The cart before the horse: A new model of cause and effect

Natural little scientists, human babies love letting go of things and watching them fall. Baby's first experiment teaches them about more than the force of gravity. It establishes the concept of causality—the relationship between cause and effect that all human knowledge depends on. Let it go, it falls. The cause must precede its effect in time, as scientist from Galileo in the 16th Century to Clive Granger in 1969 defined causality.

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Engineering 3-D mesostructures with mechanically active materials

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have expansive applications in biotechnology and advanced engineering with growing interest in materials science and engineering due to their potential in emerging systems. Existing techniques have enabled applications in cell mechanobiology, high-precision mass sensing, microfluidics and in energy harvesting. Projected technical implications broadly include constructing precision-sensing MEMS, tissue scaffolds that mimic the principles of mechanobiology, and energy-harvesting applications that can operate on supported broad bandwidths. At present, devices (microsensors and MEMS) are fabricated using manufacturing methods of the semiconductor industry—specifically, two-dimensional (2-D) lithographic etching—with mechanical and electric components in planar configuration.

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Tiny vortices driven by magnetic fields might be able to move microscopic particles

In The Wizard of Oz, a tornado picks up Dorothy's house and moves it far away. A bit farfetched, right? But scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory think that, on a much smaller scale, tiny vortices could one day be used to move microscopic particles.

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Putting noise to work

Noise is often undesirable—for example, in a recorded conversation in a noisy room, in astronomical observations with large background signals, or in image processing. A research team from China, Spain and Germany has demonstrated that noise can induce spatial and temporal order in nonlinear systems. This effect may be used in the future to identify signals that are hidden in a large amount of noise. Inversely, signals may be embedded in a noisy background and thereby be ciphered in order to recover them later.

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Disordered skyrmion phase stabilized by magnetic frustration in a chiral magnet

In classical mechanics, particles are represented by point masses or rigid bodies, and in field theory by wave-like excitations or vibrations. Magnetic skyrmions are small, vortex-like spin textures of topological origin found in a variety of magnetic materials, and characterized by long lifetime. They were first discovered in 2009. In chiral magnets, skyrmions and skyrmion crystals (SkX) show unique physical properties due to their stability at ultralow current density. Explaining the stability of such particles is nontrivial; however, the particles can be described as topologically protected against small perturbations and decay. These properties can be advantageous for potential applications of skyrmions as information carriers in magnetic memories for storage and processing. Skyrmions are formed in magnetic systems via a variety of mechanisms, some of which work together.

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Self-folding metamaterial

The more complex the object, the harder it is to fold up. Space satellites often need many small motors to fold up an instrument, and people have difficulty simply folding up a roadmap. Physicists from Leiden and Amsterdam have now designed a structure that folds itself up in several steps. The results from this research will be published in Nature on September 27, 2018.

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Shaking the swarm—researchers explore how bees collaborate to stabilize swarm clusters

If it's a bad idea to kick a hornet's nest, it's certainly a bad idea to shake a bee swarm. Unless, of course, it's for science.

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ATLAS Experiment releases new study of ultra-rare B-meson decay

The study of hadrons—particles that combine quarks to form mesons or baryons—is a vital part of the physics programme by researchers of the ATLAS Experiment at CERN. Their analysis has not only perfected the understanding of the Standard Model, it has also provided excellent opportunities for discovery.

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Study demonstrates new mechanism for developing electronic devices

The prevalence of electronic devices has transformed life in the 21st century. At the heart of these devices is the movement of electrons across materials. Scientists today continue to discover new ways to manipulate and move electrons in a quest for making faster and better functioning devices.

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Tracking hydrogen movement using subatomic particles

A muon is an unstable subatomic particle similar to an electron but with much greater mass. The lifetime of a muon is only a couple of microseconds, but this is long compared with the lifetimes of many unstable subatomic particles. Because of their comparatively long lifetime, positive muons are often used to detect internal magnetic fields in solid materials. However, negative muons have seldom been used for this purpose because a large data set is required to obtain reliable results and experimental data collection times are normally limited. Recently, researchers developed a system that can count muon events at a much faster rate, allowing an experiment to be completed in a suitable time frame. Using this system, a Japanese collaboration has realized the long-standing goal of using negative muons to observe the local nuclear magnetic fields in a solid for the first time.

