Phys.org Physics

• Advanced digital detector array enhances charged-particle decay studies

  Exotic nuclei near and beyond the proton drip line exhibit a range of unique decay processes, including β-delayed proton emission, α decay, and direct proton radioactivity. Spectroscopic studies utilizing high-efficiency, low-threshold detection systems have become essential for exploring the intricate properties of these nuclei.

• Large-scale cryopump developed for fuel/helium separation in fusion applications

  A research team from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel large-scale compound cryopump (multi-stage cryopump) capable of separating fuel particles from helium ash.

• A scientific method for flawless cacio e pepe

  The beloved Italian pasta cacio e pepe is perhaps best known for two things: being delicious and being frustratingly difficult to cook. At first glance, it looks like a simple recipe, containing only three ingredients: pasta, pecorino romano cheese, and black pepper. But as anyone who has tried to make it will know, the cheese will often clump when added to the hot pasta water, turning what is supposed to be a smooth, creamy sauce into a stringy, sticky mess.

• Overcoming the quantum sensing barrier: New protocol counteracts the limitation of decoherence

  Researchers have demonstrated a new quantum sensing technique that widely surpasses conventional methods, potentially accelerating advances in fields ranging from medical imaging to foundational physics research, as shown in a study published in Nature Communications.

• Light signature algorithm offers precise insight on viral proteins, brain disease markers and semiconductors

  Researchers at Rice University have developed a new machine learning (ML) algorithm that excels at interpreting the "light signatures" (optical spectra) of molecules, materials and disease biomarkers, potentially enabling faster and more precise medical diagnoses and sample analysis.

• Compact optical clock uses quantum interference for improved frequency stability

  An atomic clock research team from the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has proposed and implemented a compact optical clock based on quantum interference enhanced absorption spectroscopy, which is expected to play an important role in micro-positioning, navigation, timing (μPNT) and other systems.

• Using 'shallow shadows' to uncover quantum properties

  It would be difficult to understand the inner workings of a complex machine without ever opening it up, but this is the challenge scientists face when exploring quantum systems. Traditional methods of looking into these systems often require immense resources, making them impractical for large-scale applications.

• First observation of non-reciprocal Coulomb drag in Chern insulators reported

  He Qinglin's group at the Center for Quantum Materials Science, School of Physics, has reported the first observation of non-reciprocal Coulomb drag in Chern insulators. This breakthrough opens new pathways for exploring Coulomb interactions in magnetic topological systems and enhances our understanding of quantum states in such materials. The work was published in Nature Communications.

• New atomic fountain clock joins elite group that keeps the world on time

  Clocks on Earth are ticking a bit more regularly thanks to NIST-F4, a new atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Boulder, Colorado.

• Pressure-responsive, layered semiconductor shows potential for next-gen data storage

  A squishy, layered material that dramatically transforms under pressure could someday help computers store more data with less energy.

• Scientists release underground dark matter experiment design

  Researchers, students and science-lovers across the world now have access to the design of the globally significant SABRE South dark matter experiment in the lead up to its installation in the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory.

• Physicists test quantum theory with atomic nuclei from a nuclear reaction

  Many atomic nuclei have a magnetic field similar to that of Earth. However, directly at the surface of a heavy nucleus such as lead or bismuth, it is trillions of times stronger than Earth's field and more comparable to that of a neutron star. Whether we understand the behavior of an electron in such strong fields is still an open question.

• The first experimental observation of Dirac exceptional points

  Exceptional points (EPs) are unique types of energy-level degeneracies that occur in non-Hermitian systems. Since their existence was first proposed more than a century ago, physicists have only been able to experimentally observe two types of EPs, both of which were found to give rise to exotic phases of matter in various materials, including Dirac and Weyl semimetals.

