• Measuring Decays with Rock Dating Implications

    Updated: 2023-07-31 10:00:00
    Author(s): Stephen Ellis CoxResearchers revisit a neglected decay mode with implications for fundamental physics and for dating some of the oldest rocks on Earth and in the Solar System.[Physics 16, 131] Published Mon Jul 31, 2023

  • Strings 2023

    Updated: 2023-07-28 23:27:48
    For much of the past week, I’ve been attending off and on (on Zoom) the Strings 2023 conference. This year it’s in a hybrid format, with 200 participants in person at the Perimeter Institute, and another 1200 or so on … Continue reading →

  • The Search for WIMPs Continues

    Updated: 2023-07-28 10:00:00
    Author(s): Charles DayTwo mammoth underground detectors have delivered more stringent upper limits on how strongly a putative dark matter candidate interacts with normal matter.[Physics 16, s106] Published Fri Jul 28, 2023

  • Two Atoms Vibrate Like a Laser

    Updated: 2023-07-28 10:00:00
    Author(s): Katie McCormickA laser for vibrational energy, rather than for light, operating in the quantum regime could teach researchers about the interplay between spin, vibration, and dissipation in quantum mechanics.[Physics 16, 130] Published Fri Jul 28, 2023

  • A Pair of New Tetraquarks

    Updated: 2023-07-27 10:00:00
    Author(s): Marric StephensCERN’s Large Hadron Collider has detected the signals of two new four-quark states that are unusual because of their charges and their quark compositions.[Physics 16, s42] Published Thu Jul 27, 2023

  • Express Delivery of Proton Therapy

    Updated: 2023-07-27 10:00:00
    Author(s): Rachel BerkowitzA new scheme could increase the efficiency of a high-dose cancer radiation therapy and mitigate patient discomfort by reducing particle loss in proton beams.[Physics 16, 129] Published Thu Jul 27, 2023

  • From Crystal to Nanowire

    Updated: 2023-07-26 10:00:00
    Author(s): Marric StephensResearchers have demonstrated a way to sift a database of crystalline compounds for structures that can be separated into useful one-dimensional materials.[Physics 16, s104] Published Wed Jul 26, 2023

  • How Proteins Control Embryonic Tissue Flow

    Updated: 2023-07-25 10:00:00
    Author(s): Matteo RiniExperiments show that certain contractile proteins regulate the flow of tissue in a developing embryo by generating mechanical tensions and by controlling the tissue’s fluidity.[Physics 16, s111] Published Tue Jul 25, 2023

  • A Broader Stance Can Stop a Sandy Slide

    Updated: 2023-07-25 10:00:00
    Author(s): Rachel BerkowitzExperiments show that an optimal distance between points of contact helps insects and other multilegged creatures avoid slipping down a steep granular slope.[Physics 16, s102] Published Tue Jul 25, 2023

  • Two-Dimensional Crystal Found in a Nonequilibrium System

    Updated: 2023-07-25 10:00:00
    Author(s): Katherine WrightCrystals cannot form in two-dimensional particle systems at equilibrium. A new study has found a regime where a crystal can form if the system is driven out of equilibrium.[Physics 16, 124] Published Tue Jul 25, 2023

  • Error Rate Reduced for Scalable Quantum Technology

    Updated: 2023-07-24 10:00:00
    Author(s): Mark BuchananA scalable system for controlling quantum bits demonstrates a very low error rate, which is essential for making practical devices.[Physics 16, 128] Published Mon Jul 24, 2023

  • Wind Tunnel Experiments Challenge Turbulence Theory

    Updated: 2023-07-24 10:00:00
    Author(s): Andrew BraggMeasurements conducted over an unprecedented span of conditions uncover universal behavior, but not the kind that theorists expected.[Physics 16, 123] Published Mon Jul 24, 2023

  • Fish Are Boosted by Cooperating Fin Currents

    Updated: 2023-07-21 10:00:00
    Author(s): Maggie HudsonWater flow around the fins of a fish intertwines in a pattern that maximizes swimming efficiency.[Physics 16, s108] Published Fri Jul 21, 2023

  • Newton’s first law appears to break down in the quantum realm

    Updated: 2023-07-21 07:00:47
    Newton’s first law of motion says that particles move in straight lines unless influenced by a force but a new experiment shows that the quantum version of that assumption fails for quantum particles of light

  • Dark Star Hypothesis Sees the Light of Day

    Updated: 2023-07-20 10:00:00
    Author(s): Michael SchirberRecent data from the JWST space observatory has identified several objects that are consistent with dark matter powered stars.[Physics 16, 127] Published Thu Jul 20, 2023

  • Thermodynamics Reveals Coordinated Motors in Sperm Tails

    Updated: 2023-07-20 10:00:00
    Author(s): Katherine WrightBy monitoring fluctuations in the beating of macroscopic sperm tails, researchers retrieve information about the behavior of the nanoscale motors that drive tail beating.[Physics 16, 126] Published Thu Jul 20, 2023

  • Exciton Ensembles Manifest Coherence

    Updated: 2023-07-19 10:00:00
    Author(s): Ryan WilkinsonEvidence of coherent light emission from excitons in a 2D-material structure could inspire new quantum-technology applications.[Physics 16, s101] Published Wed Jul 19, 2023