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Tumor cell expansion challenges current physics

A malignant tumor is characterized by the ability to spread. To do so, tumor cells stick to the surrounding tissue (mainly collagen) and use physical forces to propel themselves. A study published in Nature Physics by a team led by Xavier Trepat, lecturer at the Department of Biomedicine, University of Barcelona (UB), and Jaume Casademunt, professor of Physics at the UB, reveals the forces these tumor cells use to spread.

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The periodic motion of flexible knots, and the connection to DNA

Can the topology of microobjects influence the way they move in a fluid? Experiments and simulations of Polish and Swiss researchers published in the Physical Review Letters show that the dynamics of elastic chains settling in a fluid depends on the way they are knotted. The settling chains form flat, toroidal structures composed of several intertwined loops, which swirl around each other. The study is important for the proper interpretation of sedimentation and centrifugation experiments of biomolecules.

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Charles Kao, Nobel-winning optical fiber pioneer, dies at 84

Charles K. Kao, a physicist who shared a 2009 Nobel Prize for groundbreaking work in fiber optic technology, has died at age 84.

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Newly discovered magnetic state could lead to green IT solutions

Magnetic skyrmions are magnetic swirls that may lead to new solutions combining low-energy consumption with high-speed computational power and high-density data storage, revolutionizing information technology. A team from Delft University of Technology, in collaboration with the University of Groningen and Hiroshima University, has discovered a new, unexpected magnetic state, which is related to these skyrmions. The findings open up new ways to create and manipulate complex magnetic structures in view of future IT applications.

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Deep neural networks help to identify the neutrinoless double beta decay signal

A group of researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Peking University greatly improved the discrimination power of tracks from different particles passing through the gaseous detector with the help of deep convolutional neural networks. The work will help to improve the sensitivity of detection for the PandaX-III neutrinoless double beta decay experiment, and deepen our knowledge of the nature of neutrinos.

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Perovskite semiconductors seeing right through next generation X-ray detectors

From observing celestial objects to medical imaging, the sensitive detection of X-rays plays a central role in countless applications. However, the methods used to detect them have undergone an interesting evolution of their own.

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New observations to understand the phase transition in quantum chromodynamics

The building blocks of matter in our universe were formed in the first 10 microseconds of its existence, according to the currently accepted scientific picture. After the Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago, matter consisted mainly of quarks and gluons, two types of elementary particles whose interactions are governed by quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory of strong interaction. In the early universe, these particles moved nearly freely in a quark-gluon plasma. Then, in a phase transition, they combined and formed hadrons, among them the building blocks of atomic nuclei, protons and neutrons.

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Neutrons produce first direct 3-D maps of water during cell membrane fusion

New 3-D maps of water distribution during cellular membrane fusion are accelerating scientific understanding of cell development, which could lead to new treatments for diseases associated with cell fusion. Using neutron diffraction at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers have made the first direct observations of water in lipid bilayers used to model cell membrane fusion.

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Researchers determine absolute duration of photoelectric effect for the first time

The photoelectric effect provides the basis for solar energy and global communications; Albert Einstein described it over a century ago. For the first time, scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), and the TU Wien have now measured the absolute duration of the light absorption and of the resulting photoelectron released from a solid body.

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Researchers decipher the dynamics of electrons in perovskite crystals

Physicists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have proven that incoming light causes the electrons in warm perovskites to rotate, thus influencing the direction of the flow of electrical current. They have thus found the key to an important characteristic of these crystals, which could play an important role in the development of new solar cells. The results have now been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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The hunt for leptoquarks is on

Matter is made of elementary particles, and the Standard Model of particle physics states that these particles occur in two families: leptons (such as electrons and neutrinos) and quarks (which make up protons and neutrons). Under the Standard Model, these two families are totally distinct, with different electric charges and quantum numbers, but have the same number of generations (see image below).

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Airbnb distribution may depend on who lives there, not just distance to city center

Distribution of Airbnbs may follow the same pattern across different cities, and several factors, including the number of residents who work in the creative industries, may determine their location, according to an article published in EPJ Data Science.

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First particle tracks seen in prototype for international neutrino experiment

The largest liquid-argon neutrino detector in the world has just recorded its first particle tracks, signaling the start of a new chapter in the story of the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE).

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Simulation shows nuclear pasta 10 billion times harder to break than steel

A trio of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and Canada has found evidence that suggests nuclear material beneath the surface of neutron stars may be the strongest material in the universe. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, M. E. Caplan, A. S. Schneider, and C. J. Horowitz describe their neutron star simulation and what it showed.

