https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The University of Wyoming's Lauren Kim has solved a persistent problem in the cutting-edge field of high-entropy alloys, a class of materials with great potential in modern engineering, electronics and energy applications—such as jet engines, nuclear reactors, chemical processing systems, batteries and supercapacitors—along with cryogenics systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-phd-student-persistent-problem-high.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:30:01 EDT news695403421 Through a novel combination of machine learning and atomic force microscopy, researchers in China have unveiled the molecular surface structure of "premelted" ice, resolving a long-standing mystery surrounding the liquid-like layer which forms on icy surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-machine-microscopy-year-mystery-premelting.html Condensed Matter Fri, 19 Dec 2025 09:33:54 EST news685359201 Polymeric membranes are widely used in separation technologies due to their low cost and easily scalable fabrication. However, unlike inorganic nanoporous materials such as metal-organic frameworks and covalent organic frameworks, which feature periodic and ordered channels, polymeric membranes produced through traditional methods—such as phase separation—typically have irregular and disordered pore structures. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-ultra-thin-polymer-membranes-enable.html Nanophysics Fri, 20 Jun 2025 05:00:04 EDT news669557317 Using various ground-based and space telescopes, an international team of astronomers has observed a highly variable young star known as DR Tauri. Results of the observational campaign, published May 12 on the arXiv preprint server, provide crucial information regarding the short- and long-term variability of this star. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-multiwavelength-variability-young-star-dr.html Astronomy Tue, 20 May 2025 08:00:01 EDT news666885121 By analyzing multiwavelength data from various space telescopes and astronomical surveys, Chinese astronomers have explored the long-term variability of a blazar known as PKS 0727-11. Results of the new study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, deliver more insights into the nature and behavior of this blazar. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-multiwavelength-variability-blazar-pks.html Astronomy Tue, 04 Mar 2025 08:00:02 EST news660284515 Researchers at Imperial College London, supported by colleagues at a range of other institutions, have published a study in Nature that will help fine-tune a new class of ion exchange membranes. The results should make it possible to build longer lasting and more cost- and energy-efficient devices such as flow batteries, a promising technology for long-duration grid-scale energy storage. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-fine-tuning-ion-exchange-membranes.html Polymers Wed, 13 Nov 2024 11:21:22 EST news650719276 Only a few weeks ago, massive precipitation produced by the storm "Boris" led to chaos and flooding in Central and Eastern Europe. An analysis conducted by the Alfred Wegener Institute shows that in a world without the current level of global warming, Boris would have deposited roughly 9% less rain. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-storyline-simulations-gauge-role-global.html Earth Sciences Fri, 08 Nov 2024 10:36:05 EST news650284561 A team of physicists from The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Texas Tech University (TTH), and the University of Michigan (UMich), has made an important discovery in the study of van der Waals (vdW) magnetic materials, a special class of materials with unique electronic and magnetic properties that make them attractive for use in various applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-physicists-capture-thickness-transitions-dimensional.html Condensed Matter Thu, 05 Sep 2024 09:24:04 EDT news644747042 Scientists all over the world use modeling approaches to understand complex natural systems such as climate systems or neuronal or biochemical networks. A team of researchers has now developed a new mathematical framework that explains, for the first time, a mechanism behind long transient behaviors in complex systems. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-instability-robustness-mathematical-framework-dynamics.html General Physics Fri, 26 Jul 2024 09:49:05 EDT news641206141 Charge density waves are quantum phenomena occurring in some materials, which involve a static modulation of conduction electrons and the periodic distortion of the lattice. These waves have been observed in numerous condensed matter materials, including high-temperature superconductors and quantum Hall systems. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-visualizing-boundary-modes-density-topological.html Condensed Matter Wed, 10 Jul 2024 07:30:02 EDT news639672807 Using single photons as qubits has become a prominent strategy in quantum information technology. Accurately determining the number of photons is crucial in various quantum systems, including quantum computation, quantum communication, and quantum metrology. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-quantum-precision-superconducting-photon-accuracy.