Zinc oxide quantum dots enable faster charge detection, laying groundwork for spin qubits

Researchers at Tohoku University, in collaboration with the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) and the University of Tokyo, have taken an important step toward semiconductor quantum computing using zinc oxide (ZnO).

Go to Source

3D light fields push electrons into quantum states previously beyond experimental reach

By superimposing two ultrashort laser pulses that converge from different directions, a team of physicists at the University of Oldenburg has succeeded in generating three-dimensional light fields.

Go to Source

Physicists identify ‘octupolar’ magnetism, with implications for quantum technologies

Most magnets have two poles: north and south, or positive and negative, in a familiar arrangement called a “dipole.” But researchers are increasingly uncovering more complex forms of magnetism.

Go to Source

Laser-made muons produce first images of dense objects

Muons are constantly being created as cosmic rays collide with molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere. With their ability to penetrate far into dense, solid materials, these cosmic muons are often used to image the insides of objects that are otherwise hidden from view. However, the flow of these natural particles is far too slow for […]

After 20 years, jet diffusion wakes detected in quark-gluon plasmas

Boats passing over smooth water form a pair of diffusion wakes behind them veering off at a certain angle. Turbulence occurs along the line directly behind the boat, but the two diffusion waves are at a theoretical angle of 19.5° from the same line, for deep, ideally smooth water.

Go to Source

[…]

Crystal spacing predicts magnetic states in complex alloys better than electron count

In materials chemistry, identifying common parameters that can organize magnetic ground states across complex intermetallic compounds remains a central challenge. Researchers have long used chemically tunable parameters to control magnetic properties. One is valence-electron concentration, commonly discussed as the electron-per-atom (e/a) ratio. The e/a ratio has been widely used to classify magnetic ground states in […]

Revisiting a Young Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton is typically portrayed as a solitary scientist with intense focus who was obsessed with power and deeply egotistical. But a new book by Caltech historians Jed Buchwald and Mordechai Feingold takes a deeper look at Newton’s life in the two decades leading up to the 1687 publication of his groundbreaking text, Principia Mathematica, […]

New device measures curved mirrors’ absolute shape to within 2 nanometers without touching them

Researchers at AIST have developed a device that measures the absolute surface profile of curved optical elements with high precision without touching them.

Go to Source

Rotating light pattern reveals laser frequency in a single image

An international team of physicists has developed a new method for determining the precise color of laser light using an image that rotates as the laser’s frequency shifts.

Go to Source

Scandium’s electrons may explain predicted room-temperature superconductivity

Scientists have confirmed the existence of a predicted room temperature superconductor, while explaining the microscopic mechanism that distinguishes it from a similar one discovered several years ago. The work, published in the journal Physical Review B, offers “a theoretical blueprint for the future design of superior superconductor hydrides” the physicists write.

Go to Source

[…]

Enantioresolution turns bright but racemic gold-silver clusters into circularly polarized emitters

Chiral metal clusters that emit circularly polarized light often face a trade-off between photoluminescence efficiency and luminescence dissymmetry. A study published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials tested whether highly luminescent racemic carbon-centered gold(I)-silver(I) clusters could be converted into bright CPL emitters by enantioresolution with chiral donor ligands.

Go to Source

Experimental evidence of altermagnetism in a layered material opens a promising path toward future spintronics

To build the ultrafast computers of the future, scientists are looking beyond the electrical charge of electrons to another property: their spin. While conventional hardware relies on the movement of charge to process data, tapping into this intrinsic quantum property could enable researchers to reinvent how information travels through a circuit.

Go to Source

[…]

How to balance quantum batteries’ high power with stable energy delivery

Quantum batteries are an emerging area of research, with progress coming from theoretical studies and proof-of-principle experiments in small quantum systems. Unlike conventional chemical batteries used in everyday life, they use quantum systems to store and transfer energy. Researchers are exploring them as potential future energy sources for quantum processors and other quantum technologies.

Go […]

Quantum computer boldly goes where no quantum computer has gone before: Space

There’s big news from the quantum world. A quantum computer has been used in space for the first time. The device was aboard a spacecraft in low Earth orbit and demonstrated technology that could eventually help solve a problem that has been bugging satellites for years.

Go to Source

New model explains why glass becomes less transparent to terahertz light

Electromagnetic waves in the gigahertz (GHz) range, such as those used in mobile communications, can readily pass through many types of glass. However, transmission decreases significantly at terahertz frequencies above a characteristic threshold.

Go to Source