RSS Parrot

An elegant modification doubles the range of low-noise 'white lasers' in a single fiber

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-elegant-modification-range-noise-white.html

Published: August 6, 2026 19:00

Supercontinuum light sources—often called "white lasers" because they emit a broad, continuous rainbow of colors—are essential tools for everything from advanced medical imaging to environmental gas detection. However, researchers have historically faced a…

Researchers demonstrate first fully solution-processed solid-state polariton laser

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fully-solution-solid-state-polariton.html

Published: August 6, 2026 18:00

Researchers have demonstrated a solid-state organic laser microcavity fabricated entirely by solution processing. The device operates in the strong light–matter coupling regime, where light and matter form hybrid states called polaritons. This makes the…

Never-before-seen woven structure that forms naturally inside a crystal discovered

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-woven-naturally-crystal.html

Published: August 6, 2026 17:50

For the first time, scientists have observed a three-dimensional woven structure forming naturally inside a crystal, revealing a previously unknown way in which matter can organize itself.

Single-shot phase imaging technique can reconstruct transparent objects

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-shot-phase-imaging-technique-reconstruct.html

Published: August 6, 2026 17:20

A KAIST research team led by professor Mooseok Jang from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has developed a single-shot phase imaging technique that reconstructs a phase object—a transparent object such as glass, plastic film or a living cell,…

New quantum microscopy trick quadruples microscope resolution

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-microscopy-quadruples-microscope-resolution.html

Published: August 6, 2026 17:20

Three years after a team of Caltech scientists showed that pairs of entangled photons could double the resolution of a light microscope, the same lab has figured out a way to double down on that improvement. They have now achieved a fourfold resolution…

X(2370) emerges as glueball-dominated particle in collider experiments

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-x2370-emerges-glueball-dominated-particle.html

Published: August 6, 2026 13:00

At the International Conference on High Energy Physics in Brazil, the BESIII Collaboration report that, after 15 years of sustained research, it identified the dominant constituent of the X(2370) as a pseudoscalar glueball with spin-parity quantum numbers…

Two-qubit entangling gate flags its own errors as detectable photon losses

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-qubit-entangling-gate-flags-errors.html

Published: August 6, 2026 12:40

Quantum errors are a normal part of quantum computing because fragile physical qubits (the tiny components storing data) can easily break down because of environmental noise, like heat, stray signals or microscopic vibrations. Typical fixes involve vast…

Sunlight-powered setup generates quantum entanglement

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sunlight-powered-setup-generates-quantum.html

Published: August 6, 2026 10:00

Today's quantum technologies rely on energy-intensive lasers, raising concerns that scaling them up could further increase energy demands. In new work, researchers have demonstrated that quantum entanglement between photons can be generated directly from…

Repurposing deep-Earth tools in the hunt for practical superconductors

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-repurposing-deep-earth-tools-superconductors.html

Published: August 6, 2026 10:00

If scientists could find a material that acts as a superconductor—that is, one that transmits energy with zero resistance—at normal pressures and relatively high temperatures, it would open up a vast number of possibilities. These include medical imaging,…

Miniaturized laser technology paves the way for fundamental physics experiments in space

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-miniaturized-laser-technology-paves-fundamental.html

Published: August 5, 2026 19:40

An international team of researchers has succeeded in producing atomic quantum gas mixtures with an unprecedented particle flux. In the journal Nature Communications, the scientists report on experiments conducted with the MAIUS-B apparatus, in which…

Air-stable, ultrathin superconductors developed for more scalable quantum devices

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-air-stable-ultrathin-superconductors-scalable.html

Published: August 5, 2026 19:00

Super-thin superconducting materials, which are only one or a few atoms thick, have unique properties scientists can leverage to produce more compact, scalable, and efficient quantum devices. But these fragile materials degrade so rapidly in air that they…

Attosecond X-ray method maps early electron motions that trigger chemical reactions

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-attosecond-ray-method-early-electron.html

Published: August 5, 2026 16:50

All chemistry starts with a push from electrons. In the early moments of a chemical reaction, it's the movement of electrons that initiates the breaking of old chemical bonds and forging of new ones, transforming one molecule into another.

