Playing pool with neutrinos: Certain interactions look similar to the game

Hard to believe you can play pool with neutrinos, but certain neutrino interaction events are closer to the game than you think.

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Major upgrades of particle detectors and electronics prepare CERN experiment to stream a data tsunami

For a gargantuan nuclear physics experiment that will generate big data at unprecedented rates—called A Large Ion Collider Experiment, or ALICE—the University of Tennessee has worked with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory to lead a group of U.S. nuclear physicists from a suite of institutions in the design, development, mass production and delivery of a significant upgrade of novel particle detectors and state-of-the art electronics, with parts built all over the world and now undergoing installation at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

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A new machine learning method streamlines particle accelerator operations

Each year, researchers from around the world visit the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to conduct hundreds of experiments in chemistry, materials science, biology and energy research at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser. LCLS creates ultrabright X-rays from high-energy beams of electrons produced in a giant linear particle accelerator.

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A quantum approach to imaging and sensor problems faced by biologists and clinicians

A host of diseases—like meningitis, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's disease, even some cancers—are ultimately caused by problems at the cellular level. Hence, understanding what is happening inside cells is essential. Observing cells under a microscope helps, but what medical researchers would really like to do is see processes inside cells in minute detail.

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Catching nuclear smugglers: Fast algorithm could enable cost-effective detectors at borders

A new algorithm could enable faster, less expensive detection of weapons-grade nuclear materials at borders, quickly differentiating between benign and illicit radiation signatures in the same cargo.

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Textbook formulas for describing heat flow characteristics, crucial in many industries, are oversimplified, study shows

Whether it's water flowing across a condenser plate in an industrial plant, or air whooshing through heating and cooling ducts, the flow of fluid across flat surfaces is a phenomenon at the heart of many of the processes of modern life. Yet, aspects of this process have been poorly understood, and some have been taught incorrectly to generations of engineering students, a new analysis shows.

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Correlations in COVID-19 growth point to universal strategies for slowing spread

Many months since the first COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, countries continue to explore solutions that are effective at managing the spread of the virus and culturally feasible to implement. Chaos theory analysis has provided insight on how well infection prevention strategies can be adopted by multiple countries.

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It takes a neutron beam to find a proton

Understanding the behavior of proteins and enzymes is key to unlocking the secrets of biological processes. The atomic structures of proteins are generally investigated using X-ray crystallography; however, the precise information for hydrogen atoms and protons (hydrogen ions) is usually unattainable. Now a team including Osaka University, Osaka Medical College, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Ibaraki University, and University of Tsukuba has used neutron crystallography to reveal high-resolution structural details of a very large oxidase protein. Their findings are published in PNAS.

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Coupled magnetic materials show interesting properties for quantum applications

Like fans that blow in sync, certain magnetic materials can exhibit interesting energetic properties. In order to find new ways to transmit and process information, scientists have begun to explore the behavior of electronic and magnetic spins, specifically their resonant excitations, as information carriers. In some cases, researchers have identified new phenomena that could help eventually inform the creation of new devices for spintronic and quantum applications.

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To tame an electron bunch in an X-ray laser, scientists put a ring on it

A team of scientists has come up with a way to improve electron bunches and produce brighter X-ray beams: Put a ring on them. The team, which includes researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, published their results in Physical Review Letters earlier this month.

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A new spin on low-power data storage: Tiny ferromagnets with ultrathin insulating layers

The ability to control the magnetization of electrodes made from ferromagnets could help develop more energy-efficient devices for spintronic applications, including data storage technologies, wearable electronics and implantable medical devices.

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New findings suggest laws of nature 'downright weird,' not as constant as previously thought

Not only does a universal constant seem annoyingly inconstant at the outer fringes of the cosmos, it occurs in only one direction, which is downright weird.