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 09 Feb 2024 12:48:02 EST news626705279 By analyzing the data from the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), astronomers from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, India and elsewhere, have performed a detailed X-ray timing and spectral study of an ultraluminous X-ray pulsar designated Swift J0243.6+6124. Results of the study, presented January 26 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the behavior of this pulsar. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-astronomers-behavior-ray-pulsar-swift.html Astronomy Tue, 06 Feb 2024 09:10:01 EST news626432997 Layered hybrid perovskites show diverse physical properties and exceptional functionality; however, from a materials science viewpoint, the co-existence of lattice order and structural disorder can hinder the understanding of such materials. Lattice dynamics can be affected by dimensional engineering of inorganic frameworks and interactions with molecular moieties in a process that remains unknown. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-lattice-dynamics-single-layered-hybrid-perovskite.html Condensed Matter Thu, 31 Aug 2023 09:42:11 EDT news612693724 Using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) onboard the International Space Station (ISS), an international team of astronomers has detected millihertz quasi-periodic oscillations from a low-mass X-ray binary known as 4U 1730–22. The finding was reported in a paper published March 29 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-nicer-quasi-periodic-oscillations-x-ray-binary.html Astronomy Thu, 27 Apr 2023 11:40:01 EDT news601811663 Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Chinese astronomers have detected quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in the light curve of HS 2325+8205—a long-period eclipsing dwarf nova. The discovery was detailed in the January 2023 issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-quasi-periodic-oscillations-long-period-eclipsing-dwarf.html Astronomy Tue, 21 Feb 2023 09:31:38 EST news596194294 Luttinger liquids are usually paramagnetic materials exhibiting non-Fermi liquid behavior, such as molybdenum oxides. These "liquids" and their fascinating properties had so far been only observed in 1D and quasi-1D compounds, such as blue bronze A0.3MoO3 (A= K, Rb, Tl) and purple bronze Li0.9Mo6O17. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-luttinger-liquid-behavior-quasi-2d.html Nanophysics Fri, 16 Dec 2022 11:30:05 EST news590405931 Imagine a road with two lanes in each direction. One lane is for slow cars, and the other is for fast ones. For electrons moving along a quantum wire, researchers in Cambridge and Frankfurt have discovered that there are also two "lanes," but electrons can take both at the same time! https://phys.org/news/2022-06-electrons-fast-lanes.html General Physics Fri, 17 Jun 2022 17:35:17 EDT news574705910 Researchers from PSI's Spectroscopy of Quantum Materials group together with scientists from Beijing Normal University have solved a puzzle at the forefront of research into iron-based superconductors: the origin of FeSe's electronic nematicity. Using Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Swiss Light Source (SLS), they discovered that, surprisingly, this electronic phenomenon is primarily spin driven. Electronic nematicity is believed to be an important ingredient in high-temperature superconductivity, but whether it helps or hinders it is still unknown. Their findings are published in Nature Physics. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-electrons-line-iron-based-superconductor.html Superconductivity Thu, 19 May 2022 11:57:41 EDT news572180256 One popular example of chaotic behavior is the butterfly effect—a butterfly may flap its wings in somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean and cause a tornado in Colorado. This remarkable fable illustrates how the extreme sensitivity of the dynamics of chaotic systems can yield dramatically different results despite slight differences in initial conditions. The fundamental laws of nature governing the dynamics of physical systems are inherently nonlinear, often leading to chaos and subsequent thermalization. https://phys.org/news/2022-04-framework-chaos-thermalization.html Condensed Matter Tue, 05 Apr 2022 09:09:09 EDT news568368546 Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Chinese astronomers have investigated a peculiar emission phenomena exhibited by a pulsar known as PSR B1859+07. Results of the study, published January 18 on the arXiv pre-print repository, could shed light on abnormal emission modes observed in some pulsars. https://phys.org/news/2022-01-unusual-emission-pulsar-psr-b185907.html Astronomy Tue, 25 Jan 2022 10:30:02 EST news562328186 Technology is increasingly moving towards miniaturization and energy efficiency. This also applies to electronic chips. Light, and optics more broadly, are functional in making compact and portable chips. Researchers from the Photonic Systems Laboratory, headed by Professor Camille Brès, have successfully applied a novel principle for introducing second-order optical nonlinearity into silicon nitride chips. A first reported in the journal Nature Photonics. https://phys.org/news/2022-01-optical-chip.