• Ultrafast optical technique reveals how electrical double layers form in liquids

  Charged surfaces in contact with liquids—such as biological cell walls or battery electrodes—attract oppositely charged ions from the liquid. This creates two distinct charged regions: the surface itself and a counter-charged region in the liquid: the so-called electrical double layer. While pivotal to energy storage devices, the speed of its formation has remained elusive.

• Magnetic confinement advance promises 100 times more fusion power at half the cost

  A team of fusion researchers at TAE Technologies, Inc., in the U.S., working with colleagues from the University of California, has developed a new type of fusion technology that the company claims produces 100 times the power of other designs while costing just half as much to run. Their study is published in the journal Nature Communications.

• Observatory develops high-efficiency muon detection system with novel plastic scintillator design

  Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) and the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) have developed a novel top veto tracker system for the Taishan Antineutrino Observatory (TAO) experiment.

• Hey, what are these curved green flashes above my polymer semiconductor?

  In every scientific discovery in the movies, a scientist observes something unexpected, scratches the side of his or her forehead and says "hmmmmm." In just such a moment in real life, scientists from Canada observed unexpected flashes of curved green light from a red light-emitting polymer above its surface. The flashes were reminiscent of the colored arcs that auroras take above Earth's poles, providing a clue as to their provenance.

• An earth-abundant mineral for sustainable spintronics

  In 2023, EPFL researchers succeeded in sending and storing data using charge-free magnetic waves called spin waves, rather than traditional electron flows. The team from the Lab of Nanoscale Magnetic Materials and Magnonics, led by Dirk Grundler, in the School of Engineering, used radiofrequency signals to excite spin waves enough to reverse the magnetization state of tiny nanomagnets.

• New physics theory to study low-energy excitations in quantum quasicrystals

  Quasicrystals, exotic states of matter characterized by an ordered structure with non-repeating spatial patterns, have been the focus of numerous recent physics studies due to their unique organization and resulting symmetries. Among the quasicrystals that have sparked significant interest among the physics community are so-called quantum quasicrystals, which are comprised of bosons (i.e., subatomic particles that have spin in integer values, such as 0, 1, 2, and so on, and can occupy the same quantum state simultaneously).

• New quantum optics theory proposes that classical interference arises from bright and dark states of light

  Classical physics theories suggest that when two or more electromagnetic waves interfere destructively (i.e., with their electric fields canceling each other out), they cannot interact with matter. In contrast, quantum mechanics theory suggests that light particles continue interacting with other matter even when their average electric field is equal to zero.

• Is our universe the ultimate computer?

  Whether we are simply characters in an advanced virtual world is a much-debated theory, challenging previous thinking about the universe and our existence.

• Portable Raman analyzer detects hydrogen leaks from a distance

  Researchers have developed a new portable Raman analyzer that can accurately measure very low concentrations of hydrogen gas in ambient air. The instrument could be useful for detecting hydrogen leaks, which pose serious safety risks due to the gas's flammability and tendency to accumulate in confined spaces.

• Quantum sensors tested for next-generation particle physics experiments

  To learn more about the nature of matter, energy, space, and time, physicists smash high-energy particles together in large accelerator machines, creating sprays of millions of particles per second of a variety of masses and speeds. The collisions may also produce entirely new particles not predicted by the standard model, the prevailing theory of fundamental particles and forces in our universe. Plans are underway to create more powerful particle accelerators, whose collisions will unleash even larger subatomic storms. How will researchers sift through the chaos?

• Scientists develop low-cost liquid lenses

  Filipino scientists have discovered a simple, affordable way to make dynamically adjustable water-based lenses that have a wide variety of potential future applications—from classrooms and research labs to cameras and even wearable gadgets. Their research is published in the journal Results in Optics.

• Nanophotonic platform boosts efficiency of nonlinear-optical quantum teleportation

  Researchers have long recognized that quantum communication systems would transmit quantum information more faithfully and be impervious to certain forms of error if nonlinear optical processes were used. However, past efforts at incorporating such processes could not operate with the extremely low light levels required for quantum communication.