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Boosting polaritonic nonlinearity with a mechanism to create polaron-polaritons

A team of researchers from the Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zürich, the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology has found a way to boost polaritonic nonlinearity. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review X, the group describes building a mechanism to create polaron-polaritons, which led to a boost in polaritonic nonlinearity.

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New high-energy-density physics research provides insights about the universe

Atoms and molecules behave very differently at extreme temperatures and pressures. Although such extreme matter doesn't exist naturally on the earth, it exists in abundance in the universe, especially in the deep interiors of planets and stars. Understanding how atoms react under high-pressure conditions—a field known as high-energy-density physics (HEDP)—gives scientists valuable insights into the fields of planetary science, astrophysics, fusion energy, and national security.

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Colliding solitons in optical microresonators to reveal important fundamental physics

Solitons are self-reinforcing particle-like wave packets enabled by the balance between dispersion and nonlinearity. Occurring in hydrodynamics, lasers, cold atoms, and plasmas, solitons are generated when a laser field is confined in a circular resonator with ultra-low loss, which produces multiple solitons travelling around the resonator.

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Professor collaborates with international colleagues on shell evolution of exotic nuclei research

In an atomic nucleus, protons and neutrons, collectively called nucleons, are bound together by nuclear forces. These forces describe the interactions between nucleons, which cause them to occupy states grouped in shells, where each shell has a different energy and can host a certain number of nucleons. A nucleus is said to be magic when the neutron or protons happen to exactly fill up their respective shells up to the rim. Such magic nuclei are especially well bound and have properties that make them stand out. In fact, the variation of the properties of nuclei with nucleon number led to the formulation of the celebrated nuclear shell model some 70 years ago, with its magic numbers 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 and 126, which has had spectacular success in describing many of the properties of the stable nuclei that make up the world around us.

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Learning from fish and flags to inform new propulsion strategies

Recent research by Andres J. Goza at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found relationships between frequencies and the passive dynamics at play when vehicles move in air or water toward a better understanding of how to use these forces to enhance performance. Understanding this fluid-structure interaction at a very basic level, could help inform new aircraft and submarine designs with a very different kind of locomotion.

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A breakthrough in estimating the size of a (mostly hidden) network

A newly discovered connection between control theory and network dynamical systems could help estimate the size of a network even when a small portion is accessible.

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ATLAS Experiment measures the 'beauty' of the Higgs boson

Two years ago, the Higgs boson was observed decaying to a pair of beauty quarks (H→bb), moving its study from the "discovery era" to the "measurement era." By measuring the properties of the Higgs boson and comparing them to theoretical predictions, physicists can better understand this unique particle, and in the process, search for deviations from predictions that would point to new physics processes beyond our current understanding of particle physics.

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Mitch Allmond: Shaping a better fundamental understanding of matter

In the Physics Division of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, James ("Mitch") Allmond conducts experiments and uses theoretical models to advance our understanding of the structure of atomic nuclei, which are made of various combinations of protons and neutrons (nucleons).

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New POP atomic clock design achieves state-of-the-art frequency stability

Chinese researchers have developed a pulsed optically pumped (POP) atomic clock with a frequency stability of 4.7 x 10-15 at 104 seconds based on a new design.

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Organic memory devices show promise for flexible, wearable, personalized computing

The advent of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the internet of things is expected to change modern electronics and bring forth the fourth Industrial Revolution. The pressing question for many researchers is how to handle this technological revolution.

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Modelling wrinkling and buckling in materials that form the basis of flexible electronics

Flexible circuits have become a highly desirable commodity in modern technology, with applications in biotechnology, electronics, monitors and screens, being of particular importance. A new paper authored by John F. Niven, Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, published in EPJ E, aims to understand how materials used in flexible electronics behave under stress and strain, particularly, how they wrinkle and buckle.

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Scientists uncover principles of universal self-assembly

For years, researchers have searched for the working principles of self-assembly that can build a cell (a complex biological organism) as well as a crystal (a far simpler inorganic material) in the same way.

