At a fundamental level, only a few particles and forces govern all of reality. How do their combinations create human consciousness?
In a groundbreaking discovery published in the prestigious Astrophysical Journal, scientists have identified a rare dust particle lodged within an ancient extraterrestrial meteorite, shedding new light on the origins of stars beyond our solar system.
Advanced Research Techniques
Led by Dr. Nicole Nevill of the Universities Space Research Association at LPI, during her Ph.D. studies at Curtin University, the research team meticulously analyzed the dust particle, delving into its atomic composition with unparalleled precision using atom probe tomography.
Researchers at Tohoku University and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency have developed fundamental experiments and theories to manipulate the geometry of the ‘electron universe,’ which describes the structure of electronic quantum states in a manner mathematically similar to the actual universe, within a magnetic material under ambient conditions.
The investigated geometric property – i.e., the quantum metric – was detected as an electric signal distinct from ordinary electrical conduction. This breakthrough reveals the fundamental quantum science of electrons and paves the way for designing innovative spintronic devices utilizing the unconventional conduction emerging from the quantum metric.
The big bang is the model that describes the birth and evolution of the universe. But where did the term come from? What does it actually mean?
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Partly because of semiconductors, electronic devices and systems become more advanced and sophisticated every day. That’s why for decades researchers have studied ways to improve semiconductor compounds to influence how they carry electrical current. One approach is to use isotopes to change the physical, chemical and technological properties of materials.
Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons and thus different masses. Isotope engineering has traditionally focused on enhancing so-called bulk materials that have uniform properties in three dimensions, or 3D.
But new research led by ORNL has advanced the frontier of isotope engineering where current is confined in two dimensions, or 2D, inside flat crystals and where a layer is only a few atoms thick. The 2D materials are promising because their ultrathin nature could allow for precise control over their electronic properties.
The experiment confirmed their suspicions. By supercooling the dysprosium atoms, splitting them into spin-based layers with the lasers, and stabilizing the lasers with the optical fiber, they successfully achieved a 50-nanometer separation – the closest arrangement ever achieved in ultracold atom experiments.
This dramatic proximity significantly amplified the natural magnetic interactions between the atoms, making them a thousand times stronger than at 500 nanometers. The team observed two fascinating quantum phenomena: collective oscillation, where vibrations in one layer triggered synchronized vibrations in the other, and thermalization, where heat transfer occurred between the layers solely through fluctuating magnetic fields within the atoms.
QUIONE, a unique quantum-gas microscope developed by ICFO researchers in Spain, utilizes strontium to simulate complex quantum systems and explore materials at the atomic level. It aims to solve problems beyond current computational capabilities and has already demonstrated phenomena like superfluidity.
Quantum physics needs high-precision sensing techniques to delve deeper into the microscopic properties of materials. From the analog quantum processors that have emerged recently, the so-called quantum-gas microscopes have proven to be powerful tools for understanding quantum systems at the atomic level. These devices produce images of quantum gases with very high resolution: they allow individual atoms to be detected.
Development of QUIONE.
Researchers use a laser to excite and precisely measure a long-sought exotic nuclear state, paving the way for precise timekeeping and ultrasensitive quantum sensing.
Any reliably produced, periodic phenomenon—from the swing of a pendulum to the vibrations of a single atom—can form the basis of a clock. Today’s most precise timekeeping is based on extremely narrow electronic transitions in atoms, which resonate at optical frequencies. These stupendously precise optical atomic clocks lose just 1 second (s) in about 30 billion years. However, they could potentially be outperformed by a nuclear clock, which would instead “tick” to the resonant frequency of a transition that occurs in the atomic nucleus instead of in the electronic shell. The most promising candidate for this nuclear standard is an exceptionally low-energy and long-lived excited state, or isomer, of the isotope thorium-229 (229 Th). Researchers have now achieved the long-sought goal of exciting this transition with ultraviolet light.
Precisely measuring the energy states of individual atoms has been a historical challenge for physicists due to atomic recoil. When an atom interacts with a photon, the atom “recoils” in the opposite direction, making it difficult to measure the position and momentum of the atom precisely. This recoil can have big implications for quantum sensing, which detects minute changes in parameters, for example, using changes in gravitational waves to determine the shape of the Earth or even detect dark matter.
MIT physicists have developed a technique that allows them to arrange atoms in much closer proximity, down to a mere 50 nanometers.
Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible to explore exotic states of matter and build new quantum materials.
