A theory first applied to phase transitions in the early Universe and then to defects in superfluid helium can now account for a wider variety of systems.
A detailed study of a reaction between a molecular ion and a neutral atom has implications for both atmospheric and interstellar chemistry.
Reactions between ions and neutral atoms or molecules occur in various settings, from planetary atmospheres to plasmas. They are also the driving force behind rich reaction chains at play in the interstellar medium (ISM)—the giant clouds of gas and dust occupying the space between stars. The ISM is cold, highly dilute, and abundant with ionizing radiation [1]. These conditions are usually unfavorable for chemistry. Yet, more than 300 molecular species have been detected in the ISM to date, of which about 80% contain carbon [2]. Now Florian Grussie at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) in Germany and collaborators report an experimental and theoretical study of an ion–neutral reaction: that between a neutral carbon atom and a molecular ion (HD+), made of a hydrogen and a deuterium (heavy hydrogen) atom [3, 4]. The study’s findings could improve our understanding of the chemistry of the ISM.
Ion–neutral reactions are fundamentally different from those involving only neutral species. Unlike typical neutral–neutral reactions, ion–neutral reactions often do not need to overcome an activation energy barrier and proceed efficiently even if the temperature approaches absolute zero. The reason for this difference is that, in ion–neutral reactions, the ion strongly polarizes the neutral atom or molecule, causing attractive long-range interactions that bring the reactants together.
A new study in Physical Review Letters (PRL) introduces the concept of pseudomagic quantum states, which appear to have high stabilizerness (or complexity) and can move us closer to achieving quantum supremacy.
University of Missouri scientists are peering into the past and uncovering new clues about the early universe. Since light takes a long time to travel through space, they are now able to see how galaxies looked billions of years ago.
In a new study, the Mizzou researchers have discovered that spiral galaxies were more common in the early universe than previously thought. The work appears in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“Scientists formerly believed most spiral galaxies developed around 6 to 7 billion years after the universe formed,” said Yicheng Guo, an associate professor in Mizzou’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and co-author on the study. “However, our study shows spiral galaxies were already prevalent as early as 2 billion years afterward. This means galaxy formation happened more rapidly than we previously thought.”
Mark Hamilton, an MIT Ph.D. student in electrical engineering and computer science and affiliate of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), wants to use machines to understand how animals communicate. To do that, he set out first to create a system that can learn human language “from scratch.”
A study led by Nagoya University in Japan revealed that a simple thermal reaction of gallium nitride (GaN) with metallic magnesium (Mg) results in the formation of a distinctive superlattice structure. This represents the first time researchers have identified the insertion of 2D metal layers into a bulk semiconductor.
A trio of physicists at Sorbonne Université, in France, has observed a thermoelectric effect between two liquid materials for the first time. In their study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Marlone Vernet, Stephan Fauve and Christophe Gissinger put two types of liquid metals together at room temperature and subjected them to a heat gradient.
In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal, Prof. Zhou Xia from the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory (XAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and collaborators have, for the first time, derived the dispersion relation for photons with nonzero mass propagating in plasma, and established a stringent upper limit for the photon mass at 9.52 × 10–46 kg (5.34 × 10–10 eV c-2) using data collected by ultra-wideband (UWB) receivers from pulsar timing and fast radio bursts (FRBs).
Theory has become practice as new work from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering taps diamond defects’ remarkable ability to concentrate optical energy.
Researchers have developed atomic antennas using germanium vacancy centers in diamonds, achieving a million-fold optical energy enhancement. This advancement allows the study of fundamental physics and opens new research avenues. The collaboration between theoretical and experimental teams was essential to this breakthrough.
Atomic antennas: harnessing light for powerful signals.
A study analyzing the properties of polarized light from 128 non-repeating FRBs reveals mysterious cosmic explosions originate in far-away galaxies like our own Milky Way.
New research from the University of Toronto utilizing data from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment reveals that the majority of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) likely originate from environments similar to our Milky Way, with modest densities and magnetic fields. This finding contrasts with earlier studies which suggested that repeating FRBs come from highly magnetized areas.
Fast Radio Burst Research Advancements