'Spooky' particles transit DC suburbs, a step toward a quantum network

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spooky-particles-transit-dc-suburbs.html

Published: August 5, 2026 16:30

In early 2025, special signals wended their way through a fiber-optic highway strung above the streets and sidewalks of the Maryland suburbs. The arrival of those signals at their destination marks a significant step toward a long-held dream of building a…

New semiconductor maser operates continuously above room temperature

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-semiconductor-maser-room-temperature.html

Published: August 5, 2026 16:00

Lasers have become indispensable in everyday life and research, with applications ranging from data transmission and metrology to manufacturing. Masers, by contrast, have so far found hardly any practical applications.

Using the Earth's magnetic field to hunt for axions and dark photons

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-earth-magnetic-field-axions-dark.html

Published: August 5, 2026 15:40

Dark matter's existence is all but certain—astronomers believe it makes up about a quarter of the universe's total energy content—yet its true identity has eluded us for decades. Two of the leading candidates for dark matter are the hypothetical particles…

Electric field reverses phonon chirality and spin direction in ferroelectric crystal

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-electric-field-reverses-phonon-chirality.html

Published: August 5, 2026 15:00

Chiral phonons are groups of atoms that move in a circular direction when excited by an energy source, such as heat. As the phonons move through a material, they propagate that circular motion, or angular momentum, through the material. The angular…

Tiny vortices discovered on the sun's surface

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tiny-vortices-sun-surface.html

Published: August 5, 2026 11:00

Researchers from the U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO), the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, and the High Altitude Observatory (HAO) in the U.S. have made a discovery in solar physics. New…

Molecular orbitals imaged in 3D, opening path to femtosecond videos

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-molecular-orbitals-imaged-3d-path.html

Published: August 4, 2026 18:00

One of the most famous and intriguing results of quantum mechanics is the finding that fundamental particles, such as electrons, cannot be pinned down to one single location. Instead, a particle is described by its "wavefunction," which allows researchers…

Quantum fluid reveals hidden states that can be switched with a magnetic field

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-fluid-reveals-hidden-states.html

Published: August 4, 2026 17:40

Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) are often described as a "fifth state of matter": a quantum state in which many particles lose their individual identities and behave as one collective object. For more than 60 years, researchers have sought to create such…

A temperature dial for more realistic quantum simulations

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-temperature-dial-realistic-quantum-simulations.html

Published: August 4, 2026 17:00

Scientists from Rice University in the U.S. have developed a way to precisely tune the temperature inside a trapped-ion simulator. The breakthrough means they will be able to run quantum simulations at precise temperatures that better reflect real-world…

First measurement of antineutrinos from spent nuclear fuel confirms emissions persist after reactor shutdown

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-antineutrinos-spent-nuclear-fuel-emissions.html

Published: August 4, 2026 16:00

Even when the lights go out and nuclear reactors are turned off, the story inside the reactor core still has a great deal to tell. Radioactive, long-lived fission products continue to decay for months or even years, producing a faint flux of a specific…

Pushing the boundaries of ultracold neutral plasmas

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-boundaries-ultracold-neutral-plasmas.html

Published: August 4, 2026 12:20

Using a combination of laser cooling techniques and strong magnetic fields, researchers at Colorado State University have for the first time created an ultracold neutral plasma with electrons cooled to temperatures measured to be within one degree Kelvin.

Two materials, one photonic chip: Unlocking a new way to generate light frequencies

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-materials-photonic-chip-generate-frequencies.html

Published: August 4, 2026 12:00

Modern photonic chips can pack sophisticated optical functions onto devices smaller than a fingernail. They are increasingly used to generate, manipulate and measure light for applications ranging from communications to sensing. But most of these chips…

New approach to cleaning the inner walls of a fusion system removes another obstacle to near-endless energy

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-approach-walls-fusion-obstacle-endless.html

Published: August 4, 2026 10:40

Fusion systems need inner walls that can withstand extreme heat. One promising solution uses liquid lithium to protect the walls, held like water in a sponge made of the exceptionally strong metal tungsten. An advanced manufacturing process can be used to…

Bringing it all into focus—computational microscope captures 25.2 billion pixels per second across a wide field of view

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-focus-microscope-captures-billion-pixels.html

Published: August 3, 2026 18:40

When designing microscopes, optical engineers have long faced a trade-off between speed, field of view and resolution. But improving one of these properties typically comes at the expense of another. Now, a UC Berkeley–led team of researchers has found a…

New quantum encryption method prevents ciphertext from being cloned

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-quantum-encryption-method-ciphertext-cloned.html

Published: August 3, 2026 17:20

Digital security currently relies on difficult equations to protect data. For example, when you use a credit card online, the information is locked inside a math problem that would take a modern computer thousands of years to solve. However, if someone…

