s largest supercomputer. Physicists at the University of Vienna have now demonstrated a new device, called quantum memristor, which may allow to combine these two worlds, thus unlocking…
While telescope alignment continues, Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) is still in cooldown mode. MIRI, which will be the coldest of Webb’s four instruments, is the only instrument that will be actively cooled by a cryogenic refrigerator, or cryocooler. This cryocooler uses helium gas to carry heat from MIRI’s optics and detectors out to the warm side of the sunshield. To manage the cooldown process, MIRI also has heaters onboard, to protect its sensitive components from the risk of ice forming. The Webb…
Quantum bits (qubits) are the smallest units of information in a quantum computer. Currently, one of the biggest challenges in developing this kind of powerful computer is scalability. A research group at the University of Basel, working with the IBM Research Laboratory in Rüschlikon, has made a breakthrough in this area. Quantum computers promise unprecedented computing power, but to date prototypes have been based on just a handful of computing units. Exploiting the potential of this new generation of computers…
Two teams of physicists led by Peter Zoller and Thomas Monz at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, have designed the first programmable quantum sensor, and tested it in the laboratory. To do so they applied techniques from quantum information processing to a measurement problem. The innovative method promises quantum sensors whose precision reaches close to the limit set by the laws of nature. Atomic clocks are the best sensors mankind has ever built. Today, they can be found in national…
Researchers develop a 2D tomography technique that will enable the search for Mach waves in the smallest droplets of quark-gluon plasma. The Science Nuclear scientists create the hottest matter in the universe by colliding nuclei at almost the speed of light. At such high temperatures, almost a million times hotter than the Sun, nuclear matter melts into a soup of subatomic particles called quarks and gluons. This quark-gluon plasma has almost no resistance to flow, making it the world’s most perfect…
Scientists from the University of Warsaw, the Military University of Technology and the University of Southampton presented a new type of tunable microlaser emitting two beams. – These beams are polarized circularly and directed at different angles – says prof. Jacek Szczytko from the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw. This achievement was obtained by creating the so-called a persistent-spin helix on the surface of the microcavity. The results have been published in “Physical Review Applied”. To achieve…
The effect of strain and pressure on the electron-phonon coupling and superconductivity in MgB2—Benchmark of theoretical methodologies and outlook for nanostructure design. Researchers at Linköping University have, by way of a number of theoretical calculations, shown that magnesium diboride becomes superconductive at a higher temperature when it is stretched. The discovery is a big step toward finding superconductive materials that are useful in real-world situations. “Magnesiumdiboride or MgB2 is an interesting material. It’s a hard material that is used for…
Combining engineered flaps with other structures inspired by seagull wings improves lift, reduces stalling in wind energy turbine blades. Wind energy relies on efficient wind turbine blades, which act as airfoils, structures akin to an airplane wing. Air flow control accessories similar to those found in aircraft improve the turbine blade’s aerodynamic performance. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, by AIP Publishing, scientists from China show a bionic approach combining features of a seagull’s wing with an engineered…
A team of scientists has predicted the science return from one of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s groundbreaking planned surveys, which will analyze millions of galaxies strewn across space and time. The mission’s enormous, deep panoramas will provide the best opportunity yet to discern between the leading theories about what’s speeding up the universe’s expansion. Roman will explore this mystery using multiple methods, including spectroscopy – the study of the color information in light. This technique will allow scientists…
Attosecond laser pulses in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) are a unique tool enabling the observation and control of electron dynamics in atoms, molecules, and solids. Most attosecond laser sources operate at a pulse repetition rate of 1 kHz (1000 shots per second), which limits their usefulness in complex experiments. Using a high power laser system developed at MBI we have managed to generate attosecond pulses at 100 kHz repetition rate. This enables new types of experiments in attosecond science. Light…
Feedback
