Physics News and Discussions

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Key mechanism in nuclear reaction dynamics promises advances in nuclear physics
https://phys.org/news/2024-06-key-mecha ... amics.html
by Nuclear Science and Techniques

Researchers have made significant progress in understanding the transfer of neutrons in weakly bound nuclei. The experiment, performed at Legnaro National Laboratory, focused on the one-neutron stripping process in reactions involving lithium-6 and bismuth-209. The work is published in the journal Nuclear Science and Techniques.

The collaborative research effort has shown that the one-neutron stripping process yields results comparable to those of complete fusion reactions especially in energy regions near nuclear barriers. Contrary to previous expectations, the results indicate that the one-neutron transfer plays a dominant role at lower energies, exceeding the output of fusion reactions.

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Scientists successfully create a time crystal made of giant atoms
https://phys.org/news/2024-07-scientist ... atoms.html
by Vienna University of Technology

A crystal is an arrangement of atoms that repeats itself in space, in regular intervals: At every point, the crystal looks exactly the same. In 2012, Nobel Prize winner Frank Wilczek raised the question: Could there also be a time crystal—an object that repeats itself not in space but in time? And could it be possible that a periodic rhythm emerges, even though no specific rhythm is imposed on the system and the interaction between the particles is completely independent of time?

For years, Frank Wilczek's idea has caused much controversy. Some considered time crystals to be impossible in principle, while others tried to find loopholes and realize time crystals under certain special conditions.

Now, a particularly spectacular kind of time crystal has successfully been created at Tsinghua University in China, with the support from TU Wien in Austria.

The team used laser light and special types of atoms, namely Rydberg atoms, with a diameter that is several hundred times larger than normal. The results have been published in the journal Nature Physics.

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Theoretical physicists find Higgs boson does not seem to contain any harbingers of new physics
https://phys.org/news/2024-07-theoretic ... ngers.html
by Polish Academy of Sciences

The Higgs boson was discovered in the detectors of the Large Hadron Collider a dozen or so years ago. It has proved to be a particle so difficult to produce and observe that, despite the passage of time, its properties are still not known with satisfactory accuracy. Now we know a little more about its origin, thanks to the just-published achievement of an international group of theoretical physicists with the participation of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The research is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The scientific world is unanimous in its opinion that the greatest discovery made with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the famous Higgs boson. For twelve years, physicists have been trying to learn as precisely as possible about the properties of this very important elementary particle. The task is extremely difficult due to both the experimental challenges and numerous computational hurdles.

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Belle II experiment reports the first direct measurement of tau-to-light-lepton ratio
https://phys.org/news/2024-07-belle-ii- ... ratio.html
by Ingrid Fadelli , Phys.org

The Belle II experiment is a large research effort aimed at precisely measuring weak-interaction parameters, studying exotic hadrons (i.e., a class of subatomic particles) and searching for new physical phenomena. This effort primarily relies on the analysis of data collected by the Belle II detector (i.e., a general purpose spectrometer) and delivered by the SuperKEKB, a particle collider, both located at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) in Tsukuba, Japan.

In a recent paper, published in Physical Review Letters, the Belle II Collaboration reported the first direct measurement of the tau-to-light-lepton ratio 𝑅(𝑋𝜏/ℓ) of inclusive B-meson branching fractions. With this measurement, the team was able to test the universality of charged-current weak interactions.

"Within our current best theory of particle physics, the standard model, charged leptons—electron, muon and tau—couple identically with weak and electromagnetic forces," Karim Trabelsi, spokesperson for the Belle II Collaboration, told Phys.org. "This phenomena is called lepton universality."

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Oxygen tweaking may be key to accelerator optimization

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-oxygen-tw ... ation.html

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New research reveals how galaxies avoid early death

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-reveals-g ... death.html

[Time_Traveller]

Is the Multiverse Real? Why One Force Still Baffles Most Physicists

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... r-AA1jOaZv

Starts out decent but veers off into "great spiritual purpose" in the end.

More on this:-

Scientists discover mysterious 'twin' could be behind rapid expansion of the universe

The universe is expanding at a rapid rate and scientists don’t really know why – but one expert has a compelling theory, and it concerns a mysterious 'twin’.

One possible explanation as to why the fabric of the universe is growing was posited by Naman Kumar, who is a PhD student at the Indian Institute of Technology.

