https://phys.org/physics-news/ en-us The latest news in physics, materials science, quantum physics, optics and photonics, superconductivity science and technology. Updated Daily. Researchers at ETH Zurich have shown that quantum states of single electron spins can be controlled by currents of electrons whose spins are evenly aligned. In the future, this method could be used in electronic circuit elements. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-alternative-quantum-states.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:44:26 EDT news638117062 Scientists on the hunt for compact and robust sources of multicolored laser light have generated the first topological frequency comb. Their result, which relies on a small silicon nitride chip patterned with hundreds of microscopic rings, appears in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-photonic-chip-spawns-topological-frequency.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Thu, 20 Jun 2024 15:42:04 EDT news638116921 The human eye can only see light at certain frequencies (called the visible spectrum), the lowest of which constitutes red light. Infrared light, which we can't see, has an even lower frequency than red light. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have now fabricated a device to increase or "up-convert" the frequency of short infrared light to the visible range. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-infrared-visible-device-2d-material.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 20 Jun 2024 13:18:45 EDT news638108321 A team of international scientists led by the University of Ottawa have gone back to the kitchen cupboard to create a recipe that combines organic material and light to create quantum states. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-qa-method-confines-material-hybrid.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Thu, 20 Jun 2024 12:17:00 EDT news638104614 A new study published in Physical Review Letters (PRL) explores the potential of quadratic electron-phonon coupling to enhance superconductivity through the formation of quantum bipolarons. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-high-temperature-superconductivity-exploring-quadratic.html Superconductivity Thu, 20 Jun 2024 07:00:02 EDT news638006587 The quantum internet would be a lot easier to build if we could use existing telecommunications technologies and infrastructure. Over the past few years, researchers have discovered defects in silicon—a ubiquitous semiconductor material—that could be used to send and store quantum information over widely used telecommunications wavelengths. Could these defects in silicon be the best choice among all the promising candidates to host qubits for quantum communications? https://phys.org/news/2024-06-platform-probe-qubits-silicon-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 11:23:03 EDT news638014981 Researchers led by Prof. Luo Guangnan from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have made an important discovery about how materials break down and mix on the surfaces inside the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST). They found that material erosion is caused by excessive heat loads, particle fluxes to the first wall, and energetic ions during the plasma exposure. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-reveals-material-erosion-deposition-fusion.html Plasma Physics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:33:22 EDT news638011999 After a year of installation and commissioning, the new electron storage ring at the heart of the Advanced Photon Source—powered by a world's first injection technique—is ready for business. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-advanced-photon-source-ray-science.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:32:25 EDT news638011942 Terahertz waves are being intensely studied by researchers around the world seeking to understand the "terahertz gap." Terahertz waves have a specific frequency that puts them somewhere between microwaves and infrared light. This range is referred to as a "gap" because much remains unknown about these waves. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-generation-intense-terahertz-magnetic-material.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:15:03 EDT news638010901 A joint research team that included members from Tohoku University has unveiled a new topological insulator (TI), a unique state of matter that differs from conventional metals, insulators, and semiconductors. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-discovery-dimensional-topological-insulator-qubits.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 09:12:48 EDT news638007164 Photonic alloys, alloy-like materials combining two or more photonic crystals, are promising candidates for the development of structures that control the propagation of electromagnetic waves, also known as waveguides. Despite their potential, these materials typically reflect light back in the direction where it originated. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-photonic-alloy-topological-properties.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:00:01 EDT news637947432 In a paper recently published in Physical Review Letters, Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers offer a new theory that predicts defect density across a variety of phase transitions. The research opens new routes for the exploration of defect formation in fields such as materials science, high-energy physics and cosmology. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-theory-broadens-phase-transition-exploration.html General Physics Condensed Matter Tue, 18 Jun 2024 14:48:02 EDT news637940881 Remember how difficult it was to find one Higgs boson? Try finding two at the same place at the same time. Known as di-Higgs production, this fascinating process can tell scientists about the Higgs boson self-interaction. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-physicists-combine-multiple-higgs-boson.html General Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 13:32:13 EDT news637936331 X-ray microscopes are essential for examining components and materials because they can be used to detect changes and details in the material. Until now, however, it has been difficult to detect small cracks or tiny inclusions in the images. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-ray-microscopy-tiny-defects.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:50:01 EDT news637933606 Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed an ultrafast time-resolved scanning electron microscopy instrument by integrating a scanning electron microscope with a femtosecond laser. This innovative system facilitates the observation of the instantaneous states of various materials. Their paper is published in the journal ACS Photonics. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-technique-visualization-instantaneous-states-materials.