  • The Dawn of Collider Neutrino Physics

    Updated: 2023-07-19 10:00:00
    Author(s): Elizabeth WorcesterThe first observation of neutrinos produced at a particle collider opens a new field of study and offers ways to test the limits of the standard model.[Physics 16, 113] Published Wed Jul 19, 2023

  • This Week’s Hype

    Updated: 2023-07-18 22:42:14
    Nanopoulos and co-authors have predictions from superstring theory that are “in strong agreement with NANOGrav data.” He has been at this now for almost 40 years. See for instance Experimental Predictions from the Superstring from 1985, where the superstring predicted … Continue reading →

  • “Order Up”: A Pair of Photons

    Updated: 2023-07-18 10:00:00
    Author(s): Charles DayResearchers use two clouds of rubidium vapor to generate, store, and simultaneously release two photons.[Physics 16, s96] Published Tue Jul 18, 2023

  • Art-Inspired Tape Is Both Strong and Weak

    Updated: 2023-07-18 10:00:00
    Author(s): Sarah WellsUsing carefully placed cuts, scientists have designed a sticky tape that is highly adhesive yet easy to remove.[Physics 16, 125] Published Tue Jul 18, 2023

  • Friction That Speeds Up an Object’s Motion

    Updated: 2023-07-14 10:00:00
    Author(s): Sophia ChenA friction-like quantum force could accelerate the motion of a rotating nanometer-diameter sphere when the sphere sits next to a graphene-coated surface.  [Physics 16, s99] Published Fri Jul 14, 2023

  • Confirming Gravitational Interactions are Equal and Opposite

    Updated: 2023-07-13 10:00:00
    Author(s): Marric StephensHigh-precision measurements of the Moon’s orbit show that iron and aluminum feel and exert gravitational forces equally.[Physics 16, s97] Published Thu Jul 13, 2023

  • A More Efficient Superconducting Diode

    Updated: 2023-07-13 10:00:00
    Author(s): Charles Day<pA superconducting strip allows more superconducting current to flow in one direction than in the other—achieving a stronger diode effect than previous devices.[Physics 16, 122] Published Thu Jul 13, 2023

  • Understanding Confinement

    Updated: 2023-07-12 15:57:10
    This week and next there’s an interesting summer school going on at the IAS, with topic Understanding Confinement. Videos of talks are available here or at the IAS video site. Taking a look at some of the first talks brings … Continue reading →

  • Beer-Dancing Peanuts Explained

    Updated: 2023-07-12 10:00:00
    Author(s): Allison GaspariniThe accumulation and bursting of carbon dioxide bubbles can cause a peanut in a glass of beer to repeatedly float and sink. The process may help in understanding phenomena in Earth’s magmas.[Physics 16, 121] Published Wed Jul 12, 2023

  • Performance Capacity of a Complex Neural Network

    Updated: 2023-07-12 10:00:00
    Author(s): Julia SteinbergA new theory allows researchers to determine the ability of arbitrarily complex neural networks to perform recognition tasks on data with intricate structure.[Physics 16, 108] Published Wed Jul 12, 2023

  • Shaken Atoms Change Quantum States

    Updated: 2023-07-11 10:00:00
    Author(s): David EhrensteinOscillating an optical lattice of Rydberg atoms at the right frequency causes the atoms to make electronic transitions, which can be useful for quantum processing techniques.[Physics 16, s105] Published Tue Jul 11, 2023

  • Relative Langlands Duality

    Updated: 2023-07-10 17:32:25
    For several years now, David Ben-Zvi, Yiannis Sakellaridis and Akshay Venkatesh have been working on a project involving a relative version of Langlands duality, which among many other things provides a perspective on L-functions and periods of automorphic forms inspired … Continue reading →

  • Opening a Liquid Route to Fusion

    Updated: 2023-07-07 10:00:00
    Author(s): Michael SchirberA laser experiment provides a proof-of-principle test for an alternative fusion concept that uses targets made with liquid fuel rather than conventional frozen fuel.[Physics 16, s95] Published Fri Jul 07, 2023

  • Atom and Molecule Form Quantum “Blockade”

    Updated: 2023-07-07 10:00:00
    Author(s): Philip BallResearchers take a step toward a new form of quantum computation by demonstrating an interaction called a Rydberg blockade between an atom and a molecule.[Physics 16, 120] Published Fri Jul 07, 2023

  • Giving Graphene a New Edge

    Updated: 2023-07-06 10:00:00
    Author(s): Matteo RiniA photonic version of graphene hosts never-before-seen “twig” edge states—which could provide new avenues for realizing topological phases in graphene-like materials.[Physics 16, s100] Published Thu Jul 06, 2023

  • Tracking Down the Origin of Neutrino Mass

    Updated: 2023-07-06 10:00:00
    Author(s): Julia GehrleinCollider experiments have set new direct limits on the existence of hypothetical heavy neutrinos, helping to constrain how ordinary neutrinos get their mass.[Physics 16, 20] Published Thu Jul 06, 2023

  • Physicists Prove That Parallel Worlds Cannot Be Extremely Different From Each Other

    Updated: 2023-07-04 02:34:18
    Stories about the latest prediction of superstring theory here and here, based on a Tsukuba University press release about this paper. Generally ignoring this kind of nonsense these days, but the new feature of this one is that the press … Continue reading →

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