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Blog – Page 1751

Mid-infrared and terahertz laser pulses serve as potent instruments for altering the characteristics of quantum materials by specifically tailoring their crystal lattice. The induction of ferroelectricity in SrTiO3 when exposed to mid-infrared light is a significant example of this phenomenon. In this process, SrTiO3 undergoes a change to a state where electrical dipoles are permanently aligned, a condition not found in its natural state of equilibrium. The process driving this remarkable transformation remains a mystery.

Now, a team of researchers of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) in Germany and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the United States has performed an experiment at the SwissFEL X-ray Free-Electron Laser to identify the intrinsic interactions relevant to creating this state. The new insight was gained not by detecting the position of the atoms, but by measuring the fluctuations of these atomic positions.

The result provides evidence that these fluctuations are reduced, which may explain why the dipolar structure is more ordered than in equilibrium, and why a ferroelectric state could be induced. The work by the Cavalleri group has appeared in Nature Materials.

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Researchers analyzed emission data from quasar 3C 273 using two theoretical models, revealing complexities in understanding quasar behavior and the mechanics of supermassive black holes.

In a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal, JILA Fellow Jason Dexter, graduate student Kirk Long, and other collaborators compared two main theoretical models for emission data for a specific quasar, 3C 273. Using these theoretical models, astrophysicists like Dexter can better understand how these quasars form and change over time.

Quasars, or active galactic nuclei (AGN), are believed to be powered by supermassive black holes at their centers. Among the brightest objects in the universe, quasars emit a brilliant array of light across the electromagnetic spectrum. This emission carries vital information about the nature of the black hole and surrounding regions, providing clues that astrophysicists can exploit to better understand the black hole’s dynamics.

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Step into the enigmatic realm of neutron stars, where the universe showcases its extremes. This documentary-style video guides you through the life and legacy of neutron stars, the dense remnants left by supernovae, the explosive deaths of massive stars. We delve into the heart of these cosmic enigmas, exploring how they compress more mass than the sun into a sphere just kilometers across, resulting in densities and gravitational fields almost beyond comprehension. Discover the peculiarities of neutron star phenomena, such as pulsars that beam radio waves across the cosmos and magnetars with magnetic fields trillion times stronger than Earth’s.

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According to the CDC, more than 140,000 Americans are dying each year from alcohol-related causes, and the rate of deaths has been rising for years, especially during the pandemic.

The idea: For occasional drinkers, alcohol causes the brain to release more dopamine, a chemical that makes you feel good. Chronic alcohol use, however, causes the brain to produce, and process, less dopamine, and this persistent dopamine deficit has been linked to alcohol relapse.

There is currently no way to reverse the changes in the brain brought about by AUD, but a team of US researchers suspected that an in-development gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease might work as a dopamine-replenishing treatment for alcoholism, too.

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The highest sea cliffs in England have been hiding the oldest fossilized forest yet found on planet Earth. The long-lost ecosystem’s palm-like trees, called Calamophytons, are 390 million years old.

That’s roughly three or four million years older than the previous record holder, found across the Atlantic in New York State.

In southwest England, the red sandstone rock face where scientists found the imprints of logs, roots, and twigs was once considered “barren of trace fossils”

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