Physics
press releases.

Physics13 Nov 2023

French and U.S. science agencies take first step to collaborate on electron-ion collider (EIC)

PARIS, NOV. 13—Representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have signed a “Statement of Interest” to launch what both agencies hope will be a significant collaboration on the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). The EIC, being built in the U.S. at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in partnership with DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab), will be a unique facility for exploring the building blocks of matter and the strongest force in nature. The agreement continues a long history of cooperation in scientific ...

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Physics12 Nov 2023

2023 Joseph A. Johnson Award goes to Yale University professor of physics

AIP and the National Society of Black Physicists congratulate Charles D. Brown II as the winner of the 2023 Joseph A. Johnson Award for Excellence. Dante O’Hara and Danielle Speller are also being recognized with Honorable Mentions. The Johnson Award, now in its fourth year, is given by AIP and NSBP to recognize early-career scientists who demonstrate scientific ingenuity and impactful mentorship and service – the core values of NSBP founder Joseph A. Johnson. “We are excited to recognize Dr. Brown’s impact on the physics community,” said Michael Moloney, CEO of AIP. ...

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Physics9 Nov 2023

Atomic dance gives rise to a magnet

Quantum materials hold the key to a future of lightning-speed, energy-efficient information systems. The problem with tapping their transformative potential is that, in solids, the vast number of atoms often drowns out the exotic quantum properties electrons carry. Rice University researchers in the lab of quantum materials scientist Hanyu Zhu found that when they move in circles, atoms can also work wonders: When the atomic lattice in a rare-earth crystal becomes animated with a corkscrew-shaped vibration known as a chiral phonon, the crystal is transformed ...

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Physics9 Nov 2023

Photonics team develops high-performance ultrafast lasers that fit on a fingertip

Lasers are essential tools for observing, detecting, and measuring things in the natural world that we can’t see with the naked eye. But the ability to perform these tasks is often restricted by the need to use expensive and large instruments. In a newly published cover-story paper in the journal Science, researcher Qiushi Guo demonstrates a novel approach for creating high-performance ultrafast lasers on nanophotonic chips. His work centers on miniaturizing mode-lock lasers — a unique laser that emits a train of ultrashort, coherent light pulses in femtosecond intervals, which is an astonishing quadrillionth ...

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Physics8 Nov 2023

Physicists trap electrons in a 3D crystal for the first time

Electrons move through a conducting material like commuters at the height of Manhattan rush hour. The charged particles may jostle and bump against each other, but for the most part they’re unconcerned with other electrons as they hurtle forward, each with their own energy. But when a material’s electrons are trapped together, they can settle into the exact same energy state and start to behave as one. This collective, zombie-like state is what’s known in physics as an electronic “flat band,” and scientists predict that when electrons are in this state they can start to ...

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Physics7 Nov 2023

Rheumatology training program for Native American primary care physicians expands reach

ATLANTA — New research at ACR Convergence 2023, the American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) annual meeting, describes the expansion of a novel program to train primary care physicians (PCPs) in the diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Native American communities that have little or no access to rheumatology care (Abstract #2455). Despite the high prevalence of RA and other rheumatologic diseases among Native Americans, many Native American communities lack adequate access to subspecialized care. As a result, responsibility for treatment has shifted to primary care providers, who often do not feel confident prescribing RA medications or ...

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Physics6 Nov 2023

From basic research to application: NRL geophysicist awarded NDIA Undersea Warfare Bronze Medal Achievement in Science

WASHINGTON – Warren Wood, Ph.D., U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ocean Sciences Division’s Geology and Geophysics section head, received the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Bronze Medal on Sept. 19, 2023 during a ceremony held at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn. for outstanding individual achievement in undersea warfare. This award-winning work would not have been possible without fantastic teamwork, especially from the staff in Geology and Geophysics and Acoustic Simulation, Measurements & Tactics Branches,” said Wood. “Essentially a software ...

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Physics3 Nov 2023

Vacuum in optical cavity can change material’s magnetic state without laser excitation

Researchers in Germany and the USA have produced the first theoretical demonstration that the magnetic state of an atomically thin material, α-RuCl3, can be controlled solely by placing it into an optical cavity. Crucially, the cavity vacuum fluctuations alone are sufficient to change the material’s magnetic order from a zigzag antiferromagnet into a ferromagnet. The team’s work has been published in npj Computational Materials. A recent theme in material physics research has been the use of intense laser light to modify the properties ...

