• To hear the author read an extract from the diaries and reflect on the power of “flash fiction”, check out the Physics World Stories podcast.

The post Heisenberg (not) in Helgoland: where two paths diverge appeared first on Physics World.

Since 1989, SpaceNews has been committed to delivering trusted, independent journalism that keeps the global space industry informed, connected and ahead of the curve. And just as the space business has evolved during that time, so has the business of journalism.

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Learn more about the link between food intolerance, poor sleep, and nightmares.

As few as five electrons in a semiconductor can exhibit collective behaviour, forming a “Coulomb liquid”, according to researchers in Europe. This extends the study of correlated systems to electron plasmas, and could lead to the study of other exotic phases of matter.

A conventional plasma is a hot, ionized gas of free electrons and positive ions. However, the conduction band of a semiconductor can be considered a one-component plasma. “The effect of the positive charges, as they are locked into the lattice, can be modelled as a uniform background of positive charge,” says team member Vyacheslavs Kashcheyevs of the University of Latvia in Riga. In conventional electronics and semiconductor physics, the conduction band is modelled as a 2D Fermi gas of non-interacting particles, with the Coulomb interaction between the electrons neglected.

The new work focused on electron–electron correlations in the conduction band of gallium arsenide at millikelvin temperatures. The team created a Y-shaped junction. Electrons emitted from a quantum dot were steered through the device by an externally-generated surface acoustic wave (SAW) potential. Part-way through, the path divided, and each electron could either go left or right. The number taking each path was measured by separate quantum dots. The researchers are uncertain, and the model is agnostic, about the extent to which the randomness of left or right arose from quantum mechanics.

When no more than one electron was loaded into each potential minimum, each electron’s choice was random, and the number of electrons counted at each detector after multiple trials could be modelled by a binomial distribution. However, when the researchers tuned the apparatus such that each minimum contained multiple electrons, they found changes in the distribution, with groups of particles less likely to travel to the same detector than would be naïvely expected.

Calculating “cumulants”

The researchers quantified the changes in the distributions using probability theory, calculating “cumulants” of the distributions. “We not only have a cumulant of order two, which would say that two particles are repulsing,” says Hermann Sellier of Institut Néel in Grenoble, France, who led the experimental research. “We have a cumulant of order four for four particles or five for five particles, showing that each particle is talking to all the other particles of the droplet. That’s much stronger and something that has not been measured before.”

This shows, say the researchers, that the 2D electron gas condenses into a strongly correlated Coulomb liquid. This a phase of matter seen in quark–gluon plasma, which is created by the high-energy collision of heavy ions, but never previously identified in electronic matter.

“It’s not like you have atoms which, below a certain temperature, go from the gas phase to the liquid phase because of an attractive interaction,” explains Sellier. “We say that the correlated behaviour is like that of a liquid, but a very special liquid made of repulsive interactions. You push on the right, it pushes on the left.” This is possible only at low temperatures because heating increases the entropy to the point where the correlated state of matter is disfavoured.

The team now wants to look at larger systems approaching the macroscopic limit. They believe similar systems could potentially be used to study many-body physics with other, exotic particles such as anyons – quasiparticles that have properties intermediate to bosons and fermions. Potential technological applications include cold atom quantum simulation.

Considerable interest

Ravi Rau of Louisiana State University in the US says, “It is an interesting method, novel to me, of controlling electron droplets and being able to measure correlations of two, three and up to a maximum of five-particles so far, and addressing the general question of the transition in few-body systems to the statistical limit from explicit dynamics when the number of particles is small”. He adds, “This study, such a system, and the results presented will of course be of considerable interest.”

Rau does however, note that very similar results were achieved in the past in studies of electron collisions with cold atoms and molecules. “[That technique] went under the name of COLTRIMS (cold target recoil-ion momentum spectroscopy) allowed measuring multiple differential cross sections and studying electron–electron correlations in atoms,” he says. “It was the exact analogue of this [work], except that instead of an artificially created and controlled droplet cluster, the electrons were naturally inside the atom.”