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Often and little—or rarely and to the maximum?

If we were talking about food, most experts would choose the former, but in the case of energy storage the opposite is true. It turns out that more energy can be stored by charging less often, but right up to 100%.

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Electrical manipulation of magnetic particle allows for large high-speed memory

Researchers have successfully demonstrated a method to switch a novel material between two different nonvolatile states at very high speeds and with great accuracy. The physical constituents of the device in question are significantly robust against external influences such as magnetic fields. These findings could lead to a high-speed and high-capacity memory device with high energy efficiency.

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Cosmic understanding: Identifying distinctive signatures of heavy elements

At the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, in a side room off the ATLAS nuclear particle accelerator, Jason Clark sits on an upper platform to do his work. The cramped space requires head-ducking and watching-your-step to navigate. Particles stream though metal piping weaving in and out of the room. Perched atop that metal platform, a device with a tiny Canadian flag taped to it plucks a single particle from the stream, which Clark then studies to understand the origin of the elements.

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Scientists model role of aerosol-photolysis interaction in winter haze formation

A research team led by Prof. Li Guohui from the Institute of Earth Environment (IEE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences quantitatively assessed how much PM2.5 could be attributed to the combination of ARI and API during a persistent heavy haze episode in the North China Plain in winter.

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Advance could enable remote control of soft robots

Soft materials, such as rubber or polymers that can endure drastic changes to their shape, are promising for applications where flexibility and shapeshifting abilities are paramount.

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Researchers propose theoretical model to describe capillary force balance at contact line

Recently, a group led by Prof. Wu Heng'an and Prof. Wang Fengchao from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in collaboration with Prof. Joel De Coninck from University of Mons has provided a theoretical insight into capillary forces at the contact line and validated Young's equation based on a mechanical interpretation. The research results were published online in Physical Review Letters.

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Olive oil leads to discovery of new universal law of phase transitions

A simple drop of olive oil in a system of photons bouncing between two mirrors has revealed universal aspects of phase transitions in physics. Researchers at AMOLF used an oil-filled optical cavity in which light undergoes phase transitions similar to those in boiling water. The system they studied has memory because the oil causes photons to interact with themselves. By varying the distance between the two mirrors and measuring the transmission of light through the cavity, they discovered a universal law describing phase transitions in systems with memory. These results are published on April 15th in Physical Review Letters.

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Why didn't the universe annihilate itself? Neutrinos may hold the answer

Alysia Marino and Eric Zimmerman, physicists at CU Boulder, have been on the hunt for neutrinos for the last two decades.

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First of its kind experiment uses diamond anvils to simulate the Earth's core

In an effort to investigate conditions found at the Earth's molten outer core, researchers successfully determined the density of liquid iron and the speed at which sound propagates through it at extremely high pressures. They achieved this with use of a highly specialized diamond anvil that compresses samples, and sophisticated X-ray measurements. Their findings confirm the molten outer core is less dense than liquid iron, and also put values on the discrepancy.

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Questionable stability of dissipative topological models for classical and quantum systems

Energy conservation lies at the core of every physical theory. Effective mathematical models however can feature energy gain and/or loss and thus break the energy conservation law by only capturing the physics of a subsystem. As a result, the Hamiltonian, the function that describes the system's energy, loses an important mathematical property: it is no longer Hermitian. Such non-Hermitian Hamiltonians have successfully described experimental setups for both classical problems—in e.g. some optical systems and electrical circuits—and quantum ones, in modelling the motion of electrons in crystalline solids. In a new paper in EPJ D, physicists Rebekka Koch from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Jan Carl Budich from Technische Universität Dresden, in Germany, describe how these functions provide new insights into behaviour at the edges of topological materials.

