The collision and merger of two neutron stars—the incredibly dense remnants of collapsed stars—are some of the most energetic events in the universe, producing a variety of signals that can be observed on Earth.
New simulations of neutron star mergers by a team from Penn State and the University of Tennessee Knoxville reveal that the mixing and changing of tiny particles called neutrinos that can travel astronomical distances undisturbed impacts how the merger unfolds, as well as the resulting emissions. The findings have implications for longstanding questions about the origins of metals and rare earth elements as well as understanding physics in extreme environments, the researchers said.
The paper, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, is the first to simulate the transformation of neutrino “flavors” in neutron star mergers. Neutrinos are fundamental particles that interact weakly with other matter, and come in three flavors, named for the other particles they associate with: electron, muon and tau. Under specific conditions, including the inside of a neutron star, neutrinos can theoretically change flavors, which can change the types of particles with which they interact.
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In quantum mechanics, particles such as electrons act like waves and can even interfere with themselves—a striking and counterintuitive feature that defies our classical view of reality. We know this kind of interference happens in space, where different paths can overlap and combine, but what if we could take it further? What if we could control quantum interference in time, where electrons created at different moments interfere?
In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, a team of researchers developed a novel technique—chirped laser-assisted dynamic interference—to manipulate temporal quantum interference during photoionization.
By using extreme-ultraviolet pulses with time-varying central frequency, in combination with intense infrared laser fields, they guided electron motion with unprecedented precision.
University of Bristol astrophysicists are helping shed new light on an Earth-sized exoplanet 40 light years away where liquid water in the form of a global ocean or icy expanse might exist on its surface. That would only be possible if an atmosphere is present—a big mystery that the scientists are attempting to unravel and now even closer to solving using the largest telescope in space.
Deploying NASA’s JWST, the researchers have reached these discoveries as part of a major international project which is probing the atmosphere and surface of TRAPPIST-1e, also more simply known as planet e in the system, orbiting within the habitable zone of red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1.
Exoplanets are highly varied planets which orbit stars outside the solar system. Planet e is of particular interest because the presence of liquid water—not too hot or cold—is theoretically viable, but only if the planet has an atmosphere.
This is a ~50-minute talk titled “Substrate-dependent mathematics hypothesis” by Olaf Witkowski (https://olafwitkowski.com/), presented for our Platonic Space symposium (https://thoughtforms.life/symposium-on-the-platonic-space/).
Researchers Mitsuyoshi Kamba, Naoki Hara, and Kiyotaka Aikawa of the University of Tokyo have successfully demonstrated quantum squeezing of the motion of a nanoscale particle, a motion whose uncertainty is smaller than that of quantum mechanical fluctuations.
As enhancing the measurement precision of sensors is vital in many modern technologies, the achievement paves the way not only for basic research in fundamental physics but also for applications such as accurate autonomous driving and navigation without a GPS signal. The findings are published in the journal Science.
The physical world at the macroscale, from dust particles to planets, is governed by the laws of classical mechanics discovered by Newton in the 17th century. The physical world at the microscale, atoms and below, is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, which lead to phenomena generally not observed at the macroscale.
