Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: particle physics – Page 13

Superradiance Discovery Extends Quantum Entanglement Range 17-Fold

When the light field becomes more uniform, all the atoms find themselves optically close to each other, even if they are spatially distant. In other words, the “ambient” near-zero refractive index relaxes the strict distance between the atoms’ positions, an essential condition for the entanglement of quantum particles. Quantum entanglement corresponds to correlations between particles, essential for the development of information and quantum computers.

From electrodynamics to quantum computing

This is where the promising contribution of a team of researchers from UNamur, Harvard and Michigan Technological University (MTU) comes in, supported by Dr. Larissa Vertchenko, from Danish quantum technology company Sparrow Quantum. Adrien Debacq, FNRS aspirant researcher at the Namur Institute of Structured Matter (NISM) and co-author of the paper, assisted by Harvard PhD student Olivia Mello and Dr Larissa Vertchenko, have together theoretically developed a photonic chip capable of radically improving the range of entanglement between transmitters, up to 17 times greater than in a vacuum.

Envisioning a Neutrino Laser

A Bose-Einstein condensate of radioactive atoms could turn into a source of intense, coherent, and directional neutrino beams, according to a theoretical proposal.

Neutrinos are the most abundant massive particles in the Universe, yet they are the ones about which we know the least. What makes these elusive particles hard to study is their feeble interaction with matter—trillions of neutrinos pass through our bodies every second without leaving a trace. However, neutrinos may hold deep secrets about the Universe—understanding their properties could hint at new particles and forces beyond the standard model of particle physics or shed light on why matter came to dominate over antimatter. Despite these tantalizing prospects, some of the most basic questions about neutrinos remain unanswered. To address such questions experimentally, Benjamin Jones of the University of Texas at Arlington and Joseph Formaggio of MIT suggest that a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of radioactive atoms could offer a platform for building a “neutrino laser” [1].

Physicists demonstrate controlled expansion of quantum wavepacket in a levitated nanoparticle

Quantum mechanics theory predicts that, in addition to exhibiting particle-like behavior, particles of all sizes can also have wave-like properties. These properties can be represented using the wave function, a mathematical description of quantum systems that delineates a particle’s movements and the probability that it is in a specific position.

System guides light through a tiny crystal, undeterred by bumps, bends and back-reflections

Relaying a message from point A to B can be as simple as flashing a thumbs-up at a stranger in an intersection, signaling them to proceed—nonverbal, clear, and universally understood. But light-based communication is rarely that straightforward.

Photons, tiny particles of light, are fragile and unpredictable. Unlike electrons, which must be conserved in circuits, photons can scatter, split, merge into different colors, or be absorbed, meaning that the number of photons in a system isn’t fixed, even while the energy they carry remains the same. This makes guiding them through or —optical mazes—far trickier than steering electrons through copper wires, because can scatter into dead ends or vanish before reaching their destination.

Engineers often respond by obsessively refining every imperfection, polishing the maze to perfection. However, this approach can be exhausting and never fully addresses these limitations.

Scientists Create Magnetic Nanohelices To Control Electron Spin at Room Temperature

Researchers in South Korea have created magnetic nanohelices that can control electron spin at room temperature. Spintronics, also called spin electronics, explores information processing by using the intrinsic angular momentum (spin) of electrons rather than only their electric charge. By tappin

Physicists Measured The Pulse of an Atom’s Magnetic Heart in Real Time

The pulse of an atom’s magnetic heart as it ticks back and forth between quantum states has been timed in a laboratory.

Physicists used a scanning tunneling microscope to observe electrons as they moved in sync with the nucleus of an atom of titanium-49, allowing them to estimate the duration of the core’s magnetic beat in isolation.

“These findings,” they write in their paper, “give an atomic-scale insight into the nature of nuclear spin relaxation and are relevant for the development of atomically assembled qubit platforms.”

Physicists devise an idea for lasers that shoot beams of neutrinos

At any given moment, trillions of particles called neutrinos are streaming through our bodies and every material in our surroundings, without noticeable effect. Smaller than electrons and lighter than photons, these ghostly entities are the most abundant particles with mass in the universe.

The exact mass of a neutrino is a big unknown. The particle is so small, and interacts so rarely with matter, that it is incredibly difficult to measure. Scientists attempt to do so by harnessing nuclear reactors and massive particle accelerators to generate unstable atoms, which then decay into various byproducts including neutrinos. In this way, physicists can manufacture beams of neutrinos that they can probe for properties including the particle’s mass.

Now MIT physicists propose a much more compact and efficient way to generate neutrinos that could be realized in a tabletop experiment.

Scientists Watch an Atom’s Nucleus Flip in Real Time for the First Time

Researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have observed the magnetic nucleus of an atom flipping between states in real time. Researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have succeeded in observing the magnetic nucleus of a single atom switching between

Physicists create a new kind of time crystal that humans can actually see

Imagine a clock that doesn’t have electricity, but its hands and gears spin on their own for all eternity. In a new study, physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have used liquid crystals, the same materials that are in your phone display, to create such a clock—or, at least, as close as humans can get to that idea. The team’s advancement is a new example of a “time crystal.” That’s the name for a curious phase of matter in which the pieces, such as atoms or other particles, exist in constant motion.

The researchers aren’t the first to make a time crystal, but their creation is the first that humans can actually see, which could open a host of technological applications.

“They can be observed directly under a microscope and even, under special conditions, by the naked eye,” said Hanqing Zhao, lead author of the study and a graduate student in the Department of Physics at CU Boulder.

Atoms, ja, atoms’: Physics pioneer key to microscopy ‘revolution in resolution

Seventy years ago, in Osmond Laboratory on Penn State’s University Park campus, Erwin W. Müller, Evan Pugh Research Professor of Physics, became the first person to “see” an atom. In doing so, Müller cemented his legacy, not only at Penn State, but also as a pioneer in the world of physics and beyond.

/* */