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Closing in on matter-antimatter asymmetry: T2K results restrict possible values of neutrino CP phase

The T2K Collaboration has published new results showing the strongest constraint yet on the parameter that governs the breaking of the symmetry between matter and antimatter in neutrino oscillations. Using beams of muon neutrinos and muon antineutrinos, T2K has studied how these particles and antiparticles transition into electron neutrinos and electron antineutrinos, respectively. The parameter governing the matter/antimatter symmetry breaking in neutrino oscillation, called δcp phase, can take a value from -180º to 180º. For the first time, T2K has disfavored almost half of the possible values at the 99.7% (3σ) confidence level, and is starting to reveal a basic property of neutrinos that has not been measured until now. This is an important step on the way to knowing whether or not neutrinos and antineutrinos behave differently. These results, using data collected through 2018, have been published in the multidisciplinary scientific journal, Nature on April 16.

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Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way help test dark matter theory

A research team led by physicists at the University of California, Riverside, reports tiny satellite galaxies of the Milky Way can be used to test fundamental properties of "dark matter"—nonluminous material thought to constitute 85% of matter in the universe.

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The Wolfram Physics Project hopes to find fundamental theory of physics

Physicist and entrepreneur Stephen Wolfram has unveiled "The Wolfram Physics Project," which he subtitles "A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics." The aim of the project is to enlist the assistance of people around the globe to find the fundamental theory of physics—the theory that ties together all of physics, from the general theory of relativity to quantum mechanics. Wolfram has also published several documents on his website that outline the history behind the development of the project. Early in his career, he was a distinguished physicist, but later, left to found a computer company. More recently, he has found a renewed interest in pursuing his ideas about fundamental physics that he believes will lead to the discovery of a fundamental theory.

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Seeking 'soundwaves' in the superfluid order parameter

A Swinburne University of Technology study published this week examines the propagation of energy as sound waves in a quantum gas, revealing for the first time strong variations in the nature of the sound wave as a function of temperature.

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New handle for controlling electromagnetic properties could enable spintronic computing

Materials scientists at Duke University have shown the first clear example that a material's transition into a magnet can control instabilities in its crystalline structure that cause it to change from a conductor to an insulator.

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Research identifies detection constraints for dark photons

Past cosmological and astrophysical observations suggest that over one quarter of the universe's energy density is made up of a non-conventional type of matter known as dark matter. This type of matter is believed to be composed of particles that do not absorb, emit or reflect light, and thus cannot be observed directly using conventional detection methods.

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Magnet research takes giant leap

Researchers pushing the limits of magnets as a means to create faster electronics published their proof of concept findings today, April 10, in the journal Science. The University of Central Florida is the lead university in the multidisciplinary university research initiative (MURI) project. The team exploring methods for creating machines that operate at trillions of cycles per second includes the University of California, Santa Cruz and Riverside, Ohio State University, Oakland University (Michigan) and New York University, among others.

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Self-powered X-ray detector to revolutionize imaging for medicine, security and research

A new X-ray detector prototype is on the brink of revolutionizing medical imaging, with dramatic reduction in radiation exposure and the associated health risks, while also boosting resolution in security scanners and research applications, thanks to a collaboration between Los Alamos National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory researchers.

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Research links elastodynamic and electromagnetic wave phenomena

Imagine the advances to predictive modeling if you could infer something about how light amplifies colors in a bird's plumage from the way seismic waves propagate through mountain systems.

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The cold eyes of DUNE: International Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment

How do you detect a particle that has almost no mass, feels only two of the four fundamental forces, and can travel unhindered through solid lead for an entire light-year without ever interacting with matter? This is the problem posed by neutrinos, ghostly particles that are generated in the trillions by nuclear reactions in stars, including our sun, and on Earth. Scientists can also produce neutrinos to study in controlled experiments using particle accelerators. One of the ways neutrinos can be detected is with large vats filled with liquid argon and wrapped with a complex web of integrated circuitry that can operate in temperatures colder than the average day on Neptune.

