Phys.org May 4, 2024 Researchers in the UK developed a high sensitivity quantum sensing scheme for transverse displacement between two photons interfering at a balanced beam splitter. It is based on transverse-momentum sampling measurements at the output. They showed that their interferometric technique achieved the ultimate spatial precision in nature irrespective of the overlap of the two displaced photonic wave packets. The precision of the technique was marginally reduced when dealing with photons differing in nonspatial degrees of freedom. Their work could lead to enhanced high-precision nanoscopic techniques, such as super-resolved single-molecule localization microscopy with quantum dots, by circumventing the […]
Tag Archives: S&T UK
Researcher: Climate models can run for months on supercomputers—but my new algorithm can make them ten times faster
Phys.org May 4, 2024 Marine and terrestrial biogeochemical models are key components of the Earth System Models (ESMs) used to project future environmental changes, but their slow adjustment time also hinders effective use of ESMs because of the enormous computational resources required to integrate them to a pre-industrial equilibrium. Researchers in the UK developed a process based on “sequence acceleration” to accelerate equilibration of state-of-the-art marine biogeochemical models by over an order of magnitude. The technique could be applied in a “black box” fashion to existing models. Even under the challenging spin-up protocols used for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change […]
Physics Revelation Could Mean We’re All Living in a Simulation
Phys.org October 10, 2023 The simulation hypothesis is a philosophical theory, in which the entire universe and our objective reality are just simulated constructs. Despite the lack of evidence, this idea is gaining traction in scientific circles as well as in the entertainment industry. Recent scientific developments in the field of information physics, such as the publication of the mass-energy-information equivalence principle, appear to support this possibility. In particular, the 2022 discovery of the second law of information dynamics (infodynamics) facilitates new and interesting research tools at the intersection between physics and information. Researchers in the UK re-examined the second […]
How quantum light sees quantum sound
Nanowerk October 3, 2023 Researchers in the UK have proposed a new way of using quantum light to ‘see’ quantum sound. They showed that the second-order, two-time correlation functions for phonons and photons emitted from a vibronic molecule in a thermal bath resulted in bunching and antibunching (a purely quantum effect), respectively. Signatures relating to phonon exchange with the environment were revealed in photon-photon correlations. They demonstrated that cross-correlation functions have a strong dependence on the order of detection giving insight into how phonon dynamics influences the emission of light. It is hoped that the discovery may help scientists better […]
One-atom-thick ribbons could improve batteries, solar cells and sensors
Science Daily September 21, 2023 Quasi-1D nanoribbons provide a unique route to diversifying the properties of their parent 2D nanomaterial, introducing lateral quantum confinement and an abundance of edge sites. Phosphorus-only materials do not conduct electricity very well, hindering their use for certain applications. Researchers in the UK created a new family of nanomaterials with the creation of arsenic–phosphorus alloy nanoribbons (AsPNRs). By ionically etching the layered crystal black arsenic–phosphorus using lithium electride followed by dissolution in amidic solvents, solutions of AsPNRs were formed. The ribbons were typically few-layered, several micrometers long with widths tens of nanometers across, and both […]
Making the invisible, visible: New method makes mid-infrared light detectable at room temperature
Phys.org August 28, 2023 Existing technologies for room-temperature detection of molecular vibrations in the mid-infrared rely on cooled semiconductor detectors because of thermal noise limitations. Researchers in the UK exploited molecular emitters possessing both MIR and visible transitions from molecular vibrations and electronic states, coupled through Franck–Condon factors. By assembling molecules into a plasmonic nanocavity resonant at both MIR and visible wavelengths, and optically pumping them below the electronic absorption band, they showed transduction of MIR light. The upconverted signal was observed as enhanced visible luminescence. Combining visible luminescence with enhanced rates of vibrational pumping gave transduction efficiencies of >10%. […]
The ‘unknome’: A database of human genes we know almost nothing about
Phys.org August 8, 2023 The human genome encodes approximately 20,000 proteins, many still uncharacterized. It has become clear that scientific research tends to focus on well-studied proteins, leading to a concern that poorly understood genes are unjustifiably neglected. To address this, researchers in the UK have developed a publicly available and customizable “Unknome database” that ranks proteins based on how little is known about them. They applied RNA interference (RNAi) in Drosophila to 260 unknown genes that are conserved between flies and humans. Knockdown of some genes resulted in loss of viability, and functional screening of the rest revealed hits […]
Limiting loss in leaky fibers
Science Daily July 3, 2023 Antiresonant, hollow-core optical fibers are currently challenging or even exceeding the loss performance of conventional solid-core fibers. Researchers in the UK have shown that the glass elements of the cladding structure with an approximately radial orientation play a crucial role in determining the confinement loss by strongly shaping the wave fields in the azimuthal coordinate. Azimuthal confinement can result in an evanescent field in the radial direction through the cladding, leading to a confinement loss that is substantially lower than would be the case without azimuthal confinement. They developed a comprehensive theory of azimuthal confinement, […]
Effect of volcanic eruptions significantly underestimated in climate projections
Science Daily June 23, 2023 Standard climate projections, as in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report, assume that explosive volcanic activity over 2015–2100 are of the same level as the 1850–2014 period. Researchers in the UK used the latest ice-core and satellite records to design stochastic eruption scenarios, to show that there is a 95% probability that explosive eruptions could emit more sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the stratosphere over 2015–2100 than current standard climate projections (i.e., ScenarioMIP). Their simulations using the UK Earth System Model with interactive stratospheric aerosols showed that for a median future eruption scenario, the […]
The ‘invisible’ cellulose coatings that mitigate surface transmission of pathogens
Phys.org May 17, 2023 Researchers in the UK have developed antimicrobial surface film based on sustainable micro fibrillated cellulose. The porosity, and microstructure of the film can be modulated by the formulations and the coating process. They observed a threefold reduction in water contact angles and accelerated water evaporation kinetics on the cellulose film (more than 50% faster than that on a flat glass surface). It exhibited a rapid inactivation effect against SARS-CoV-2 in 5 minutes, following deposition of virus-loaded droplets, and an exceptional ability to reduce contact transfer of liquid, e.g., respiratory droplets, to surfaces such as an artificial […]