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 07 Jan 2022 07:29:52 EST news560762990 Using a D-Wave quantum-annealing computer as a testbed, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have shown that it is possible to isolate so-called emergent magnetic monopoles, a class of quasiparticles, creating a new approach to developing "materials by design." https://phys.org/news/2021-07-emergent-magnetic-monopoles-isolated-quantum-annealing.html General Physics Fri, 16 Jul 2021 09:33:06 EDT news545646781 Solar physicists around the world have long been searching for satisfactory explanations for the sun's many cyclical, overlapping activity fluctuations. In addition to the most famous, approximately 11-year "Schwabe cycle", the sun also exhibits longer fluctuations, ranging from hundreds to thousands of years. It follows, for example, the "Gleissberg cycle" (about 85 years), the "Suess-de Vries cycle" (about 200 years) and the quasi-cycle of "Bond events" (about 1500 years), each named after their discoverers. It is undisputed that the solar magnetic field controls these activity fluctuations. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-sun-clock-planetary-hypothesis.html Astronomy Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:11:45 EDT news542887903 Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), astronomers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and elsewhere have conducted single-pulse observations of a pulsar known as PSR B1929+10. Results of the monitoring campaign shed more light on the periodic and phase-locked modulation in this source. The study was presented in a paper published December 18 on arXiv.org. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-periodic-phase-locked-modulation-pulsar-psr.html Astronomy Mon, 28 Dec 2020 14:00:01 EST news528385455 Using the Parkes 64-meter radio telescope, Chinese astronomers have performed a detailed study of a pulsar known as PSR J1326−6700. The results of this research provide more insights into the mode switching phenomenon observed in this pulsar. The study was published November 11 on arXiv.org. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-mode-phenomenon-pulsar-psr-j13266700.html Astronomy Thu, 19 Nov 2020 09:00:01 EST news524992048 Insight-HXMT, China's first space X-ray astronomical satellite, has discovered a low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) above 200 kiloelectron volts (keV) in a black hole binary, making it the highest energy low-frequency QPO ever found. The scientists also found that the QPO originated from the precession of a relativistic jet (high-speed outward-moving plasma stream) near the event horizon of the black hole. These discoveries have important implications for resolving the long-running debate about the physical origin of low-frequency QPOs. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-insight-hxmt-closest-high-speed-jet-black.html Astronomy Tue, 22 Sep 2020 07:41:41 EDT news519979298 An international team has discovered that compressing monocrystalline (TaSe4)2I can create a system where the constituent TaSe4Q1-D atomic chains are in amorphous state without breaking the orientational and periodic translation symmetries of the chain lattice. Moreover, they found that along with the amorphization of the atomic chains, the insulating (TaSe4)2I becomes a superconductor. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-superconductor-unexpected-lattice-configuration.html Materials Science Fri, 21 Aug 2020 08:39:43 EDT news517217981 Magnetism offers new ways to create more powerful and energy-efficient computers, but the realization of magnetic computing on the nanoscale is a challenging task. A critical advancement in the field of ultralow power computation using magnetic waves is reported by a joint team from Kaiserslautern, Jena and Vienna in the journal Nano Letters. https://phys.org/news/2020-07-magnonic-nano-fibers.html Nanophysics Thu, 02 Jul 2020 12:42:10 EDT news512912528 Laser-wakefield accelerators have led to the development of compact, ultrashort X-ray or gamma-ray sources to deliver peak brilliance, similar to conventional synchrotron sources. However, such sources are withheld by low efficiencies and limited to 107-8 photons per shot in the kiloelectron volt (KeV) to megaelectron volt (MeV) range. In a new report now published on Science Advances, Xing-Long Zhu and a research team in physics and astronomy in China and the U.K., presented a new approach to efficiently produce collimated, ultrabright gamma (γ)-ray beams. The resulting photon energies were tunable for up to gigaelectron volts by focussing a multi-petawatt laser pulse into a 2-stage wakefield accelerator. The high-intensity laser allowed them to efficiently generate a multi-gigaelectron volt electron beam with a high density and charge during the first stage of the experiment. The laser and electron beams entered a high-density plasma region in the second stage thereafter. Using numerical simulations, they demonstrated the production of more than 1012 gamma ray photons per shot with energy conversion efficiency above 10 percent for photons above 1 megaelectron volt (MeV) and achieved a peak brilliance above 1026 photons S-1mm-2mrad-2 per 0.1 percent bandwidth at 1 MeV. This research outcome will offer new avenues in both fundamental and applied physics and engineering. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-extremely-brilliant-giga-electron-volt-gamma-rays.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 11 Jun 2020 10:12:55 EDT news511089169 Chinese astronomers have conducted a gamma-ray and optical variability analysis of the blazar 3FGL J0449.4-4350. The new research, presented in a paper published March 25 on arXiv.org, reports the detection of possible quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) from the source and provides more insights into the origin of such behavior. https://phys.org/news/2020-04-astronomers-variability-blazar-3fgl-j04494-.html Astronomy Wed, 01 Apr 2020 08:50:01 EDT news504944230