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Attosecond X-ray method maps early electron motions that trigger chemical reactions

All chemistry starts with a push from electrons. In the early moments of a chemical reaction, it’s the movement of electrons that initiates the breaking of old chemical bonds and forging of new ones, transforming one molecule into another.

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‘Spooky’ particles transit DC suburbs, a step toward a quantum network

In early 2025, special signals wended their way through a fiber-optic highway strung above the streets and sidewalks of the Maryland suburbs. The arrival of those signals at their destination marks a significant step toward a long-held dream of building a “quantum network.” Researchers believe that this emerging technology could someday link quantum devices in […]

Using the Earth’s magnetic field to hunt for axions and dark photons

Dark matter’s existence is all but certain—astronomers believe it makes up about a quarter of the universe’s total energy content—yet its true identity has eluded us for decades. Two of the leading candidates for dark matter are the hypothetical particles ultralight axions and dark photons, which in the range studied here would be some 19 […]

New semiconductor maser operates continuously above room temperature

Lasers have become indispensable in everyday life and research, with applications ranging from data transmission and metrology to manufacturing. Masers, by contrast, have so far found hardly any practical applications.

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Electric field reverses phonon chirality and spin direction in ferroelectric crystal

Chiral phonons are groups of atoms that move in a circular direction when excited by an energy source, such as heat. As the phonons move through a material, they propagate that circular motion, or angular momentum, through the material. The angular momentum serves as the source of spin, and the chirality dictates the direction of […]

Tiny vortices discovered on the sun’s surface

Researchers from the U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO), the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, and the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) in the U.S. have made a discovery in solar physics. New images of the sun’s surface taken with the world’s largest solar telescope, the NSF Daniel […]

Quantum fluid reveals hidden states that can be switched with a magnetic field

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) are often described as a “fifth state of matter”: a quantum state in which many particles lose their individual identities and behave as one collective object. For more than 60 years, researchers have sought to create such condensates from excitons—electron-hole pairs—as a solid-state route to macroscopic quantum coherence, which is useful for […]

Molecular orbitals imaged in 3D, opening path to femtosecond videos

One of the most famous and intriguing results of quantum mechanics is the finding that fundamental particles, such as electrons, cannot be pinned down to one single location. Instead, a particle is described by its “wavefunction,” which allows researchers to derive probability distributions—a sort of mathematical map that shows the possibilities—of fundamental properties such as […]

A temperature dial for more realistic quantum simulations

Scientists from Rice University in the U.S. have developed a way to precisely tune the temperature inside a trapped-ion simulator. The breakthrough means they will be able to run quantum simulations at precise temperatures that better reflect real-world conditions.

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First measurement of antineutrinos from spent nuclear fuel confirms emissions persist after reactor shutdown

Even when the lights go out and nuclear reactors are turned off, the story inside the reactor core still has a great deal to tell. Radioactive, long-lived fission products continue to decay for months or even years, producing a faint flux of a specific type of particle known as antineutrinos. (Anti)neutrinos are the lightest and […]

Pushing the boundaries of ultracold neutral plasmas

Using a combination of laser cooling techniques and strong magnetic fields, researchers at Colorado State University have for the first time created an ultracold neutral plasma with electrons cooled to temperatures measured to be within one degree Kelvin.

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Two materials, one photonic chip: Unlocking a new way to generate light frequencies

Modern photonic chips can pack sophisticated optical functions onto devices smaller than a fingernail. They are increasingly used to generate, manipulate and measure light for applications ranging from communications to sensing. But most of these chips rely on a single material to do the heavy lifting, limiting the range of optical effects they can produce. […]

New approach to cleaning the inner walls of a fusion system removes another obstacle to near-endless energy

Fusion systems need inner walls that can withstand extreme heat. One promising solution uses liquid lithium to protect the walls, held like water in a sponge made of the exceptionally strong metal tungsten. An advanced manufacturing process can be used to make tungsten into sponge-like wall tiles with lots of pores for flowing liquid lithium. […]

Bringing it all into focus—computational microscope captures 25.2 billion pixels per second across a wide field of view

When designing microscopes, optical engineers have long faced a trade-off between speed, field of view and resolution. But improving one of these properties typically comes at the expense of another. Now, a UC Berkeley–led team of researchers has found a way to address this challenge, opening the door to new possibilities in the field of […]

New quantum encryption method prevents ciphertext from being cloned

Digital security currently relies on difficult equations to protect data. For example, when you use a credit card online, the information is locked inside a math problem that would take a modern computer thousands of years to solve. However, if someone builds a powerful enough computer, that security breaks.

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