Nanotechnology

High-speed electron camera discovers new ‘light-distorting’ behavior in ultra-thin material

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Snapshot taken by SLAC’s High Speed ​​Electron Camera, an ultrashort electron diffraction (MeV-UED) instrument, showing evidence of circular polarization of terahertz light through an ultrathin sample of tungsten ditelluride. Source: Nano letters (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00758 While taking snapshots with the high-speed electron camera at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Acceleratory Laboratory, researchers discovered new … Read more

Fermionic Hubbard quantum simulator observes antiferromagnetic phase transition

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This image shows the ultracold atomic quantum simulator. The red and blue balls represent the fermionic atoms with up and down spins respectively, arranged in a stacked pattern in 3D space, forming the antiferromagnetic crystal. The glass cell provides the ultrahigh vacuum environment for the ultracold atoms. Credit: Chen Lei In a study published in … Read more

Astronomers suggest that up to 60% of objects close to Earth could be dark comets

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Source: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain According to a study by the University of Michigan, up to 60% of objects near Earth could be dark comets. These are mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system and probably contain or once contained ice. These asteroids could have been one of the routes for delivering water … Read more

Researchers discover a new form of scientific fraud: revealing ‘hidden references’

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Source: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A researcher working alone, disconnected from the world and the wider scientific community, is a classic but misleading image. In reality, research is based on continuous exchange within the scientific community: first you understand the work of others, then you share your findings. Reading and writing articles published in scientific journals … Read more

Physicists move one step closer to topological quantum computing

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Quantum transport simulation of CAR in an approximate QAHI thin film. a, Schematic of the transport simulation setup with a magnetic TI (MTI) thin film in the QAHI state. b, The disorder-averaged electron-to-hole conversion probability. c, The components of local current densities transported by electrons and holes, as well as at the top and bottom, … Read more

Research shows generation of orbital current via magnetization dynamics

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Experimental setup for detecting orbital pumping. Credit: Hayashi et al. Electrons inherently carry both spin and orbital angular momentum (i.e., properties that help understand the rotational motions and behavior of particles). Although some physicists and engineers have attempted to harness the spin angular momentum of electrons to develop new technologies known as spintronics, the orbital … Read more

Model study suggests a diamond layer at Mercury’s core-mantle boundary

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Proposed scenario for diamond formation at the core-mantle boundary of Mercury. (a) Crystallization of the carbon-saturated silicate magma ocean and the potential, but unlikely, early production of diamond at its base. Graphite was the major phase formed in the magma ocean and accumulated at the surface to form an ancient graphitic crust. (b) During crystallization … Read more

Tiny TnpB: the next-generation genome editing tool for plants unveiled

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Albino rice plants created with TnpB by disrupting the gene responsible for producing green color. Credit: Kutubuddin Molla and Subhasis Karmakar Genome editing is one of the most transformative scientific breakthroughs of our time. It allows us to delve into the code of life and make precise adjustments. Imagine being able to rewrite the genetic … Read more

New incompletely rifted microcontinent identified between Greenland and Canada

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Schematic representation of the evolution of the Labrador Sea, Baffin Bay and Davis Strait through the Paleogene. Abbreviations: Pre-Ungava Transform Margin (Pre-UTM), Davis Strait proto-microcontinent (DSPM), Ungava Fracture Zone (UFZ). Credit: Longley et al. 2024. Plate tectonics is the driving force behind Earth’s continental configurations, with the lithosphere (oceanic and continental crust and upper mantle) … Read more

Scientists say aurora, caused by head-on collisions with Earth’s magnetic field, could damage critical infrastructure

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Credit: Harrison Haines from Pexels Auroras have inspired myths and omens for millennia, but only now, with modern technology that relies on electricity, do we appreciate their true power. The same forces that cause auroras also generate currents that can damage infrastructure that carries electricity, such as pipelines. Now scientists are writing in Frontiers in … Read more