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Categories: Physics: General, Space: Astronomy
Published Moving from the visible to the infrared: Developing high quality nanocrystals



Awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, quantum dots have a wide variety of applications ranging from displays and LED lights to chemical reaction catalysis and bioimaging. These semiconductor nanocrystals are so small -- on the order of nanometers -- that their properties, such as color, are size dependent, and they start to exhibit quantum properties. This technology has been really well developed, but only in the visible spectrum, leaving untapped opportunities for technologies in both the ultraviolet and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Published Detecting defects in tomorrow's technology



New research offers an enhanced understanding of common defects in transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) -- a potential replacement for silicon in computer chips -- and lays the foundation for etching smaller features.
Published Stench of a gas giant? Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs, and that's a good thing



An exoplanet infamous for its deadly weather has been hiding another bizarre feature -- it reeks of rotten eggs, according to a new study of data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Published Visualizing short-lived intermediate compounds produced during chemical reactions



Immobilizing small synthetic molecules inside protein crystals proves to be a promising avenue for studying intermediate compounds formed during chemical reactions, scientists report. By integrating this method with time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography, they successfully visualized reaction dynamics and rapid structural changes occurring within reaction centers immobilized inside protein crystals. This innovative strategy holds significant potential for the intelligent design of drugs, catalysts, and functional materials.
Published Fresh wind blows from historical supernova



A mysterious remnant from a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained for the first time. Two white dwarf stars collided, creating a temporary 'guest star,' now labeled supernova (SN) 1181, which was recorded in historical documents in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. However, after the star dimmed, its location and structure remained a mystery until a team pinpointed its location in 2021. Now, through computer modeling and observational analysis, researchers have recreated the structure of the remnant white dwarf, a rare occurrence, explaining its double shock formation. They also discovered that high-speed stellar winds may have started blowing from its surface within just the past 20-30 years. This finding improves our understanding of the diversity of supernova explosions, and highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary research, combining history with modern astronomy to enable new discoveries about our galaxy.
Published A 2D device for quantum cooling



Engineers have created a device that can efficiently convert heat into electrical voltage at temperatures lower than that of outer space. The innovation could help overcome a significant obstacle to the advancement of quantum computing technologies, which require extremely low temperatures to function optimally.
Published Single atoms show their true color



A new technique reveals single atom misfits and could help design better semiconductors used in modern and future electronics.
Published Moon 'swirls' could be magnetized by unseen magmas



Mysterious, light-colored swirls on Moon's surface could be rocks magnetized by magma activity underground, laboratory experiments confirm.
Published Scientists discover way to 'grow' sub-nanometer sized transistors



A research team has implemented a novel method to achieve epitaxial growth of 1D metallic materials with a width of less than 1 nm. The group applied this process to develop a new structure for 2D semiconductor logic circuits. Notably, they used the 1D metals as a gate electrode of the ultra-miniaturized transistor.
Published A genetic algorithm for phononic crystals



Researchers tested phononic nanomaterials designed with an automated genetic algorithm that responded to light pulses with controlled vibrations. This work may help in the development of next-generation sensors and computer devices.
Published Machine learning could aid efforts to answer long-standing astrophysical questions



Physicists have developed a computer program incorporating machine learning that could help identify blobs of plasma in outer space known as plasmoids. In a novel twist, the program has been trained using simulated data.
Published Mapping the surfaces of MXenes, atom by atom, reveals new potential for the 2D materials



In the decade since their discovery, the family of two-dimensional materials called MXenes has shown a great deal of promise for applications ranging from water desalination and energy storage to electromagnetic shielding and telecommunications, among others. While researchers have long speculated about the genesis of their versatility, a recent study has provided the first clear look at the surface chemical structure foundational to MXenes' capabilities.
Published Giant clams may hold the answers to making solar energy more efficient



Solar panel and biorefinery designers could learn a thing or two from iridescent giant clams living near tropical coral reefs, according to a new study. This is because giant clams have precise geometries -- dynamic, vertical columns of photosynthetic receptors covered by a thin, light-scattering layer -- that may just make them the most efficient solar energy systems on Earth.
Published Nuclear spectroscopy breakthrough could rewrite the fundamental constants of nature



Raising the energy state of an atom's nucleus using a laser, or exciting it, would enable development of the most accurate atomic clocks ever to exist. This has been hard to do because electrons, which surround the nucleus, react easily with light, increasing the amount of light needed to reach the nucleus. By causing the electrons to bond with fluorine in a transparent crystal, UCLA physicists have finally succeeded in exciting the neutrons in a thorium atom's nucleus using a moderate amount of laser light. This accomplishment means that measurements of time, gravity and other fields that are currently performed using atomic electrons can be made with orders of magnitude higher accuracy.
Published Neutrons on classically inexplicable paths



Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says -- or are there simpler explanations? New neutron measurements prove: It doesn't work without the strange properties of quantum theory.
Published A new pulsar buried in a mountain of data



Astronomers have discovered the first millisecond pulsar in the stellar cluster Glimpse-CO1.
Published Tiny bright objects discovered at dawn of universe baffle scientists



A recent discovery by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) confirmed that luminous, very red objects previously detected in the early universe upend conventional thinking about the origins and evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes.
Published Too many missing satellite galaxies found



Bringing us one step closer to solving the 'missing satellites problem,' researchers have discovered two new satellite galaxies.
Published New class of Mars quakes reveals daily meteorite strikes



An international team of researchers combine orbital imagery with seismological data from NASA's Mars InSight lander to derive a new impact rate for meteorite strikes on Mars. Seismology also offers a new tool for determining the density of Mars' craters and the age of different regions of a planet.
Published Visual explanations of machine learning models to estimate charge states in quantum dots



To form qubit states in semiconductor materials, it requires tuning for numerous parameters. But as the number of qubits increases, the amount of parameters also increases, thereby complicating this process. Now, researchers have automated this process, overcoming a significant barrier to realizing quantum computers.