The researchers acknowledge the similarity, and thank Rau for bringing the previous work to their attention. However, Kashcheyevs argues that the new work has a generality that allows it to tackle new problems, finding the scaling law that connects the properties of individual electrons to the properties of incompressible Coulomb plasma. “Applying our method at lower temperatures in the future can probe the quantum regime of the phase diagram of this electronic fluid, which is known to support exotic quasiparticles impossible in the 3D vacuum of the Standard Model,” he says.

The research is described in Nature.

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Learn why some orcas, commonly known as killer whales, are sharing their prey with humans.

The European Union has unveiled a long-anticipated space law, but details of how its space sustainability and other provisions will be implemented could take years to work out.

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“Declaration of Dissent” denounces partisan messaging, rollback of environmental regulations, and dismantling of science office, among other concerns

USDA research points to viruses spread by pesticide-resistant mites, indicating a worrying trend

SAN FRANCISCO – While working in finance years ago, Yasunori Yamazaki traveled to mines to conduct due diligence. Later, as Axelspace chief business officer and Astroscale head of brand management, he considered how satellites could simplify the task. As a result, one of the first products being developed by his new company Singapore-based Liberatech Space, […]

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LOS GATOS, CA– Cambrian Works, an innovator in technological connections between Earth and space, is proud to announce their GigRouter flight unit is ready for launch aboard Aegis Aerospace’s MISSE-21 […]

The post Cambrian Works Announces Upcoming GigRouter Launch to the International Space Station appeared first on SpaceNews.

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France’s space agency joined European investors to inject nearly $18 million in French startup Skynopy, backing efforts to rapidly grow its ground station network amid a broader national push to boost financial support for the industry.

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“Maneuver is pretty critical to warfighting,” said Kelly Hammett, director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office

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China’s Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 are conducting proximity operations for a second time high above the Earth as a precursor to an expected on-orbit refueling test.

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What is the British Royal Regalia? Learn more about the British Crown Jewels and how they are replaced medieval renditions after anti-monarchists destroyed them.

The headlines in the space industry over the past month have delivered a sobering reminder: space is not forgiving, and certainly not friendly to overpromising entrepreneurs. From iSpace’s second failed lunar landing attempt (making them 0 for 2) to SpaceX’s ongoing Starship test flight setbacks — amid a backdrop of exploding prototypes and shifting goalposts […]

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Moog hardware enables weekly space launches for commercial and government customers

The post Moog Completes Major Building Expansion to Enhance Space Actuation and Avionics Manufacturing Capabilities appeared first on SpaceNews.

Learn more about the Neanderthal remains uncovered in Shanidar Cave, and how evidence, such as flower seeds, could indicate that Neanderthals buried their dead.

New observations support the idea that hot, diffuse threads of gas called cosmic filaments connect clusters of galaxies across the cosmos. That is the conclusion of Konstantinos Migkas at Leiden University and colleagues who say that their study strengthens the idea that much of the normal matter in the universe resides in these structures.

About 5% of the universe’s mass–energy content appears to be baryonic matter – the familiar nuclei and particles that make up atoms and molecules. The rest is believed to be dark energy and dark matter, which are both hypothetical entities. Although they know what baryonic matter is, astronomers have a poor understanding of where much of it is distributed in the universe.

Combining the Standard Model of cosmology with the rigid constraints enforced by observations of cosmic microwave background radiation tells us that structures including stars, black holes, and gas clouds account for around 60% of baryonic matter in the universe. This leaves 40% of baryonic matter unaccounted for.

Previously, cosmologists have argued that this discrepancy could point to a fundamental error in the Standard Model. Recently, however, a growing body of evidence suggests that this matter could be found in vast yet elusive structures, hidden deep within intergalactic space.

