Aging researchers and the removal of retirement policies yield decreased disruptive innovation in science
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Stanford’s new chip boosts light 100x with surprisingly low energy
Researchers at Stanford have developed a compact optical amplifier that dramatically boosts light signals using very little power. By recycling energy inside a looping resonator, the device achieves strong amplification with minimal noise and wide bandwidth. Its efficiency and small size mean it could run on batteries and be integrated into consumer electronics. This breakthrough could enable faster communications and more powerful optical technologies.
JWST Finds Distant Origins for Rare Exoplanet Pair
Dr. Chelsea X. Huang: “This was a one-of-a-kind system. Hot Jupiters are ‘lonely,’ meaning they don’t have companion planets inside their orbits.” [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30520/jwst-distant-o…net-pair-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30520/jwst-distant-o…net-pair-2)
How can planets share the same space with each other, especially planets of different sizes? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the processes that allowed two distinct exoplanets to form evolve and orbit so close to each other. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of planets throughout the universe and help narrow the scope for where and how to find life beyond Earth.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data obtained from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope regarding exoplanet TOI-1130 b, which is designated as a mini-Neptune orbiting a K-type star. TOI-1130 b is approximately 190 light-years from Earth, its mass is approximately 20 times larger than Earth, its radius is approximately one-third of Jupiter, and its orbital period is approximately 4.1 days. What makes this system unique isn’t this mini-Neptune, but its partnership with a hot Jupiter that orbits just outside of it, with both planets being locked in what’s known as an orbital resonance, meaning their orbits are synced. In this case, they exhibit a 2:1 resonance, meaning for every two orbits of TOI-1130 b, the hot Jupiter orbits once.
TOI-1130 b has an atmosphere rich in water vapor and other volatiles that astronomers have determined would not have formed so close to tis host star. Therefore, the researchers concluded that both planets likely formed much farther out, with TOI-1130 b accumulating its water vapor atmosphere, then both planets migrated inward. With this conclusion, the team notes TOI-1130 b is the first mini-Neptune to form so far out and beyond the “frost line”, which is where ice and other volatiles are much more abundant. Volatiles are compounds that melt or evaporate at very low temperatures, meaning the atmosphere of TOI-1130 b likely didn’t form so close to its star.