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Physics3 Nov 2023

Study on Magnetic Force Microscopy wins 2023 Advances in Magnetism Award

MELVILLE, N.Y., November 3, 2023 – An examination of the impact of image size on measurements from magnetic force microscopy has won the Advances in Magnetism Award, sponsored by AIP Advances, published by AIP Publishing. The paper, “Finite image size effects on the characterization of magnetic domain patterns via magnetic force microscopy,” was selected as the winner from nearly 200 papers submitted as part of the 2022 Magnetism and Magnetic Materials conference. Michael Vaka, now a data engineer at Zontal, was awarded a cash prize and a travel stipend to next year’s ...

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Physics2 Nov 2023

Less physical activity in adolescence likely rooted in biology

AURORA, Colo. (Nov. 1, 2023) – The slowdown of physical activity during adolescence is not likely caused by lifestyle and environment but by energy demands placed on the body as it grows and sexually matures, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. The study, published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, examined the lifestyles of the physically active Tsimane people, an indigenous population of forager-horticulturalists in lowland Bolivia, to see similarities and differences to adolescents living in post-industrialized nations. “We wanted to look at the role of environment and the role of biology,” ...

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Physics1 Nov 2023

UCF hires Director of Development and Operations for Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA)

UCF Hires Director of Development and Operations for Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA) ORLANDO, Nov. 1, 2023 – Ali Haskins Lisle, Ph.D., has been named the Director of Development and Operations for the UCF-led Virtual Experience Research Accelerator (VERA). VERA is a nearly $5 million U.S. National Science Foundation project to develop the first large-scale human-machine system for virtual reality human subjects research, with the goals of affording very large studies, very quickly, with populations that ...

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Physics1 Nov 2023

New twist on optical tweezers

Optical tweezers manipulate tiny things like cells and nanoparticles using lasers. While they might sound like tractor beams from science fiction, the fact is their development garnered scientists a Nobel Prize in 2018. Scientists have now used supercomputers to make optical tweezers safer to use on living cells with applications to cancer therapy, environmental monitoring, and more. “We believe our research is one significant step closer towards the industrialization of optical tweezers in biological applications, specifically in both selective cellular surgery and targeted drug delivery,” ...

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Physics31 Oct 2023

Hix, Lajoie elected Fellows of the American Physical Society

Physicists William Raphael “Raph” Hix of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and John Lajoie, who will join ORNL on Nov. 6 from Iowa State University, have been elected Fellows of the American Physical Society. The society works to advance and spread physics knowledge via research journals, scientific meetings, education, outreach, advocacy and international activities. It represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in government, academia and industry worldwide. Hix, leader of the Theoretical and Computational ...

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Physics31 Oct 2023

Digitizing books can spur demand for physical copies

ITHACA, N.Y. – Book publishers cried foul – in the form of numerous legal challenges – nearly two decades ago when the Google Books project digitized and freely distributed more than 25 million works. The publishers argued that free digital distribution undermines the market for physical books, but new research from Cornell University’s Imke Reimers and a collaborator reveals that the opposite – increased demand for physical books, through online discovery – could be true. Reimers, an associate professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and Abhishek Nagaraj, assistant professor ...

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Physics30 Oct 2023

Using lasers to ‘heat and beat’ 3D-printed steel could help reduce costs

Researchers have developed a new method for 3D printing metal that could help reduce costs and make more efficient use of resources. The method, developed by a research team led by the University of Cambridge, allows structural modifications to be ‘programmed’ into metal alloys during 3D printing, fine-tuning their properties without the ‘heating and beating’ process that’s been in use for thousands of years. The new 3D printing method combines the best qualities of both worlds: the complex shapes that 3D printing makes possible, and the ability to engineer ...

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Physics27 Oct 2023

Physicist Tatiana Erukhimova earns national award for science outreach

Texas A&M University physicist Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the American Physical Society Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach. Established in 1994 by the Division of Plasma Physics and the Forum on Physics and Society, the Nicholson Medal is awarded annually in recognition of the humanitarian aspect of physics and physicists created through public lectures and public media, teaching, research or science-related activities. The medal is sponsored by the friends of the late plasma physicist and award namesake Dr. Dwight R. Nicholson (1947-1991), former chairman ...

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Physics27 Oct 2023

Controlling waves in magnets with superconductors for the first time

Quantum physicists at Delft University of Technology have shown that it’s possible to control and manipulate spin waves on a chip using superconductors for the first time. These tiny waves in magnets may offer an alternative to electronics in the future, interesting for energy-efficient information technology or connecting pieces in a quantum computer, for example. The breakthrough, published in Science, primarily gives physicists new insight into the interaction between magnets and superconductors. Energy-efficient substitute "Spin waves are waves in a magnetic material that we can use to transmit information," explains ...