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In a first, researchers use ultrafast 'electron camera' to learn about molecules in liquid samples

High-speed "electron cameras" can detect tiny molecular movements in a material by scattering a powerful beam of electrons off a sample. Until recently, researchers had only used this technique to study gases and solids. But some of the most important biological and chemical processes, in particular the conversion of light into energy, happen in molecules in a solution.

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A perovskite-based diode capable of both light emission and detection

Light sources and detectors are key components of countless technological devices on the market today. For instance, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are often used as a source of light in displays and other technologies, while photodiodes are used to detect light in sensors, imaging and fiber optic communication tools.

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Researchers develop one-way street for electrons

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill made a one-way street for electrons that may unlock the ability for devices to process ultra-high-speed wireless data and simultaneously harvest energy for power. The researchers did this by shaping silicon on a microscopic scale to create a funnel, or "ratchet," for electrons.

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Scientists use the Tokyo Skytree to test Einstein's theory of general relativity

In another verification of the validity of Einstein's theory of general relativity, published in Nature Photonics, scientists from the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics and Cluster for Pioneering Research, with colleagues, have used two finely tuned optical lattice clocks, one at the base and one on the 450-meter observatory floor of Tokyo Skytree, to make new ultraprecise measurements of the time dilation effect predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity.

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Study suggests two novel methods of searching for dark matter by measuring tiny perturbations in fundamental constants

Dark matter, which cannot be physically observed with ordinary instruments, is thought to account for well over half the matter in the Universe, but its properties are still mysterious. One commonly held theory states that it exists as 'clumps' of extremely light particles. When the earth passes through such a clump, the fundamental properties of matter are altered in ways that can be detected if instruments are sensitive enough. Physicists Rees McNally and Tanya Zelevinsky from Columbia University, New York, USA, have now published a paper in EPJ D proposing two new methods of looking for such perturbations and, thus, dark matter. This paper is part of a special issue of the journal on quantum technologies for gravitational physics.

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Fine-tuning magnetic spin for faster, smaller memory devices

Unlike the magnetic materials used to make a typical memory device, antiferromagnets won't stick to your fridge. That's because the magnetic spins in antiferromagnets are oppositely aligned and cancel each other out.

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New 'refrigerator' super-cools molecules to nanokelvin temperatures

For years, scientists have looked for ways to cool molecules down to ultracold temperatures, at which point the molecules should slow to a crawl, allowing scientists to precisely control their quantum behavior. This could enable researchers to use molecules as complex bits for quantum computing, tuning individual molecules like tiny knobs to carry out multiple streams of calculations at a time.

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First successful laser trapping of circular Rydberg atoms

Rydberg atoms, which are atoms in a highly excited state, have several unique and advantageous properties, including a particularly long lifetime and large sensitivities to external fields. These properties make them valuable for a variety of applications, for instance for the development of quantum technologies.

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CERN physics lab developing basic COVID-19 ventilator

Physics experts are working at Europe's CERN lab to create a basic ventilator for mild coronavirus sufferers and recovering patients, the facility said on Wednesday.

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Simulations show extreme opinions can lead to polarized groups

In recent years, chaos theory and other forms of computational modeling have sought to leverage findings in the social sciences to better describe—and maybe one day predict—how groups of people behave. One approach looks to update a widely used model to examine how changes in political opinions ripple through a group and how polarization can arise.

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Bubble dynamics reveal how to empty bottles faster

Bottle emptying is a phenomenon most of us have observed while pouring a beverage. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee discovered how to make bottles empty faster, which has wide-ranging implications for many areas beyond the beverage industry.

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Belle II yields the first results: In search of the Z′ boson

The Belle II experiment has been collecting data from physical measurements for about one year. After several years of rebuilding work, both the SuperKEKB electron–positron accelerator and the Belle II detector have been improved compared with their predecessors in order to achieve a 40-fold higher data rate.