Light controls nanoscale 'bubble' domains in a ferroelectric crystal

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanoscale-domains-ferroelectric-crystal.html

Published: August 3, 2026 16:50

Researchers at Flinders University have discovered an unexpected way light can control tiny electronic structures inside advanced materials, a development that could help pave the way for more energy-efficient memory devices, sensors and future computing…

Ultrafast X-ray flashes partially reverse the damage they cause, enabling brighter, more accurate imaging

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ultrafast-ray-partially-reverse-enabling.html

Published: August 3, 2026 14:00

The interaction between X-rays and matter can be actively controlled, according to an international research team led by the University of Hamburg and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory that has succeeded in producing bright X-ray images with…

Key principle to boost efficiency of artificial photosynthesis and next-generation semiconductors

https://phys.org/news/2026-08-key-principle-boost-efficiency-artificial.html

Published: August 3, 2026 09:40

A research team led by Taeyeon Kim, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Sungkyunkwan University, in collaboration with a team from Yonsei University, has identified a new principle that controls charge separation, a phenomenon that plays a…

Electron cooling tames highly charged ions in Penning trap for first time

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-electron-cooling-highly-ions-penning.html

Published: August 1, 2026 15:20

Researchers at Technical University of Darmstadt and the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research have succeeded for the first time in decelerating highly charged ions from the GSI accelerator to low energies and subsequently storing them in a Penning…

Unusual metal oxide shows signs of magnetism under lattice strain in ultrathin layers

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-unusual-metal-oxide-magnetism-lattice.html

Published: August 1, 2026 14:40

Ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) is a metal oxide that commonly serves as an important metallic conductor, quantum material and industrial electrocatalyst. While there have been debates surrounding the magnetic properties of RuO2, it is generally thought to be…

Quantum computer completes verified task beyond practical reach of classical simulations

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-task-classical-simulations.html

Published: August 1, 2026 08:00

IBM and researchers from the University of Chicago announced a demonstration in quantum computing that meets the fundamental criteria for "quantum advantage"—the point where quantum computers can be confirmed to have outperformed classical computers on…

Optimized magnetic pulses could cut memory switching energy by several orders of magnitude

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-optimized-magnetic-pulses-memory-energy.html

Published: July 31, 2026 16:00

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) driven by artificial intelligence (AI) are generating data at an unprecedented rate. Every internet search, AI-generated image, recommendation, scientific simulation and large language model creates and…

New open-source software predicts energy transfer between tiny defects in solid materials

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-source-software-energy-tiny-defects.html

Published: July 31, 2026 14:00

The performance of many next-generation devices depends on controlling how energy flows at extremely small scales. In the field of microelectronics—where devices continue to shrink and new materials are introduced—small imperfections in solids can strongly…

Diamond's newfound defect may tame vibrations that hinder quantum light sources

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-diamond-newfound-defect-vibrations-hinder.html

Published: July 31, 2026 11:40

Researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have discovered a new type of quantum light emitter in diamonds that could help overcome a number of challenges facing quantum technologies.

New photonic platform offers a four-lane highway for light

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-photonic-platform-lane-highway.html

Published: July 31, 2026 10:20

Topological photonics can force propagating light to travel in a single direction—allowing researchers to route optical signals around corners and past defects without any of it scattering backward. So far, however, this one-way flow has only been found at…

Less-explored form of quantum code could be more powerful—and more stable—than its alternative in error correction

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-explored-quantum-code-powerful-stable.html

Published: July 31, 2026 10:00

In mathematics and getting dressed, some processes are commutative, while others are noncommutative. Commutative means the order doesn't matter (3 + 2 is the same as 2 + 3, and it doesn't matter which sock goes on first). Noncommutative means the order…

Two independent studies push semiconductor qubits towards practical scales

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-independent-semiconductor-qubits-scales.html

Published: July 31, 2026 07:20

Semiconductor spin qubits are one of the most promising building blocks for future quantum computers, but turning them into a working, large-scale quantum computer has so far proven difficult. For now, two big questions remain open: how to connect qubits…

Photonic time crystals unlock ultrafast control of light in the terahertz range

https://phys.org/news/2026-07-photonic-crystals-ultrafast-terahertz-range.html

Published: July 30, 2026 19:40

An international team of researchers from École Polytechnique, Collège de France and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has achieved a world first: the experimental realization of an all-optical photonic time crystal (PTC), a material whose…