According to the theory put across in the new papers published by Kumar in Gravitation and Cosmology and Europhysics Letters, our universe might be linked to another.

To comprehend the theory, first we must look all the way back to the earliest stages of the universe, when all that existed with an amorphous mass of subatomic particles.

Then, we must delve into the idea of the quantum phenomenon of matter generation. In that context, virtual particles could begin to exist - albeit as part of a complex partnership.

https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/tw ... multiverse

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NASA demonstrates 'ultra-cool' quantum sensor for first time in space
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-nasa-ultr ... ensor.html
by NASA

NASA's Cold Atom Lab, a first-of-its-kind facility aboard the International Space Station, has taken another step toward revolutionizing how quantum science can be used in space. Members of the science team measured subtle vibrations of the space station with one of the lab's onboard tools—the first time ultra-cold atoms have been employed to detect changes in the surrounding environment in space.

The study, which appeared in Nature Communications on Aug. 13, also reports the longest demonstration of the wave-like nature of atoms in freefall in space.

The Cold Atom Lab science team made their measurements with a quantum tool called an atom interferometer, which can precisely measure gravity, magnetic fields, and other forces. Scientists and engineers on Earth use this tool to study the fundamental nature of gravity and advance technologies that aid aircraft and ship navigation. (Cell phones, transistors, and GPS are just a few other major technologies based on quantum science but do not involve atom interferometry.)

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Large Hadron Collider pipe brings search for elusive magnetic monopole closer than ever
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-large-had ... usive.html
by University of Nottingham

New research using a decommissioned section of the beam pipe from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN has brought scientists closer than ever before to test whether magnetic monopoles exist.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham, in collaboration with an international team, have revealed the most stringent constraints yet on the existence of magnetic monopoles, pushing the boundaries of what is known about these elusive particles. Their research has been published in Physical Review Letters.

In particle physics, a magnetic monopole is a hypothetical elementary particle that is an isolated magnet with only one magnetic pole (a north pole without a south pole or vice versa).

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World's fastest microscope freezes time at 1 quintillionth of a second
By Michael Irving
August 22, 2024

The subatomic world is hard to image not just because it’s incredibly tiny, but super fast too. Now physicists at the University of Arizona have developed the world’s fastest electron microscope to capture events lasting just one quintillionth of a second.

A good camera, with a shutter speed measured in milliseconds, might be able to snap a clear photo of a person running. But the fastest “cameras” in the world – transmission electron microscopes – can capture events on the scale of attoseconds, like photos of electrons running. An attosecond is one quintillionth of a second, which makes a millisecond (a thousandth of a second) seem like an eternity.

If we scale that up, there are as many attoseconds in one second as there are seconds in 31.7 billion years – that’s more than twice as long as the universe has existed. There’s just some truly unfathomable numbers here.

https://newatlas.com/physics/worlds-fas ... ttosecond/

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Scientists Develop Ultrafast Microscope That Can See Electrons in Motion
The 'attomicroscope' can capture an image in one quintillionth of a second.
By Ryan Whitwam August 23, 2024
https://www.extremetech.com/science/sci ... -in-motion

A traditional optical microscope can magnify objects by more than a thousand times, but scientists are often interested in even smaller things. Electron microscopy can make an object appear one million times larger. But the smallest objects are usually also quite fast, which is why the speed of the microscope is also essential. Scientists from the University of Arizona have reached a new milestone for microscopic speed, creating a faster scanning electron microscope that can capture an image in just one attosecond—a quintillionth of a second.

Transmission electron microscopes use beams of electrons instead of photons of light to probe a target. They produce a beam of electrons that interact with the sample, which is recorded by lenses and camera sensors to produce an enlarged image that would never be possible with an optical microscope. Ultrafast electron microscopes have been improving over the past 20 years with the use of pulsed beams of electrons. These contraptions have been able to see several attoseconds at a time, but the team led by University of Arizona professor Mohammed Hassan wanted to go even faster.

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Sound drives 'quantum jumps' between electron orbits
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-quantum-e ... rbits.html
by Diane Tessaglia-Hymes, Cornell University

Cornell University researchers have demonstrated that acoustic sound waves can be used to control the motion of an electron as it orbits a lattice defect in a diamond, a technique that can potentially improve the sensitivity of quantum sensors and be used in other quantum devices.

