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Category: particle physics – Page 54

New quantum ‘game’ showcases the promise of quantum computers

Imagine the tiniest game of checkers in the world—one played by using lasers to precisely shuffle around ions across a very small grid.

That’s the idea behind a recent study published in the journal Physical Review Letters. A team of theoretical physicists from Colorado has designed a new type of quantum “game” that scientists can play on a real quantum computer—or a device that manipulates small objects, such as atoms, to perform calculations.

The researchers even tested their game out on one such device, the Quantinuum System Model H1 Quantum Computer developed by the company Quantinuum. The study is a collaboration between scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and Quantinuum, which is based in Broomfield, Colorado.

Astrophysicists propose new method to directly detect ultralight dark matter

The detection of dark matter, the elusive type of matter predicted to make up most of the universe’s mass, is a long-standing goal in the field of astrophysics. As dark matter does not emit, reflect or absorb light, it cannot be observed using conventional experimental methods.

A promising dark matter candidate is so-called ultralight dark matter, which consists of particles with extremely low masses. Astrophysicists have been searching for these ultralight using various approaches and methods, yet they have not yet been detected.

Researchers at the University of Florida recently proposed a new method for the direct detection of ultralight dark matter particles, which is based on astrometry, the precise measurement of the positions and motions of celestial objects.

Integration method enables high-performance oxide-based spintronic devices on silicon substrates

A research team from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has proposed a hybrid transfer and epitaxy strategy, enabling the heterogeneous integration of single-crystal oxide spin Hall materials on silicon substrates for high-performance oxide-based spintronic devices.

The study is published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Spintronic devices are gaining attention as a key direction for next-generation information technologies due to their , non-volatility, and ultra-fast operating capabilities.

Secrets of superfluid: How dipolar interactions shape two-dimensional superfluid behavior

In a recent study, researchers made a significant observation of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phase transition in a 2D dipolar gas of ultracold atoms. This work marks a milestone in understanding how 2D superfluids behave with long-range and anisotropic dipolar interactions. The researchers are an international team of physicists, led by Prof. Jo Gyu-Boong from the Department of Physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).

Their findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

In conventional three-dimensional (3D) systems, , such as ice melting into water, are governed by the spontaneous breakdown of symmetries. However, pioneering work in the 1970s predicted that two-dimensional (2D) systems could host a unique topological phase transition known as the BKT transition, where vortex-antivortex pairs drive superfluidity without conventional symmetry breaking, with interaction playing a crucial role. Since then, this phenomenon had primarily been studied in various quantum systems with only short-range isotropic contact interactions.

A pioneering spectrometer for high photon energy X-rays

Researchers at the European XFEL have developed a new device for X-ray measurements at high photon energies—a so-called Laue spectrometer. It enables X-ray light with photon energies of more than 15 kiloelectronvolts to be detected with improved efficiency and highest precision.

This is important for researching technically significant materials that, for example, transport electricity without losses or ensure that chemical processes run more efficiently. The findings are published in the Journal of Synchrotron Radiation.

To unravel the secrets of the world of atoms, molecules and materials in general, scientists often use special measurement devices known as spectrometers. They work by recording the light that objects emit. From the way in which the objects do that, researchers learn a lot about the physical processes that take place in the materials.

Study realizes symmetry-protected molecular qubits based on cold polyatomic molecules

Over the past decades, researchers have been trying to develop increasingly advanced and powerful quantum computers, which could outperform classical computers on some tasks. To attain this, they have been trying to identify new ways to store and manipulate qubits, which are the fundamental units of information in quantum computing systems.

So far, most studies have developed that store qubits using superconducting materials, trapped ions, and the spin of electrons confined in quantum dots (i.e., tiny semiconductor-based structures).

Another promising and yet so far rarely explored platform for the storage and manipulation of qubits relies on polar polyatomic molecules, which are molecules with more than two atoms and an uneven distribution of electric charge.

Glowing gunshot residue: New method illuminates crime scene clues

Crime scene investigation may soon become significantly more accurate and efficient thanks to a new method for detecting gunshot residues. Researchers from the groups of Wim Noorduin (AMOLF/University of Amsterdam) and Arian van Asten (University of Amsterdam) developed the technique that converts lead particles found in gunshot residue into light-emitting semiconductors. This method is faster, more sensitive, and easier to use than current alternatives.

Forensic experts at the Amsterdam police force are already testing it in actual crime scene investigations. The researchers published their findings in Forensic Science International on March 9.

Europa’s Plume Morphology Shaped by Gas Drag

The study notes, “These findings underscore the complexity of Europa’s plume activity. Our results provide a framework to explore various plume characteristics, including gas drag, particle size, initial ejection velocities, and gas production rates, and the resulting plume morphologies and deposition outcomes.”

How do the water vapor plumes on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, contribute to the interaction between the moon’s surface and subsurface environments? This is what a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how gas drag could influence the direction of particles being emitted by Europa’s water vapor plumes, specifically regarding where they land on the surface, either near the plumes or farther out. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the surface-subsurface interactions on Europa and what this could mean for finding life as we know it.

Artist’s illustration of Europa’s water vapor plumes. (Credit: NASA/ESA/K. Retherford/SWRI)

For the study, the researchers used a series of computer models to simulate how the speed and direction of dust particles emitted from the plumes could be influenced by a process called gas drag, which could decrease the speed and direction of dust particles exiting the plumes. In the end, the researchers found that gas drag greatly influences dust behavior, with smaller dust particles ranging in size from 0.001 to 0.1 micrometers becoming more spread out after eruption and larger dust particles ranging in size from 0.1 to 10 micrometers landing near the plume sites.

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