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Category: quantum physics – Page 80

Atomic Anomaly Confirmed! Evidence for a “dark force”?

Check out my quantum mechanics course on Brilliant! First 30 days are free and 20% off the annual premium subscription when you use our link ➜ https://brilliant.org/sabine.

In 2020, a group of MIT researchers detected an anomaly in the nuclei of ytterbium atoms. They said that the nuclei’s strange behavior might be indicative of a “dark force” caused by a currently-undiscovered mystery particle that might make up dark matter. In 2020, the anomaly only had a significance of 3 sigma. But now, another group has confirmed it at a whopping 23 sigma! What does that mean for physics? Let’s find out.

Paper: https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract… Check out my new quiz app ➜ http://quizwithit.com/ 💌 Support me on Donorbox ➜ https://donorbox.org/swtg 📝 Transcripts and written news on Substack ➜ https://sciencewtg.substack.com/ 👉 Transcript with links to references on Patreon ➜ / sabine 📩 Free weekly science newsletter ➜ https://sabinehossenfelder.com/newsle… 👂 Audio only podcast ➜ https://open.spotify.com/show/0MkNfXl… 🔗 Join this channel to get access to perks ➜ / @sabinehossenfelder 🖼️ On instagram ➜ / sciencewtg #science #sciencenews #physics #darkmatter.

🤓 Check out my new quiz app ➜ http://quizwithit.com/
💌 Support me on Donorbox ➜ https://donorbox.org/swtg.
📝 Transcripts and written news on Substack ➜ https://sciencewtg.substack.com/
👉 Transcript with links to references on Patreon ➜ / sabine.
📩 Free weekly science newsletter ➜ https://sabinehossenfelder.com/newsle…
👂 Audio only podcast ➜ https://open.spotify.com/show/0MkNfXl…
🔗 Join this channel to get access to perks ➜
/ @sabinehossenfelder.
🖼️ On instagram ➜ / sciencewtg.

#science #sciencenews #physics #darkmatter

Twisting 2D materials creates artificial atoms that could advance quantum computers

By taking two flakes of special materials that are just one atom thick and twisting them at high angles, researchers at the University of Rochester have unlocked unique optical properties that could be used in quantum computers and other quantum technologies.

Physicists Bend Time Inside a Diamond, Creating a Brand-New Phase of Matter

Physicists at Washington University have forged ahead in the field of quantum mechanics by creating a new phase of matter known as “time crystals” and the even more advanced “time quasicrystals.”

These groundbreaking materials defy traditional physics by maintaining perpetual motion and could revolutionize quantum computing.

Performing computation using quantum-mechanical phenomena such as superposition and entanglement.

A new computational method for super-large-scale atomic structures

New theoretical physics research introduces a simulation method of machine-learning-based effective Hamiltonian for super-large-scale atomic structures. This effective Hamiltonian method could simulate much larger structures than the methods based on quantum mechanisms and classical mechanics.

The findings are published in npj Computational Materials under the title, “Active learning of effective Hamiltonian for super-large-scale .” The paper was authored by an international team of physicists, including the University of Arkansas, Nanjing University, and the University of Luxembourg.

In ferroelectrics and dielectrics, there is one kind of structure—mesoscopic structure, which usually has atoms more than millions.

Quantum Breakthrough: Scientists Create Schrödinger-Cat State With Record-Long Lifetime

A research team led by Prof. Zhengtian Lu and Researcher Tian Xia from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has successfully created a quantum state with a lifetime on the scale of minutes using optically trapped cold atoms. This breakthrough significantly improves the sensitivity of quantum metrology measurements. Their findings were published in Nature Photonics

<em> Nature Photonics </em> is a prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by the Nature Publishing Group. Launched in January 2007, the journal focuses on the field of photonics, which includes research into the science and technology of light generation, manipulation, and detection. Its content ranges from fundamental research to applied science, covering topics such as lasers, optical devices, photonics materials, and photonics for energy. In addition to research papers, <em> Nature Photonics </em> also publishes reviews, news, and commentary on significant developments in the photonics field. It is a highly respected publication and is widely read by researchers, academics, and professionals in the photonics and related fields.

