Single optical element combines soft X-ray imaging and spectroscopy

An international research team from Germany, Switzerland and Japan has demonstrated in a recent study that a single reflection zone plate (RZP) can perform both soft X-ray imaging and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) mapping. The approach could simplify future instruments that need to determine both where structures are located in a material and how […]

Physicists reveal new paradigm for fiber growth in neurodegenerative diseases

Some proteins that are linked to neurodegenerative diseases can form both liquid droplets and amyloid fibers. But how are these two states connected, and where do the fibers grow? Leiden physicists Liru Feng and Louise Jawerth have discovered a counter-intuitive mechanism.

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Tiny shifts in iron content tip a potential memory material between competing magnetic states

A team of Yale researchers has figured out what gives a magnetic material its mysterious properties, a discovery that could help boost computing memory and the field of “spintronics.” Their work is published in Physical Review Letters.

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Diamond defects confirm 80-year-old theory of crystal stress

For the first time, researchers in Japan have directly mapped several components of the stress field surrounding an atomic-scale flaw in the crystal structure of diamond. Led by Tokuyuki Teraji at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science, the team achieved its result using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, whose spin states respond differently to stress […]

One extra quantum dot helps balance speed and stability in spin qubits

Quantum computers need qubits that can be controlled both quickly and reliably. Yet making semiconductor spin qubits faster often makes them more sensitive to electrical noise, creating a difficult trade-off.

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Supercurrent enables the reading of quantum information without destroying it

One of the fundamental challenges of quantum computing is obtaining information from a quantum bit, or qubit. Unlike a conventional bit, which can be read repeatedly without altering its content, direct measurement of a quantum system typically causes the state to collapse before it can be determined. In other words, reading the information modifies it. […]

Patterns of polar vortices discovered in lead-free superlattices on silicon

A team at HZB has, for the first time, reported polar vortices in (BaTiO₃/SrTiO₃)₁₀ superlattices on silicon. These results expand the range of materials and substrates on which polar topological textures can occur and open up new options for incorporating complex ferroelectric states into silicon-based technologies.

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Single X-ray pulse reveals plasma nanostructures across scales with one camera

Understanding instabilities and turbulence in plasmas is one of the key challenges across a wide range of plasma research fields, including nuclear fusion, astrophysics and laser-plasma physics. In plasmas, slight disturbances can grow due to instabilities, and energy is transferred between structures of various sizes due to turbulence. These phenomena give rise to structures ranging […]

‘One-positron cyclotron’ could test a key prediction of the Standard Model

The positron is the antimatter counterpart of the electron, identical in mass but carrying an equal and opposite electric charge. Like the electron, it also behaves like a tiny bar magnet, and according to a key prediction of the Standard Model of particle physics, its magnetic moment should be exactly equal and opposite to the […]

Counting magnetic flux quanta offers new way to measure photon numbers

Researchers at AIST have directly observed magnetic flux quanta generated in a superconductor by photon absorption and demonstrated a new principle of photon detection that identifies the number of photons based on the number of these flux quanta.

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Plain silicon grating reveals a hidden ‘twist’ in light from electron beams

In 1953, two physicists showed that an electron beam skimming past a grating emits light whose color depends only on the electron’s speed and the grating’s spacing. Known as Smith-Purcell radiation, this phenomenon has become a useful tool for building compact, tunable light sources and tracking particle beams without touching them.

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What makes glass good at conducting heat? Sound holds the key

Glass can keep a drink safely contained, protect a smartphone screen, or serve as a foundation for electronic components. But when it comes to controlling heat, this familiar material still holds some scientific mysteries. Now, researchers have identified a key factor governing how efficiently heat travels through silicate glass, offering a new guideline for designing […]

Experiment shows when quantum ‘cat’ states stop bouncing back

Quantum systems can occupy superpositions, quantum states that combine different possibilities. For instance, a microwave field can be prepared in a superposition of an empty state and a state that contains microwave light.

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Light-based method enables precise control of ultrafast electron flow in a scanning tunneling microscope

What would it take to watch an electron move through a material? Researchers would need to see individual atoms and capture an electron’s motion at incredibly short timescales. A Technion-led team has brought those two capabilities together in a scanning tunneling microscope, using carefully shaped laser pulses to control the direction of electron flow while […]

What is a neutrino anyway? A look at the science behind this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics

If you wanted a Nobel Prize, you would do well to study neutrinos. To date, the Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded five times to research related to neutrino detection and discovery. This year, Francis Halzen earned the Nobel “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of […]