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Modeling crystal behavior—toward answers in self-organization

The electrical and mechanical responses of crystal materials, and the control of their coupled effect, form one of the central themes in material science. They are vital to applications such as ultrasonic generators and non-volatile memory. However, despite knowledge of how to control such materials being widely demonstrated in practice, to date the physical principle behind the controllability through lattice organization remains undefined. Researchers at the University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science have sought to change this by creating a model based on the conflict between different lattice interactions. Their findings were published in PNAS.

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New world record magnetic field

A group of scientists at the University of Tokyo has recorded the largest magnetic field ever generated indoors—a whopping 1,200 tesla, as measured in the standard units of magnetic field strength.

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Breaking the symmetry between fundamental forces

A fraction of a second after the Big Bang, a single unified force may have shattered. Scientists from the CDF and DZero Collaborations used data from the Fermilab Tevatron Collider to re-create the early universe conditions. They measured the weak mixing angle that controls the breaking of the unified force. Measuring this angle, a key parameter of the standard model, improves our understanding of the universe. The details of this symmetry breaking affect the nature of stars, atoms, and quarks. The new measurement of the weak mixing angle helps cement our understanding of the past, the character of what we observe today, and what we believe is in store for our future.

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The Large Hadron Collider prepares for the future

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is stopping proton collisions for five days this week to undergo numerous tests. Accelerator specialists need to test the LHC when it is not in production mode and there are only several weeks left in which they can do it. At the end of the year, CERN's accelerators will be shut down for a major two-year upgrade programme that will result in a renovated accelerator complex using more intense beams and higher energy. Scientists are conducting research to prepare for this new stage and the next, the High-Luminosity LHC.

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Keep cool: Researchers develop magnetic cooling cycle

As a result of climate change, population growth, and rising expectations regarding quality of life, energy requirements for cooling processes are growing much faster worldwide than for heating. Another problem that besets today's refrigeration systems is that most coolants cause environmental and health damage. A novel technology could provide a solution: refrigeration using magnetic materials in magnetic fields. Researchers at the Technische Universität (TU) Darmstadt and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) have developed the idea of a cooling cycle based on the 'magnetic memory' of special alloys. Relevant initial experimental results have now been published in Nature Materials.

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New devices based on rust could reduce excess heat in computers

Scientists have succeeded in observing the first long-distance transfer of information in a magnetic group of materials known as antiferromagnets. These materials make it possible to achieve computing speeds much faster than existing devices. Conventional devices using current technologies have the unwelcome side effect of getting hot and being limited in speed. This is slowing down the progress of information technology.

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Pile-ups in protein transport

Anyone who has ever tried to find a way through a crowded pedestrian zone has—literally—run into the problem: While some people choose to weave their way through the gaps, others stick to the straight and narrow, and collisions are only a matter of time. Something very similar can happen during active protein transport in cells when molecular motors with different modes of locomotion share the same multilane highway (i.e. protein filament). Theoretical analyses carried out by LMU physicists led by Professor Erwin Frey, and now published in the journal Physical Review X, show how this comes to pass. The authors describe a newly developed model that captures the collective behavior of two types of motors and provides insight into the complex phenomena that can result.

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New ultrasonic wave phenomenon leads to improved safety for society

A research group led by Assistant Professor Yosuke Ishii at Toyohashi University of Technology has unraveled the phenomenon of a new "third ultrasonic wave" being generated when two ultrasonic waves intersect within a plate. This wave exhibits varying intensity in response to material damage and can therefore be used for nondestructively testing thin plate structures. This new technology surpasses conventional technology, enabling precise and nondestructive detection of fatigue and early damage.

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Russian and German physicists developed a mathematical model of trapped atoms and ions

A team of physicists from RUDN, JINR (Dubna), and the University of Hamburg (Germany) developed a mathematical model for describing physical processes in hybrid systems that consists of atoms and ions cooled down to temperatures close to absolute zero. Such atom-ionic systems might serve as a basis for the elements of the quantum computer—a device operating on quantum phenomena and exceeding regular computers by calculation speed. Right now, this is just a hypothetical concept, but the new development could make it reality sooner. The results of the study were presented at the 22nd International Conference on Few-Body Systems in Physics that took place in Caen (France) in July 9-13.

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Physicists develop new techniques to enhance data analysis for Large Hadron Collider

New York University physicists have created new techniques that deploy machine learning as a means to significantly improve data analysis for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's most powerful particle accelerator.

