Schematic illustration of photon scattering from a two-level emitter in a photonic crystal waveguide (PhC WG). A weak coherent state is coupled to the PhC WG via a shallowly etched grating (SEG). In the photon scattering image, a single-photon wave packet is mainly reflected by elastic scattering on a two-level emitter, while the two-photon wave … Read more
Heatmaps of historical (1970–1999) and predicted (2070–2098) changes in Shannon’s diversity index over the nine elevation ranges studied. Credit: Geophysical research letters (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024GL109483 As climate change progresses, its effects are not universally uniform, with temperatures increasing at different latitudes and altitudes. Climate heterogeneity is the study of this diversity in Earth’s climate patterns, … Read more
A restored oyster reef in a sanctuary in the James River, Maryland. Credit: Fisheries Conservation Lab, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center In the campaign to restore the Chesapeake Bay, oyster sanctuaries are among the most controversial strategies. But new research suggests these no-harvest zones are working, and not just for the oysters. In a new study … Read more
Antarctica’s Larsen Ice Shelf has been breaking up for decades, but the 2002 Larsen B collapse was particularly dramatic. After being stable for at least 10,000 years, a large section of the shelf broke apart, with repercussions felt across the planet. The widespread changes in Antarctica have been extensively studied and published, but contextualizing and … Read more
An image of the cyanobacterium Tolypothrix. Source: Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 The human body’s inability to break down sucralose, an artificial sweetener found in many low-calorie food and beverage products, has been well established by scientific research. The compound is so stable that it escapes wastewater treatment and finds its way into drinking water … Read more
Microbial dynamics during fermentation influence the performance of industrial bioethanol production. Credit: Nature communication (2024). DOI file: 10.1038/s41467-024-49683-2 A new technique to monitor pollution in bioethanol production could increase revenues by more than $1.6 billion and reduce carbon emissions.2 -emissions by 2 million tons. For the first time ever, researchers from the Novo Nordisk Foundation … Read more
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Ever notice that a polyester T-shirt stinks more than a cotton one after you work out? New research from the University of Alberta now shows why. Analysis of various fibers soaked in a solution of simulated sweat showed that cotton and viscose, cellulose fibers or vegetable fibers absorbed and then released … Read more
Experimental setup of the superposition of quantum evolution and its inverse evolution. Credit: Prof. Li Chuanfeng’s team A research team has constructed a coherent superposition of quantum evolution with two opposite directions in a photonic system and confirmed its advantage in characterizing input-output indeterminacy. The study was published in Physical assessment letters. The idea that … Read more
Phase diagram as a function of the total density 𝑛 and the proton fraction 𝑥 at N3LO. The neutron droplet and proton droplet phases are given by the regions enclosed by the blue and red lines. Credit: Physical assessment letters (2024). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.232701 Neutron stars are extreme and mysterious objects that astrophysicists cannot see inside. … Read more
Multiple photonic orbitals emerge within a photonic crystal superlattice. Credit: Physical assessment B (2024). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.109.235141 Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands have gained important insights into photons, the elementary particles that make up light. They ‘behave’ in an astonishingly greater variety than electrons that surround atoms, while also being much easier … Read more