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Physics26 Oct 2023

New research finds stress and strain changes metal electronic structure

New research from the University of Birmingham shows that the electronic structure of metals can strongly affect their mechanical properties. The research, published today (26th October) in the journal Science, demonstrates experimentally, for the first time, that the electronic and mechanical properties of a metal are connected. It was previously understood theoretically that there would be a connection, but it was thought that it would be too small to detect in an experiment. Dr Clifford Hicks, Reader in Condensed Matter Physics, who worked on the study said: “Mechanical properties are typically described ...

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Physics26 Oct 2023

Conduction electrons drive giant, nonlinear elastic response in Sr2RuO4

The hardness of materials is determined by the strength of the chemical bonds that are formed between the electrons of the neighbouring atoms. For example, the bonds in diamond are very strong, so it is one of the hardest materials known. The bonding is rooted in the laws of quantum mechanics, and the complex compounds that are of most interest in forefront research today are known as ‘quantum materials.’ In many quantum materials, layers of strongly bonded atoms separate layers in ...

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Physics26 Oct 2023

ERC synergy grant: Multidisciplinary research bridges physics and biology at ISTA and in France

The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) receives its second generous ERC Synergy Grant. ISTA Professor Gašper Tkačik is one of three awarded researchers to join forces on unraveling the secrets of gene regulation during mammalian development. Three research groups from Austria and France team up to crack open the black box of early mammalian development. Now endowed with a prestigious Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), Gašper Tkačik (ISTA), Thomas Gregor (Institut Pasteur), ...

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Physics25 Oct 2023

NIST team develops highest-resolution single-photon superconducting camera

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and their colleagues have built a superconducting camera containing 400,000 pixels — 400 times more than any other device of its type. Superconducting cameras allow scientists to capture very weak light signals, whether from distant objects in space or parts of the human brain. Having more pixels could open up many new applications in science and biomedical research. The NIST camera is made up of grids of ultrathin electrical wires, cooled to near absolute zero, in which current moves with no resistance until a wire is struck by a photon. In these superconducting-nanowire cameras, the energy imparted by ...

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Physics25 Oct 2023

Our favorite bittersweet symphonies may help us deal better with physical pain

Research has shown that music might be a drug-free way to lower humans’ pain perception. This decreased sensitivity to pain – also known as hypoalgesia – can occur when pain stimuli are disrupted between their point of input and where they are recognized as pain by the conscious mind. In a new study, researchers in Canada have examined what type of music helps to dampen pain perception. “In our study, we show that favorite music chosen by study participants has a much larger effect on acute thermal pain reduction than unfamiliar relaxing music” said Darius Valevicius, a doctoral student at the Université ...

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Physics25 Oct 2023

UC Riverside physicist awarded National Medal of Science

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Physicist Barry C. Barish, a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy at UC Riverside, was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden at a ceremony held at the White House today. Established in 1959 by the U.S. Congress, the National Medal of Science is the highest recognition the nation can bestow on scientists and engineers. The President’s National Medal of Science is given to individuals “deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions in biology, computer sciences, education sciences, engineering, geosciences, mathematical and physical sciences, and social, behavioral, and economic ...

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Physics25 Oct 2023

Daily 20-25 mins of physical activity may offset death risk from prolonged sitting

Clocking up just 20-25 minutes of physical activity every day may be enough to offset the heightened risk of death from a highly sedentary lifestyle, suggests research published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. But higher daily tallies of physical activity are linked to a lower risk, irrespective of the amount of time spent seated every day, the findings show. In developed nations, adults spend an average of 9 to 10 hours every day sitting down—mostly during working hours. And a highly sedentary lifestyle is associated with a heightened risk of death, explain the researchers. Much of the ...

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Physics24 Oct 2023

Case report shows promising results using transcranial magnetic stimulation for post-stroke ataxia

In a new case report, researchers at UCLA Health describe promising results using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the management of post-stroke cerebellar ataxia, a debilitating condition marked by impaired coordination and balance. Cerebellar ataxia describes a group of neurological disorders that affect coordination, balance, and control of muscle movements. It results from damage or dysfunction of the cerebellum, a part of the brain responsible for coordinating voluntary movements. Ataxia can manifest as unsteady walking, difficulties with fine motor skills, and problems with speech, ...

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