When simulations fall short, this spectrometer learns for itself

An NMR spectrometer can reveal molecular structure down to the atomic level, but weak signals limit what it can see. Now, Aarhus University researchers have used AI to let the spectrometer learn the best pulse sequence directly from the sample.

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Slow-motion electron camera reveals light-driven quantum jumps in graphene

Using a new slow-motion electron camera, physicists from Regensburg, Marburg and Jülich revealed how intense electric fields drive electrons in graphene, causing them to jump across energy gaps in a seemingly paradoxical manner. This was made possible by a novel combination of laser technology and electron microscopy.

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Against all expectations, researchers control the magnetic core of a single atom

Researchers at Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) have succeeded in controlling the magnetism in the nucleus of a single atom with radio waves. This came as a surprise: until now, physicists believed that this nuclear spin could not be manipulated directly. The discovery could open up new possibilities for storing and reading quantum information. […]

Can gravitational fields break and reconnect? Einstein’s equations suggest they can

More than a century after Einstein first devised the equations that describe gravity, physicists are still finding new ways of interpreting them. Luca Comisso, an associate research scientist in Columbia University’s departments of Astronomy and Physics and the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory, and Felipe A. Asenjo of Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile, recently found a new […]

Sound-levitated particles reveal how static charge builds up

When two objects touch and then separate, they can swap tiny amounts of electric charge, even if they are made from exactly the same material. This ‘triboelectric effect’ is the source of everyday static electricity, but it is still poorly understood in large samples of powder, where vast numbers of particles are constantly colliding with […]

Decoding the loopy physics of hula hooping with high-tech earthquake sensors

Hula hooping may be literal child’s play, but as it turns out, the physics behind the gym-class staple is so complicated that scientists have spent decades trying to understand how the hula hoop defies gravity.

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Identical vesicles, different behaviors: Model reveals how spontaneous asymmetry gives rise to lifelike behavior

In nonreciprocal active matter, agents act differently on each other, seemingly in violation of Newton’s third law. This principle can result in various active matter traits, such as self-propulsion, molecular regulation and collective motion.

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Scientists uncover new way to control magnetism and topology using light in atomically thin materials

Envision a material whose magnetic properties and electronic topology can be toggled by exposure to light, paving the way for future electronic devices that do not rely on traditional electrical switching, which wastes energy by producing heat.

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SPINE: A machine-learning program is on the trail of ghost particles

Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the universe, but they are also among the most elusive. Nearly massless, they are produced by nuclear reactions in the sun, exploding stars, particle accelerators and even the decay of radioactive elements on Earth. They interact so weakly with ordinary matter that trillions pass through each person […]

Microscopic springs transform fragile silicon into a flexible terahertz metamaterial

Researchers at the Osaka Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (ORIST), in collaboration with the University of Osaka and Tohoku University, have developed a flexible and stretchable silicon material whose response to terahertz waves can be mechanically tuned. By etching microscopic spiral springs into silicon, the team made the fragile material bendable and stretchable. […]

Quantum gates set speed record at 6.8 nanoseconds with over 99.98% accuracy

Researchers from Jülich, Aachen and Cologne have performed a quantum operation on a qubit in just 6.8 nanoseconds—with more than 99.98% accuracy. Such operations typically take several tens of nanoseconds in superconducting quantum computers. The paper was published in Nature Communications.

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Quantum sensor loop design could improve magnetic measurements for medicine and communications

Adelaide University quantum engineers have found a new way to improve some of the world’s most sensitive sensors of electromagnetic fields, a breakthrough that could help advance brain imaging, medical diagnostics, communications technology and next-generation quantum devices.

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New converter could bridge light wavelength gap in quantum communications

Quantum networks, systems that connect devices using quantum mechanical effects, could potentially allow users to share information more securely and efficiently. Building these networks typically entails linking stationary qubits, units of quantum information encoded in trapped ions or other physical systems, using photons (particles of light) transmitted through optical fibers.

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Radio waves drive a fusion plasma current that could help reactors run continuously

For the first time, a team of physicists in the U.S. has clearly demonstrated a “helicon current drive” in a nuclear fusion experiment. Led by Jeff Lestz at General Atomics, San Diego, the team took advantage of the latest advances in tokamak technology to show that radio waves steered to travel around the donut-shaped device […]

Metalens microscope switches focus with voltage, not moving optics

Just as it is difficult for a camera to keep both a nearby flower and a distant mountain sharply focused at the same time, conventional optical microscopes face a similar challenge when imaging structures located at different depths inside the body. Tighter focusing of light improves spatial resolution, but at the same time reduces the […]