Advances in quantum information technology require finding new ways to control electrons and other microscopic particles. In an article titled "Coherent acoustic control of defect orbital states in the strong-driving limit," Gregory Fuchs, professor of applied and engineering physics, and his postdoctoral associate, Brendan McCullian, collaborated with Erich Mueller, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and his doctoral student, Vaibhav Sharma, to engineer a setting where sound waves can drive "quantum jumps" between electron orbits.

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Tunable nonlinear Hall effect observed at room temperature in tellurium
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-tunable-n ... -room.html
by University of Science and Technology of China

A research team has discovered significant nonlinear Hall and wireless rectification effects at room temperature in elemental semiconductor tellurium (Te). Their research is published in Nature Communications.

Nonlinear Hall effect (NLHE) is a second-order response to an applied alternating current (AC), which can generate second-harmonic signals without introducing an external magnetic field. NLHE is of considerable scientific interest due to its potential applications in frequency-doubling and rectifying devices.

However, previous studies have faced challenges such as low hall voltage outputs and low working temperatures, hindering practical applications of NLHE. Currently, NLHE at room temperature has only been observed in Dirac semimetal BaMnSb2 and the Weyl semimetal TaIrTe4, both of which exhibit relatively small voltage outputs and lack tunability.

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CMS experiment at CERN weighs in on the W boson mass
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-cms-cern-boson-mass.html
by CERN

The CMS experiment at CERN is the latest to weigh in on the mass of the W boson—an elementary particle that, along with the Z boson, mediates the weak force, which is responsible for a form of radioactivity and initiates the nuclear fusion reaction that powers the sun.

At a seminar held at CERN on Sept. 17, the CMS collaboration reported how it has analyzed proton–proton collision data from the second run of the Large Hadron Collider, the Laboratory's flagship particle accelerator, to make its first mass measurement of this fundamental particle.

The result is the most precise measurement of the W mass made so far at the LHC, and is in line with the prediction from the Standard Model of particle physics and with all previous measurements, except the measurement from the CDF experiment at the former proton–antiproton Tevatron collider at Fermilab

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Quantum tech breakthrough could enable precision sensing at room temperature
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-quantum-t ... ision.html
by University of Glasgow

A breakthrough in quantum technology research could help realize a new generation of precise quantum sensors that can operate at room temperature.

The research—carried out by an international team of researchers from the University of Glasgow, Imperial College London, and UNSW Sydney—shows how the quantum states of molecules can be controlled and sensitively detected under ambient conditions.

The findings could help unlock a new class of quantum sensors which could be used to probe biological systems, novel materials, or electronic devices by measuring magnetic fields with high sensitivity and spatial resolution.

Enabled by using molecules as the quantum sensor, future devices which build on the team's research could measure magnetic fields down to nanometer-length scales in a way which is convenient to deploy.

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Thermoelectric generator pulls energy from room temperature heat
By Michael Irving
September 26, 2024
https://newatlas.com/energy/thermoelect ... ture-heat/

Scientists in Japan have developed a new organic device that can harvest energy from heat. Unlike other thermoelectric generators, this one works at room temperature without a heat gradient.

Thermoelectric devices are designed to tap into a simple law of physics: heat energy moves from hotter regions to colder ones. In these devices, electrons move from the warmer surface to the cooler one, which produces an electric current. In theory, thermoelectric generators, materials and paints could produce electricity from small temperature differences in engines, power plants, even body heat.

Usually, the bigger the temperature gradient, the better the thermoelectric generator, but now scientists from Kyushu University in Japan have found a way to harness the relatively low energy available from room temperature, without a gradient at all.

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Evidence of ‘Negative Time’ Found in Quantum Physics Experiment

https://archive.ph/WaiOv

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First-ever teleportation of logical qubit using fault-tolerant methods
https://phys.org/news/2024-10-teleporta ... erant.html
by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

A team of engineers and physicists at quantum computing company Quantinuum has conducted the first-ever teleportation of a logical qubit using fault-tolerant methods. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes the setup and teleportation methods they used and the fidelity achieved by each.

One of the major sticking points in the development of a truly usable quantum computer has been the tendency of quantum computers to produce errors while working on solutions. One approach to reducing errors is the introduction of logical qubits, which can be leveraged across multiple physical qubits.

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https://home.cern/news/press-release/ph ... icle-decay