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:50:01 EDT news637933696 Brillouin scattering is the phenomenon of the inelastic scattering of light by thermally generated acoustic vibrations. Brillouin-based optical fiber sensing can be used to measure temperature and strain distributions by determining how the light scatters in the presence of various stimuli. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-brillouin-optical-fiber-infrastructure.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:46:23 EDT news637933581 A research group from University of Tsukuba has discovered that fluctuations of electron spins in magnetic materials trigger a large anomalous Hall effect during phase transition known as the devil's staircase magnetic transition. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-large-anomalous-hall-effect-triggered.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:50:02 EDT news637923001 While investigating how string theory can be used to explain certain physical phenomena, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have stumbled upon on a new series representation for the irrational number π. It provides an easier way to extract π from calculations involved in deciphering processes like the quantum scattering of high-energy particles. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-physicists.html General Physics Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:28:04 EDT news637921679 Exciton-polariton lasers, renowned for their low-power operation, have long tantalized researchers with their promise for practical low-energy applications. However, until now, a clean measurement of the laser's linewidth, or spectral purity, has remained elusive. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-ultra-high-spectral-purity-revealed.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:03:04 EDT news637920181 The potential of quantum computers is currently thwarted by a trade-off problem. Quantum systems that can carry out complex operations are less tolerant to errors and noise, while systems that are more protected against noise are harder and slower to compute with. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-quantum-problem.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 09:01:04 EDT news637920061 The so-called Casimir force or Casimir effect is a quantum mechanical phenomenon resulting from fluctuations in the electromagnetic field between two conducting or dielectric surfaces that are a short distance apart. Studies have shown that this force can be either be attractive or repulsive, depending on the dielectric and magnetic properties of the materials used in experiments. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-reversibly-casimir-external-magnetic.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Tue, 18 Jun 2024 07:30:01 EDT news637857959 Researchers from Skoltech, Jilin University and Beijing HPSTAR in China, and their German colleagues have synthesized and studied a new type of hydrogen-rich superconductor. Technically referred to as an A15-type lanthanum superhydride, with the formula La4H23, it shows superconductivity below minus 168 degrees Celsius at a pressure of 1.2 million atmospheres. The research results were published in the National Science Review. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-strange-metal-state-hydrogen-rich.html Superconductivity Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:58:03 EDT news637862281 A research team has utilized solid-state spin quantum sensors to scrutinize exotic spin-spin-velocity-dependent interactions (SSIVDs) at short force ranges, reporting new experimental results between electron spins. Their work has been published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-constraints-exotic-velocity-interactions-electron.html Quantum Physics Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:49:55 EDT news637861793 One of the most counter-intuitive aspects of quantum physics is the idea that a quantum system, unlike a physical system governed by the everyday physics of the macroscopic universe, can exist in two states at once even if these states are contradictory. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-schrdinger-cat-quantum-sensitivity.html Quantum Physics Mon, 17 Jun 2024 14:01:20 EDT news637851678 Tokamaks are one of the most widely studied technologies in the global effort to achieve sustained nuclear fusion. Using intense magnetic fields, they confine superheated plasma within their doughnut-shaped interiors, allowing atomic nuclei to fuse together and release vast amounts of energy. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-plasma-deviations-nuclear-fusion-reactors.html Plasma Physics Mon, 17 Jun 2024 14:00:23 EDT news637851620 For centuries, the transport sector has been one of the biggest contributors to global carbon emissions. To address the problem, many research groups are now actively exploring how technology can help transport systems to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-maglev-machine.html Superconductivity Mon, 17 Jun 2024 13:12:04 EDT news637848721 Quantum computing is like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: You never know what you're gonna get. Quantum phenomena—the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic levels—are not definite, one thing or another. They are opaque clouds of possibility, or more precisely, probabilities. When someone observes a quantum system, it loses its quantum-ness and "collapses" into a definite state. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-quantum-kaleidoscopes-unusual-metaphors-science.html Quantum Physics Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:40:01 EDT news637845588 Using a specially designed 3D printed vacuum system, scientists have developed a way to "trap" dark matter with the aim of detecting domain walls. This will be a significant step forwards in unraveling some of the mysteries of the universe. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-3d-vacuum-aims-dark.html General Physics Mon, 17 Jun 2024 12:18:16 EDT news637845493 UCLA researchers have created a new type of imager that can capture features much smaller than the limitations of traditional optical systems. This innovation has the potential to revolutionize fields like bioimaging, lithography and material science. The research is published in the journal eLight. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-compact-diffractive-imager-subwavelength-resolution.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:20:29 EDT news637834827 An experiment by a group of physicists led by University of Rochester physics professor Regina Demina has produced a significant result related to quantum entanglement—an effect that Albert Einstein called "spooky action at a distance." https://phys.org/news/2024-06-physicists-quantum-entanglement-persists-quarks.html Quantum Physics Fri, 14 Jun 2024 16:09:56 EDT news637600192