Quantum genesis: The emergence of a flat universe and its mirror from nothing

I’ve long been fascinated by the fundamental mystery of our universe’s origin. In my work, I explore an alternative to the traditional singularity-based models of cosmology. Instead of a universe emerging from an infinitely dense point, I propose that a flat universe and its time-reversed partner—an anti-universe—can emerge together from nothing through a smooth, quantum process.

This model, described in a manuscript accepted for publication in Europhysics Letters, addresses some of the key challenges in earlier proposals, such as the Hartle–Hawking no-boundary and Vilenkin’s tunneling approaches.

Light-powered artificial neurons mimic brain-like oscillations

International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) researchers have developed a neuromorphic photonic semiconductor neuron capable of processing optical information through self-sustained oscillations. Exploring the use of light to control negative differential resistance (NDR) in a micropillar quantum resonant tunneling diode (RTD), the research indicates that this approach could lead to highly efficient light-driven neuromorphic computing systems.

Neuromorphic computing seeks to replicate the information-processing capabilities of biological neural networks. Neurons in rely on rhythmic burst firing for sensory encoding, , and network synchronization, functions that depend on oscillatory activity for signal transmission and processing.

Existing neuromorphic approaches replicate these processes using electrical, mechanical, or thermal stimuli, but optical-based systems offer advantages in speed, energy efficiency, and miniaturization. While previous research has demonstrated photonic synapses and artificial afferent nerves, these implementations require additional circuits that increase power consumption and complexity.

Dialing in the temperature needed for precise nuclear timekeeping

For decades, atomic clocks have been the pinnacle of precision timekeeping, enabling GPS navigation, cutting-edge physics research, and tests of fundamental theories. But researchers at JILA, led by JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Jun Ye, in collaboration with the Technical University of Vienna, are pushing beyond atomic transitions to something potentially even more stable: a nuclear clock.

This clock could revolutionize timekeeping by using a uniquely low-energy transition within the nucleus of a thorium-229 atom. This transition is less sensitive to environmental disturbances than modern atomic clocks and has been proposed for tests of fundamental physics beyond the Standard Model.

This idea isn’t new in Ye’s laboratory. In fact, work in the lab on nuclear clocks began with a landmark experiment, the results of which were published as a cover article of Nature last year, where the team made the first frequency-based, quantum-state-resolved measurement of the thorium-229 nuclear transition in a thorium-doped host crystal. This achievement confirmed that thorium’s nuclear transition could be measured with enough precision to be used as a timekeeping reference.

Quantum behaviour in brain neurons looks theoretically possible

A new study probing quantum phenomena in neurons as they transmit messages in the brain could provide fresh insight into how our brains function.

In this project, described in the Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, theoretical physicist Partha Ghose from the Tagore Centre for Natural Sciences and Philosophy in India, together with theoretical neuroscientist Dimitris Pinotsis from City St George’s, University of London and the MillerLab of MIT, proved that established equations describing the classical physics of brain responses are mathematically equivalent to equations describing quantum mechanics. Ghose and Pinotsis then derived a Schrödinger-like equation specifically for neurons.

Our brains process information via a vast network containing many millions of neurons, which can each send and receive chemical and electrical signals. Information is transmitted by nerve impulses that pass from one neuron to the next, thanks to a flow of ions across the neuron’s cell membrane. This results in an experimentally detectable change in electrical potential difference across the membrane known as the “action potential” or “spike”

Q&A: Crystallizing time—physicists create a new phase of matter in the center of a diamond

In their ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of quantum possibilities, physicists in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis have created a new type of “time crystal,” a novel phase of matter that defies common perceptions of motion and time.

The WashU research team includes Kater Murch, the Charles M. Hohenberg Professor of Physics, Chong Zu, an assistant professor of physics, and Zu’s graduate students Guanghui He, Ruotian “Reginald” Gong, Changyu Yao, and Zhongyuan Liu. Bingtian Ye from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University’s Norman Yao are also authors of the research, which has been published in the journal Physical Review X.

Zu, He, and Ye spoke about their achievement and the implications of catching time in a crystal.