Lifeboat Foundation

When a star dies in a supernova, one possible outcome is for the remains to become a neutron star. Inside a neutron star, the protons and electrons combine into uncharged neutrons. This substance is called neutron matter.

A team of researchers from the United States, China, Turkey, and Germany has performed ab initio (i.e., from the most fundamental principles) simulations to calculate spin and density correlations in neutron matter. They used realistic nuclear interactions at higher densities of neutrons than previously explored. Spin and density are the probability of finding a neutron in a particular position with a particular direction of spin. These correlations determine key aspects of how neutrinos scatter and heat up in a core-collapse supernova.

The research is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

A team of physics educators from Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Germany is focusing on a new approach to teaching quantum physics in schools. Traditional classroom teaching has tended to focus on presenting the history of the origins of quantum physics, which often poses problems for learners.

Using the quantum measurement process as an example, the researchers have now published their first empirical findings on learning quantum physics —based on two-state systems—in Physical Review Physics Education Research.

The researchers, including physics education specialist Professor Philipp Bitzenbauer from Leipzig University, concentrate on what are known as qubits. These are two-state systems, the simplest and at the same time most important quantum systems that can be used to describe many situations. Controlling and manipulating these qubits plays a central role in modern quantum technologies.

A research team, led by Professor Jung-Woo Yoo from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UNIST has unveiled a new type of magnetic memory device, designed to reduce power consumption and heat generation in MRAM semiconductors. The work was published in Nature Communications on October 10, 2024.

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) represents the next generation of memory technology, combining the strengths of NAND flash and DRAM. It is a non-volatile storage solution, meaning data is preserved even when the device is powered off, while also achieving speeds comparable to DRAM. MRAM has already seen commercialization in sectors requiring fast and reliable data access.

Traditional MRAM devices rely on electric current to write and erase data. In these devices, when the magnetization directions of the two magnetic layers are aligned (parallel), the resistance is low; when they are opposite (antiparallel), the resistance is high. Data is then represented as binary states (0 and 1) based on these configurations. However, changing the magnetization direction necessitates a current exceeding a critical threshold, which leads to significant power consumption and heat generation.

Every day, researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory tackle some of the biggest questions in science and technology—from laying the foundations for new drugs to developing new battery materials and solving big data challenges associated with particle physics and cosmology.

To get a hand with that work, they are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence. “AI will help accelerate our science and technology further,” said Ryan Coffee, a SLAC senior scientist. “I am really excited about that.”

The type of semiconductive nanocrystals known as quantum dots is not only expanding the forefront of pure science but also playing a crucial role in practical applications, including lasers, quantum QLED televisions and displays, solar cells, medical devices, and other electronics.

A new technique for growing these microscopic crystals, recently published in Science, has not only found a new, more efficient way to build a useful type of quantum dot, but also opened up a whole group of novel chemical materials for future researchers’ exploration.

“I am excited to see how researchers across the globe can harness this technique to prepare previously unimaginable nanocrystals,” said first author Justin Ondry, a former postdoctoral researcher in UChicago’s Talapin Lab.

Scientists made a major advancement in X-ray science by creating high-power attosecond hard X-ray pulses with megahertz repetition rates, allowing for ultrafast electron dynamics study and atomic-level non-destructive measurements.

These pulses are significant due to their ability to capture quick electron movements, leading to potential applications in attosecond crystallography and transformative impacts across various scientific disciplines.

Breakthrough in X-Ray Pulse Technology.

A groundbreaking system promises to greatly accelerate research on the fundamental properties of antimatter.

By achieving lower temperatures of trapped antiprotons, they aim to uncover why the universe favors matter over antimatter, a pivotal question in physics.

Antimatter Research Enhancements

Distortions in pulsar signals reveal flaws in galactic models, pointing to new opportunities for understanding the universe and studying cosmic waves.

By analyzing patterns in pulsar signals, researchers discovered discrepancies in existing models of how the galaxy impacts pulsar signals, suggesting that these models need updates. The findings not only deepen our understanding of the universe but also improve our ability to study phenomena like gravitational waves.

Dr. Sofia Sheikh from the SETI Institute led a groundbreaking study that explores how pulsar signals—emissions from the spinning remnants of massive stars—become distorted as they travel through space. Published on November 26 in The Astrophysical Journal, this research was conducted by a group of undergraduate students from the Penn State branch of the Pulsar Search Collaboratory, a student club dedicated to pulsar science.

Researchers have achieved high gate fidelities up to 99.98% using a new double-transmon coupler. This development enhances quantum computing performance and supports the advancement toward fault-tolerant systems.

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Toshiba have developed a quantum computer gate using a double-transmon coupler (DTC), a device previously proposed in theory to enhance the fidelity of quantum gates significantly. With this innovation, the team achieved a fidelity of 99.92% for a two-qubit device known as a CZ gate and 99.98% for a single-qubit gate.

This milestone, part of the Q-LEAP project, not only improves the performance of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices but also lays the groundwork for fault-tolerant quantum computation through more effective error correction.