Quantum Physics News

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Study Results Help Build Foundations of Galaxy Evolution Studies

When we think of a galaxy the first thing that comes to our minds is an assembly of stars. Indeed, the stars of a galaxy are one of its most important characteristics.

24 Mar 2016

New Insights into Twisted Light Hold Significant Implications for Quantum Communication

Researchers at the University of Ottawa observed that twisted light in a vacuum travels slower than the universal physical constant established as the speed of light by Einstein’s theory of relativity.

24 Mar 2016

New Persuasive Evidence Shows Presence of Quasar Feedback

Research led by Johns Hopkins University scientists has found new persuasive evidence that could help solve a longstanding mystery in astrophysics: Why did the pace of star formation in the universe slow down some 11 billion years ago?

24 Mar 2016

CERN Physicist Edda Gschwendtner Elucidates Why Researchers Use Huge Particle Accelerators

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is a whopping 27 kilometers in circumference. Edda Gschwendtner, physicist and project leader for CERN's plasma wakefield acceleration experiment (AWAKE), explains why scientists use such huge machines.

23 Mar 2016

ERAU Physics Faculty Plays Role in LIGO’s Detection of Gravitational Waves

At 9:50 UTC on the morning of Sep 14, 2015, the two detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatory (LIGO), one in Louisiana and the other in Oregon, simultaneously observed the distinct signal of a possible gravitational wave. The signal swept upward in frequency from 35 Hz to peak at 250 Hz, exactly matching physicists’ predictions for the inspiral, collision, merger and ringdown of a pair of black holes

23 Mar 2016

Study Reveals Circumstances for Violent Death of White Dwarf Stars

A team of astronomers including Harvard's Robert Kirshner and Peter Challis has detected a flash of light from the companion to an exploding star. This is the first time astronomers have witnessed the impact of an exploding star on its neighbor. It provides the best evidence on the type of binary star system that leads to Type Ia supernovae.

23 Mar 2016

Astronomers Observe Most Luminous Galaxies Ever Seen in the Universe

Astronomers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst report that they have observed the most luminous galaxies ever seen in the Universe, objects so bright that established descriptors such as “ultra-” and “hyper-luminous” used to describe previously brightest known galaxies don’t even come close. Lead author and undergraduate Kevin Harrington says, “We’ve taken to calling them ‘outrageously luminous’ among ourselves, because there is no scientific term to apply.”

23 Mar 2016

Researchers Develop New Conceptual Framework to Determine a Star's Age

Researchers have developed a new conceptual framework for understanding how stars similar to our Sun evolve. Their framework helps explain how the rotation of stars, their emission of x-rays, and the intensity of their stellar winds vary with time. According to first author Eric Blackman, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, the work could also “ultimately help to determine the age of stars more precisely than is currently possible.”

23 Mar 2016

Breakthrough in Generating Single Photons as Carriers of Quantum Information in Security Systems

An international team of researchers has made a breakthrough in generating single photons – the single quanta of light particles – as carriers of quantum information in security systems. The findings are set to revolutionise cybersecurity, along with advancing quantum computing, which can search large databases exponentially faster. Work will be continued through the Australian Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, which launches at the University of Sydney in April 2016.

23 Mar 2016

Physicists Need More Data to Better Understand Mysterious Bump

In December, the ATLAS and CMS experiments presented a sneak peek of the new data collected during the first few months of the Large Hadron Collider’s enormously energetic second run. Both experiments reported a small excess of photon pairs with a combined mass around 750 GeV. This small excess could be the first hint of a new massive particle that spits out two photons as it decays, or it might be a coincidental fluctuation that will disappear with more information.

22 Mar 2016