On a WHIM

“Large-scale structure simulations of the universe tell us this material should reside within long strings of gas called ‘cosmic filaments’, which connect clusters of galaxies,” Migkas explains. “These missing baryons should be found in the so-called ‘warm-hot intergalactic medium’ (WHIM).”

Despite being extremely sparse, models also predict that the WHIM should be extremely hot – primarily heated by shock waves produced as matter collapses into the large-scale cosmic web, as well as by phenomena including active galactic nuclei and mergers between galaxy clusters. As a result, these cosmic filaments should be emitting a faint yet detectable X-ray signal.

On top of this, the Standard Model places tight theoretical constraints on several physical properties of the WHIM – including its density, temperature, and composition. If X-rays are indeed being emitted by cosmic filaments, these properties should be encoded in their energies, intensities, and frequency spectra – providing astronomers with a clear target in their search for the elusive structures.

These X-ray signals have so far evaded detection because they are extremely faint compared to powerful X-ray signals such as those coming from supermassive black holes

To overcome this, researchers combined data from two of the world’s most advanced X-ray observatories. One is the Suzaku satellite, which was jointly operated by JAXA and NASA and was very good at detecting very faint signals. The other is the ESA’s XMM-Newton, which is very good at observing powerful X-ray signals.

Eliminating black holes

“Combining the two instruments, we carefully and appropriately eliminated the contaminating signal of the black holes throughout our filament,” Migkas explains. “This enabled us to isolate the signal of WHIM and measure its density and temperature for the very first time with such accuracy.”

For an observational target, Migkas’ team searched for cosmic filaments in the Shapley supercluster. This vast structure around 650 million light-years from the Milky Way contains one of the highest concentrations of galaxies in the known universe.

With the combined abilities of Suzaku and XMM-Newton, the researchers detected an X-ray signal indicating the presence of a filament – consistent with predictions of the Standard Model. As they expected, this intergalactic material was extremely hot and sparse: boasting temperatures close to 10 million Kelvin, while containing just around 10 electrons per cubic metre.

“We also found that on average, the filament is around 40 times denser than the average density of the universe – which is pretty empty in general – and around 1000 times less dense than the cores of the four-galaxy cluster it connects,” Migkas describes. Despite having gone undetected so far, this filament also carries a total mass around 10 times that of the Milky Way – making it a vast reservoir of previously hidden matter.

“For the very first time, our work confirms the validity of the predictions of the Standard Model of cosmology regarding the properties of a big part of the missing baryons,” Migkas concludes.

The research is described in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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What skills do you use every day in your job?

Beyond the technical skills tied to specific aspects of my research, my work involves continuously engaging a balance of creativity, critical thinking and curiosity. Creativity alone isn’t enough – in physics, ideas must ultimately stand up to scrutiny. Something is either right or it isn’t, so the goal is to let your imagination run free, while keeping it anchored to scientific rigour.

This balance becomes especially important when it comes to defining your own research direction. Early in your career, you’re usually handed a problem to work on. But, over time, you have to learn to ask your own questions, and formulating good ones is much harder than it sounds.

In the beginning, most of the ideas you come up with turn out either to be flawed or have already been explored. The alternative is to stay in safe territory and do incremental work, which certainly has its place, but it’s difficult to build a research career on that alone.

What helps is staying curious. Finding a meaningful research question often means diving into unfamiliar literature, following sparks of interest, and carving out time to read and think critically. It also means being open to inspiration from other people’s work, not just from research that overlaps with your own, but potentially from entirely different areas.

To me, one of the most precious traits in research is the ability to keep your curiosity alive

I’ve seen how easy it can be to fall into the trap of only valuing ideas that align with your own. To me, one of the most precious traits in research is the ability to keep your curiosity alive: to remain open to surprise, ready to recognize when you’re wrong, be willing to learn, and to be excited by someone else’s discovery, even when it has nothing to do with your own work.

What do you like best and least about your job?