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Magnetization in small components can now be filmed in the laboratory

Current electronic storage technology may be superseded in the future by devices based on tiny magnetic structures. These individual magnetic regions correspond to bits; they need to be as small as possible and capable of rapid switching. In order to better understand the underlying physics and to optimize the components, various techniques can be used to visualize the magnetization behavior.

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Diamond dust enables low-cost, high-efficiency magnetic field detection

UC Berkeley engineers have created a device that dramatically reduces the energy needed to power magnetic field detectors, which could revolutionize how we measure the magnetic fields that flow through our electronics, our planet, and even our bodies.

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Power of tiny vibrations could inspire novel heating devices

Ultra-fast vibrations can be used to heat tiny amounts of liquid, experts have found, in a discovery that could have a range of engineering applications.

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Predicting how electromagnetic waves interact with materials at the smallest scales

UCLA Samueli engineers have developed a new tool to model how magnetic materials, which are used in smartphones and other communications devices, interact with incoming radio signals that carry data. It accurately predicts these interactions down to the nanometer scales required to build state-of-the-art communications technologies.

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Researchers confirm nuclear structure theory by measuring nuclear radii of cadmium isotopes

Physicists at the TU Darmstadt and their collaboration partners have performed laser spectroscopy on cadmium isotopes to confirm an improved model of the atomic nucleus. It has been developed to describe the exceptional behaviour of the radii of calcium isotopes. The results published in Physical Review Letters could be a step towards a global model of the nuclear structure.

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Unraveling how spiderwebs absorb energy

Spiderwebs can withstand a predator's impact while still helping catch and detect small prey. Spiders architect these lightweight networks for strength and elasticity using different silks and geometric structures. Recently, researchers unraveled a new energy absorption mechanism that explains how spiderwebs can be simultaneously sensitive and impact-resistant. The research team reports their findings in Applied Physics Letters.

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Surprising hidden order unites prime numbers and crystal-like materials

The seemingly random digits known as prime numbers are not nearly as scattershot as previously thought. A new analysis by Princeton University researchers has uncovered patterns in primes that are similar to those found in the positions of atoms inside certain crystal-like materials.

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Black hole disks may be hiding in the centers of galaxies

Galactic nuclei are teeming with black holes. Earlier this year, 12 X-ray binaries were discovered at the Milky Way's center which suggested that thousands of black holes may be hiding in that region. A recent study shows that these stellar black holes are expected to orbit in a disk around the central supermassive black hole.

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Interpretation of material spectra can be data-driven using machine learning

Spectroscopy techniques are commonly used in materials research because they enable identification of materials from their unique spectral features. These features are correlated with specific material properties, such as their atomic configurations and chemical bond structures. Modern spectroscopy methods have enabled rapid generation of enormous numbers of material spectra, but it is necessary to interpret these spectra to gather relevant information about the material under study.

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Small, short-lived drops of early universe matter

What was matter like moments after the Big Bang? Particles emerging from the lowest energy collisions of small particles with large heavy nuclei at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) could hold the answer. Scientists revealed the particles exhibit behavior associated with the formation of a soup of quarks and gluons, the building blocks of nearly all visible matter. These results from RHIC's PHENIX experiment suggest that these small-scale collisions might be producing tiny, short-lived specks of matter that mimic the early universe. The specks offer insights into matter that formed nearly 14 billion years ago, just after the Big Bang.

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High precision microbial population dynamics under cycles of feast and famine

Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have produced the most precise picture to date of population dynamics in fluctuating feast-or-famine conditions. Professor Seppe Kuehn, a biological physicist, and his graduate student Jason Merritt found that bacterial population density is a function of both the frequency and the amplitude of nutrient fluctuations. They found that the more frequent the feast cycles and the longer a feast cycle, the more rapid the population recovery from a famine state. This result has important implications for understanding how microbial populations cope with the constant nutrient fluctuations they experience in nature.

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Ultracold atoms used to verify 1963 prediction about 1-D electrons

Rice University atomic physicists have verified a key prediction from a 55-year-old theory about one-dimensional electronics that is increasingly relevant thanks to Silicon Valley's inexorable quest for miniaturization.

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Think pink for a better view of climate change

A new study says pink noise may be the key to separating out natural climate variability from climate change that is influenced by human activity.

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Falling stars hold clue for understanding dying stars

An international team of researchers has proposed a new method to investigate the inner workings of supernovae explosions. This new method uses meteorites, and is unique in that it can determine the contribution from electron anti-neutrinos, enigmatic particles which can't be tracked through other means.

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