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Category: particle physics – Page 8

Is A Mirror Universe Trapping Our Antimatter?

What happened to GUT grand unified theory.

Is our missing antimatter hiding in a mirror universe?
Some scientists think a time-reversed anti-universe exists alongside ours — a place where antimatter rules and their “forward” is our “backwards.” If true, it could solve one of physics’ biggest mysteries.

In this video: the antimatter imbalance, CPT symmetry, and what life in a mirror reality might be like.

Could our missing antimatter be hiding in a parallel, time-reversed universe?
Physicists have long puzzled over one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology: why our universe is made almost entirely of matter, when the Big Bang should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. Some theories suggest that the answer lies in a mirror universe — a realm where antimatter dominates and time flows in the opposite direction to ours.

In this episode of Stellar Stories, we explore:

Continue reading “Is A Mirror Universe Trapping Our Antimatter?” | >

Wave-like domain walls drive polarization switching in sliding ferroelectrics, study finds

Sliding ferroelectrics are a type of two-dimensional (2D) material realized by stacking nonpolar monolayers (atom-thick layers that lack an electric dipole). When these individual layers are stacked, they produce ferroelectric materials with an intrinsic polarization (i.e., in which positive and negative charges are spontaneously separated), which can be switched using an external electric field that is perpendicular to them.

Understanding the mechanisms driving the switching of this polarization in sliding ferroelectrics has been a key goal of many studies rooted in physics and materials science. This could ultimately inform the development of new advanced nanoscale electronics and quantum technologies.

Researchers at Westlake University and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China recently uncovered a new mechanism that could drive the switching of polarization in sliding ferroelectrics. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters (PRL), suggests that polarization switching in the materials is prompted by wave-like movements of domain walls (i.e., boundaries between regions with an opposite polarization), rather than by synchronized shifts affecting entire monolayers at once, as was assumed by some earlier works.

Experimental device demonstrates how electron beams reconfigure plasma structure

In a scientific first, South Korean scientists have provided experimental proof of “multi-scale coupling” in plasma, where interactions between phenomena at the microscopic level and macroscopic level influence each other. The findings could help advance nuclear fusion research and improve our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Plasma is often referred to as the fourth state of matter, distinct from solid, liquid and gaseous states. This unique state is formed when you heat a gas to such high temperatures that electrons are stripped away from their atoms, creating a mix of free-floating positively and negatively charged particles. This state of matter is the most abundant in the universe, and take place within it.

Proving multi-scale coupling has been a long-standing challenge in . But in a study published in Nature, a research team led by Dr. Jong Yoon Park from Seoul National University and Dr. Young Dae Yoon from the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) proved how microscopic phenomena induce macroscopic changes that affect the entire plasma system.

Powerful form of quantum interference paves the way for phonon-based technologies

Just as overlapping ripples on a pond can amplify or cancel each other out, waves of many kinds—including light, sound and atomic vibrations—can interfere with one another. At the quantum level, this kind of interference powers high-precision sensors and could be harnessed for quantum computing.

In a new study published in Science Advances, researchers at Rice University and collaborators have demonstrated a strong form of interference between phonons—the vibrations in a material’s structure that constitute the tiniest units (quanta) of heat or sound in that system. The phenomenon where two phonons with different frequency distributions interfere with each other, known as Fano resonance, was two orders of magnitude greater than any previously reported.

“While this phenomenon is well-studied for particles like electrons and photons, interference between phonons has been much less explored,” said Kunyan Zhang, a former postdoctoral researcher at Rice and first author on the study. “That is a missed opportunity, since phonons can maintain their wave behavior for a long time, making them promising for stable, high-performance devices.”

South Africa and China set up a quantum communication link: How we did it and why it’s historic

A major breakthrough in quantum technology was achieved in October 2024: the first-ever quantum satellite communication link between China and South Africa. The connection spanned a remarkable 12,900 km: the longest intercontinental quantum communication link established to date. The longest before this was 7,600 km and within the northern hemisphere only.

It was achieved with quantum , a method for a sender and receiver to share a secure key that they can use to safely send messages. Any interception during transmission leaves traces that can be detected. It involves sending single photons (tiny particles of light).

If someone tries to intercept the photons, the photons get disturbed because of quantum physics. Quantum physics is the study of matter and energy at the most fundamental level. Sender and receiver use only undisturbed photons, making the key to the message ultra secure. The key can be sent via optical fiber or free-space, including satellites.

US finds missing particle that makes quantum computing fully possible

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) in the US turned to an often overlooked particle for storing and processing quantum information to overcome the fragility of quantum computers and make them more universal in the near future.

Positioning one such particle in a quantum computer can help overcome errors in quantum computing, a university press release said.

The age of quantum computing promises computations at speeds that will make even the fastest supercomputers of today appear like snails. These computers leverage quantum properties of materials to store information in quantum bits or ‘qubits’

From lead to gold in a flash at the Large Hadron Collider

At the Large Hadron Collider, scientists from the University of Kansas achieved a fleeting form of modern-day alchemy — turning lead into gold for just a fraction of a second. Using ultra-peripheral collisions, where ions nearly miss but interact through powerful photon exchanges, they managed to knock protons out of nuclei, creating new, short-lived elements. This breakthrough not only grabbed global attention but could help design safer, more advanced particle accelerators of the future.

Quantum “Schrödinger’s Cat” Survives For Mind-Blowing 23 Minutes In Record-Breaking Experiment

A yet-to-be peer-reviewed study by scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China involved cooling 10,000 ytterbium atoms to just a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero and trapping them using light. Each atom was precisely controlled and placed into a superposition of two distinct spin states. This is known as a “quantum cat” state.

In the famous Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment, we see a cat closed in a box with a poison activated by a random quantum process. Without opening the box, we cannot ascertain the state of the cat, so it is both alive and dead, two contradictory states in the non-quantum reality we experience. In the quantum world, quantum cat states are superpositions where a quantum state can exist in several ways at once, although it’s impossible to tell which one it really is, so it’s effectively all of them at once.

In the recent experiment, it is the length of this quantum cat state that is astounding. In nature, the superposition will collapse into one or the other in a fraction of a second, but here it persisted for 1,400 seconds. The team thinks that with a better vacuum system, it can be made to last even longer.

Unlocking the secrets of our galaxy’s heart using magnetic fields

Deep in the heart of our galaxy lies one of the most chaotic and mysterious regions in space. Now, scientists have created the first detailed map of magnetic fields in this turbulent zone, providing crucial insights into how stars form and evolve in extreme environments.

The research, led by University of Chicago Ph.D. student Roy Zhao, focused on a region called Sagittarius C, located in the c near the center of the Milky Way. This area serves as what researchers call an astrophysical “Rosetta Stone,” an area key to understanding the complex interactions between dense gas clouds, star formation, and powerful magnetic fields that shape our galaxy.

The team used NASA’s now retired flying telescope SOFIA to study infrared light emitted by tiny dust grains scattered throughout the region. These microscopic particles act like compasses, aligning themselves with magnetic field lines and by analyzing the polarized light they emit, it’s possible to map the invisible magnetic fields for the first time.

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