What I like best is the freedom. I get to choose what my next research project will be about, and sometimes that process starts in the simplest of ways. I see an exciting talk at a conference, become fascinated by a new idea, and find myself reading everything I can about it. I’ll come back, pitch it to a student, and if they’re excited too, we explore it together.

When I start something new, I often feel like an imposter, venturing into foreign territory and trying to operate as if I know my way around, but as time goes on, things start to fall into place. Eventually, you reach the point where you create something new that others in the field may find interesting or inspiring in turn. That moment – when a once-distant topic becomes something you have actually contributed to – is deeply rewarding.

What I like least is answering e-mails. As a student, I couldn’t understand why some professors took ages to reply. Now I do. Some days, my inbox just fills up endlessly, and responding thoughtfully to every message would take the whole day. It’s a balancing act, deciding when to say yes and when to say no, and learning to say no in a considerate and fair way takes time and emotional energy. You want to be generous with your time, especially when someone genuinely needs help, but finding this balance can be exhausting. It’s an important part of the job, but I wish it took up a bit less space.

What do you know today that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?

That everyone feels like an imposter sometimes. When I started out as a student, I looked around and assumed everyone else was an expert, while I was just trying to find my way, painfully aware of how much I didn’t know. Over time, you do gain confidence in certain areas, but research constantly pushes you in new directions. That means learning new things, starting from scratch, and feeling like an imposter all over again.

The first time I heard the term “imposter syndrome”, it felt like a revelation. Just knowing that this feeling had a name, and that others experienced it too, was validating. Does this mean I feel less like an imposter now? Not really. But I’ve come to understand that it’s part of the process. It means I’m still learning, still being challenged, still exploring new directions. And if that feeling never goes away entirely, maybe that’s a good sign.

The post Ask me anything: Giulia Rubino – ‘My work involves continuously engaging a balance of creativity, critical thinking and curiosity’ appeared first on Physics World.

Scientists have discovered a centrosymmetric crystal that behaves as though it is chiral – absorbing left- and right-handed circularly-polarized light differently. This counterintuitive finding, from researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US, could help in the development of new technologies that control light. Applications include brighter optical displays and improved sensors.

Centrosymmetric crystals are those that look identical when reflected through a central point. Until now, only non-centrosymmetric crystals were thought to exhibit differential absorption of circularly-polarized light, owing to their chirality – a property that describes how an object differs from its mirror image (such as our left and right hands, for example).

In the new work, a team led by chemist Roel Tempelaar studied how a centrosymmetric crystal made from lithium, cobalt and selenium oxide interacts with circularly polarized light, that is, light with an electromagnetic field direction that rotates in a helical or “corkscrew-like” fashion as it propagates through space. Such light is routinely employed to study the conformation of chiral biomolecules, such as proteins, DNA and amino acids, as they absorb left- and right-handed circularly polarized light differently, a phenomenon known as circular dichroism.

The crystal, which has the chemical formula Li₂Co₃(SeO₃)_4, was first synthesized in 1999, but has not (to the best of the researchers’ knowledge) been discussed in the literature since.

 A photophysical process involving strong chiroptical signals

Tempelaar and colleagues found that the material absorbed circularly polarized light more when the light was polarized in one direction than in the other. This property, they say, stems from a photophysical process involving strong chiroptical signals that invert when the sample is flipped. Such a mechanism is different to conventional chiroptical response to circularly polarized light and has not been seen before in single centrosymmetric crystals.

Not only does the discovery challenge long-held assumptions about crystals and chiroptical responses, it opens up opportunities for engineering new optical materials that control light, says Tempelaar. Potential applications could include brighter optical displays, polarization-dependent optical diodes, chiral lasing, more sensitive sensors and new types of faster, more secure light-based communication.

“Our work has shown that centrosymmetric crystals should not be dismissed when designing materials for circularly polarized light absorption,” Tempelaar tells Physics World. “Indeed, we found such absorption to be remarkably strong for Li₂Co₃(SeO₃)₄.”

