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Researchers, Astronomers Discover Cataclysmic Variable Binary Star System

The Gaia satellite has discovered a unique binary system where one star is ‘eating’ the other, but neither star has any hydrogen, the most common element in the Universe. The system could be an important tool for understanding how binary stars might explode at the end of their lives.

17 Jul 2015

ARIEL Mission to Investigate how Planetary Systems Form and Evolve

An ambitious European mission is being planned to answer fundamental questions about how planetary systems form and evolve. ARIEL will investigate the atmospheres of several hundred planets orbiting distant stars. It is one of three candidate missions selected last month by the European Space Agency (ESA) for its next medium class science mission, due for launch in 2026.

17 Jul 2015

Testing of Magnetic Field Completed in Wendelstein 7-X Fusion Device

Closed flux surfaces verified / requirements for stellerator operation confirmed
Testing of the magnetic field in the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device was completed sooner than planned. The measurements, which were much anticipated at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, show: The superconducting magnetic coils, whose technical tests were completed only last week are producing the required magnetic field. The magnetic cage for the fusion plasma, which has a temperature of many million degrees, has a configuration which is in line with the calculations of the physicists. This is an essential milestone in the operational preparations that are currently under way. Later this year, Wendelstein 7-X should produce its first plasma.

17 Jul 2015

Physicists to Build Inner Tracking Device for CERN Large Hadron Collider with NSF Grant

Physicists in the College of Arts and Sciences have been awarded a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support their involvement with the construction of an upgrade to the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

17 Jul 2015

International Team of Scientists Discover Elusive Massless Particle

An international team led by Princeton University scientists has discovered an elusive massless particle theorized 85 years ago. The particle could give rise to faster and more efficient electronics because of its unusual ability to behave as matter and antimatter inside a crystal, according to new research.

17 Jul 2015

UT Austin Scientists Receive $1.5 Million Keck Foundation Grant to Develop Alternative Method for Cooling Atoms

The W. M. Keck Foundation has awarded scientists at The University of Texas at Austin two grants totaling $1.5 million to develop a powerful, alternative method for cooling atoms and involve more undergraduate students in using new advanced technologies for research.

16 Jul 2015

Researchers Analyze Behavior of Positronium in Particle Billiards

Collision physics can be like a game of billiards. Yet in the microscopic world, the outcome of the game is hard to predict. Fire a particle at a group of other particles, and they may scatter, combine or break apart, according to probability distributions governed by quantum mechanics. These processes can tell us about fundamental properties of matter and, if antimatter projectiles are used, also about matter-antimatter interactions.

15 Jul 2015