Topological insulators — materials whose surfaces can freely conduct electrons even though their interiors are electrical insulators — have been of great interest to physicists in recent years because of unusual properties that may provide insights into quantum physics. But most analysis of such materials has had to rely on highly simplified models.
By David L. Chandler
7 Feb 2014
Seeking a solution to decoherence—the "noise" that prevents quantum processors from functioning properly—scientists at USC have developed a strategy of linking quantum bits together into voting blocks, a strategy that significantly boosts their accuracy.
NASA's Kepler space telescope mission will be honored with the National Space Club's preeminent award, the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, in March.
Dr. Som N. Dahal, an electrical engineer with particular expertise in quantum dot nanostructures and silicon solar cell fabrication has joined Natcore Technology Inc. as a Senior Research Scientist. He is based at Natcore's R&D Center in Rochester, NY.
Particle physics takes the long-term view. Originally conceived in the 1980s, the LHC took another 25 years to come into being. This accelerator, which is unlike any other, is just at the start of a programme which is expected to run for another 20 years. Even now, as consolidation work aimed at a restart in 2015 continues, detailed plans are being hatched for a large-scale upgrade to increase luminosity and thereby exploit the LHC to its full potential.
Quantum Materials Corp. (QMC) announced today that it has closed on funding necessary to acquire and deploy automated equipment for significantly increased Tetrapod Quantum Dot (TQD) production.
Using very precise ground-based observations, Stephen Lowry (University of Kent, UK) and colleagues have measured the speed at which the near-Earth asteroid (25143) Itokawa spins and how that spin rate is changing over time. They have combined these delicate observations with new theoretical work on how asteroids radiate heat.
Research from a team led by North Carolina State University is opening the door to smarter sensors by integrating the smart material vanadium dioxide onto a silicon chip and using lasers to make the material magnetic.
From matching wings on butterflies to the repeating six-point pattern of snowflakes, symmetries echo through nature, even down to the smallest building blocks of matter.
We all learn in high school science about the dual nature of light - that it exists as both waves and quantum particles called photons.
A new study from Tel Aviv University reveals that black holes, formed from the first stars in our universe, heated the gas throughout space later than previously thought.
Using electrons more like photons could provide the foundation for a new type of electronic device that would capitalize on the ability of graphene to carry electrons with almost no resistance even at room temperature – a property known as ballistic transport.
New research shows that a remarkable defect in synthetic diamond produced by chemical vapor deposition allows researchers to measure, witness, and potentially manipulate electrons in a manner that could lead to new “quantum technology” for information processing. The study is published in the January 31, 2014, issue of Physical Review Letters.
Random processes in nature often underlie a so-called normal distribution that enables reliable estimation for the appearance of extreme statistical events. Meteorological systems are an exception to this rule, with extreme events appearing at a much higher rate than could be predicted from long-term observation at much lower magnitude.
A Canadian team including UBC physicist Walter Hardy and TRIUMF researchers have won the NSERC John C Polanyi Award for their work in creating, capturing and characterizing the antihydrogen atom. The team also includes Dr. Fujiwara of University of Calgary (also the spokesperson for the ALPHA-Canada team) and Dr. Michael Hayden of Simon Fraser University, both alumni of UBC Physics & Astronomy.