The researchers say they took on this study after their theoretical calculations revealed that Li₂Co₃(SeO₃)₄ should show circular dichroism. They then successfully grew the crystals by mixing cobalt hydroxide, lithium hydroxide monohydrate and selenium dioxide and heating the mixture for five days in an autoclave at about 220 °C.

The “tip of the iceberg”

“This crystal is the first candidate material that we resorted to in order to test our prediction,” says Tempelaar. “The fact that it behaved the way it does could just be a great stroke of luck, but it is more likely that Li₂Co₃(SeO₃)₄ is just the tip of the iceberg spanning many centrosymmetric materials for circularly polarized light absorption.”

Some of those compounds may compete with current champion materials for circularly polarized light absorption, through which we can push the boundaries of optical materials engineering, he adds. “Much remains to be discovered, however, and we are eager to progress this research direction further.”

“We are also interested in incorporating such materials into photonic structures such as optical microcavities to amplify their desirable optical properties and yield devices with new functionality,” Tempelaar reveals.

Full details of the study are reported in Science.

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Blue Origin launched its third crewed suborbital flight in under three months June 29, flying a group that included a married couple and a lawyer in legal trouble.

The post Blue Origin launches third New Shepard mission within three months appeared first on SpaceNews.

An H-2A rocket successfully launched an Earth science satellite June 28 on the final flight of a vehicle that had long been the workhorse for Japanese space access.

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A new proof illuminates the hidden patterns that emerge when addition becomes impossible.

A Rocket Lab Electron placed an undisclosed satellite into orbit June 28 on the company’s second launch within 48 hours and fourth this month.

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Discover what our world may be like today if Neanderthals hadn't gone extinct.

Space Force awards third consecutive NSSL Phase 3 task order to SpaceX for 2027 launch

The post SpaceX scores $81.6 million Space Force contract to launch weather satellite appeared first on SpaceNews.

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Quantum technology is rapidly growing with job demand tripling in the US along with venture capital bringing in billions of dollars into the field. That is according to the inaugural Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Quantum Index Report 2025, which finds, however, that large-scale commercial applications for quantum computing still remain “far off”.

Carried out by the Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE) at MIT, the report is a result of data collection from academia, industry and policy sources. It sets out to track, measure and visualize trends across several areas such as education, funding, research and development.

One aim of the report is to reduce the complexity of quantum technology and to make the field more accessible and inclusive for entrepreneurs, investors, designers, teachers and decision makers. This in turn, the report says, can help to shape how the technology is developed, commercialized and governed.

The inaugural edition focusses on quantum computing and networks, due to their higher potential impact compared to quantum sensing and simulation. The report says that $1.6bn has been raised by quantum-computing firms in 2024 compared with $621m by quantum-software companies.

The report also finds that jobs in the quantum sector have increased with demand tripling in the US since 2018. This has led to a higher number of education initiatives, with Germany having the most Master’s degrees that include “quantum” in the name.

A ‘community-led project’

The report says that corporations and universities dominate innovation efforts, claiming up to 91% of quantum computing patents. When it comes to academic research, the report finds that while China produces the most papers in quantum computing, US research tends to have a greater impact and influence.

The report also indexes and analyzes published data on over 200 quantum processing units (QPUs) from 17 countries to provide insight into how the performance of different types of quantum computers can be verified. The report finds that despite QPUs making impressive progress in performance, they remain far from meeting the requirements for running large-scale commercial applications such as chemical simulations or cryptanalysis.

Principal investigator Jonathan Ruane from MIT Sloan calls the report a “community-led project” and encourages people to contribute additional data. He says that while a report will be published annually, data on its website will be updated “as often as input is given”.

The post Large-scale commercial applications of quantum computing remain a distant promise, claims report appeared first on Physics World.

Other publishers appear unscathed in recent actions

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Discover why Antarctica no longer has lush forests with giant ferns and how ancient fires fueled intense volcanic activity.

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