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Bethe strings experimentally observed

Ninety years ago, the physicist Hans Bethe postulated that unusual patterns, so-called Bethe strings, appear in certain magnetic solids. Now, an international team has succeeded in experimentally detecting such Bethe strings for the first time. They used neutron scattering experiments at various neutron facilities, including the unique high-field magnet of BER II at HZB. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with the theoretical prediction of Bethe, and prove once again the power of quantum physics.

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Magnetoacoustic waves: Towards a new paradigm of on-chip communication

Researchers have observed directly and for the first time magnetoacoustic waves (sound-driven spin waves), which are considered as potential information carriers for novel computation schemes. These waves have been generated and observed on hybrid magnetic/piezoelectric devices. The experiments were designed in a collaboration between the University of Barcelona (UB), the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) and the ALBA Synchrotron. The results show that magnetoacoustic waves can travel over long distances—up to centimeters—and have larger amplitudes than expected.

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A twist connecting magnetism and electronic-band topology

Materials that combine topological electronic properties and quantum magnetism are of high interest for the quantum many-body physics they exhibit and for possible applications in electronic components. ETH physicists have now established the microscopic mechanism linking magnetism and electronic-band topology for one such material.

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New laser technique will allow more powerful—and smaller—particle accelerators

By observing electrons that have been accelerated to extremely high energies, scientists are able to unlock clues about the particles that make up our universe.

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Using scattered light to map nerve fiber pathway crossing points in the brain

A team of researchers from Germany, the Netherlands and Italy has developed a way to use scattered light to map nerve fiber pathway crossing points in the brain. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes their work with light scattering in transmission microscopy and what it revealed in the human brain.

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A new way to fine-tune exotic materials: Thin, stretch and clamp

One way to change the properties of a material is to stretch it just a wee bit, so its atoms are farther apart but the bonds between them don't break. This extra distance affects the behavior of electrons, which determine whether the material is an insulator or a conductor of electricity, for instance.

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Does relativity lie at the source of quantum exoticism?

Since its beginnings, quantum mechanics hasn't ceased to amaze us with its peculiarity, so difficult to understand. Why does one particle seem to pass through two slits simultaneously? Why, instead of specific predictions, can we only talk about evolution of probabilities? According to theorists from universities in Warsaw and Oxford, the most important features of the quantum world may result from the special theory of relativity, which until now seemed to have little to do with quantum mechanics.

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Researchers unveil the universal properties of active turbulence

Turbulent flows are chaotic yet feature universal statistical properties.Over the recent years, seemingly turbulent flows have been discovered in active fluids such as bacterial suspensions, epithelial cell monolayers, and mixtures of biopolymers and molecular motors. In a new study published in Nature Physics, researchers from the University of Barcelona, Princeton University and Collège de France have shown that the chaotic flows in active nematic fluids are described by distinct universal scaling laws.

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How tiny water droplets form can have a big impact on climate models

Droplets and bubbles are formed nearly everywhere, from boiling our morning coffee, to complex industrial processes and even volcanic eruptions. New research from SINTEF and NTNU in Norway, improves our understanding of how these bubbles and droplets form. This could improve our ability to model climate change.

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Researchers test the way we understand forces in the universe

A discovery by a team of researchers led by UMass Lowell nuclear physicists could change how atoms are understood by scientists and help explain extreme phenomena in outer space.

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BESSY II: Ultra-fast switching of helicity of circularly polarized light pulses

At the BESSY II storage ring, a joint team of accelerator physicists, undulator experts and experimenters has shown how the helicity of circularly polarized synchrotron radiation can be switched faster—up to a million times faster than before. They used an elliptical double-undulator developed at HZB and operated the storage ring in the so-called two-orbit mode. This is a special mode of operation that was only recently developed at BESSY II and provides the basis for fast switching. The ultra-fast change of light helicity is particularly interesting to observe processes in magnetic materials and has long been expected by a large user community.

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