01. New security protocol shields data from attackers during cloud-based computation 02. Proof-of-concept design shrinks quantum rotation sensor to micron scale 03. Quantum research paves the way toward efficient, ultra-high-density optical memory storage 04. Research team succeeds in ultra-fast switching of tiny light sources 05. Researchers crack a key problem with sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and grid energy storage 06. Researchers create orientation-independent magnetic field-sensing nanotube spin qubits 07. Researchers observe hidden deformations in complex light fields 08. Scientists uncover light absorbing properties of achiral materials 09. Solid electrolyte composed of nanoparticles shows promise for all-solid-state batteries 10. Geologists […]
Bioinspired yarn can harvest water from fog
Phys.org September 30, 2024 An international team of researchers (Italy, Germany, Sweden, Japan) developed a double-strand hydrophobic PVDF-HFP/hydrophilic PAN nanofibers yarn by electrospinning and twisting techniques like the hydrophobic/hydrophilic pattern of desert beetles and water self-propulsion property of spider silks. The double-strand cooperation approach allowed for water deposition on hydrophobic PVDF-HFP segment and transport under the asymmetric capillary driving force of hydrophilic PAN segment speeding up the aggregation and growth of droplets. They optimized the effects of the composition and the diameter ratio of the two primary yarns for boosting fog collection performance. The double-strand anisotropic yarn provided an effective […]
Climate change will lead to wetter US winters, modeling study finds
Phys.org September 26, 2024 A team of researchers in the US (University of Illinois Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Georgia) investigated 21st-century hydroclimate changes over the United States during winter and the sources of projection uncertainty under three emission scenarios using CMIP6 models. Their study revealed a robust intensification of winter precipitation across the US, except in the Southern Great Plains, where changes were very small. By the end of the 21st century, winter precipitation was projected to increase by about 2–5% K−1 over most of the US. The frequency of very wet winters was […]
Enhancing hurricane forecasts: Simulations reveal reducing estimates of atmospheric friction improves storm predictions
Phys.org September 27, 2024 The complex interactions of hurricane intensity and precipitation and the impacts of improving hurricane dynamics on streamflow forecasts are not well established yet. Researchers at the University of Houston addressed these gaps by characterizing the role of vertical diffusion in improving hurricane intensity and streamflow forecasts under different planetary boundary layer, microphysics, and cumulus parameterizations. They coupled the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) atmospheric model with the WRF hydrological model to simulate four major hurricanes in three hurricane-prone regions in the United States. A stepwise calibration reduced streamflow forecast errors. 60 coupled hydrometeorological simulations evaluated the […]
Geologists discover mysterious subduction zone beneath Pacific, reshaping understanding of Earth’s interior
Phys.org September 28, 2024 The Pacific large low-shear-velocity province (LLSVP) hosts multiple internal anomalies, including a notable gap between the central and eastern Pacific. The cause of the structural gap remains unconstrained. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Maryland, Canada) used a dense set of SS precursors (seismic waves) identify an anomalously thick mantle transition zone east of the East Pacific Rise directly above this structural gap. The area of the thickened transition zone exhibited faster-than-average velocities according to recent tomographic images, suggesting perturbed post olivine phase boundaries shifting in response to lowered temperatures. The researchers attributed […]
New security protocol shields data from attackers during cloud-based computation
MIT News September 26, 2024 Secure multiparty computations are typically offloaded to cloud computing servers, leading to vulnerabilities that can compromise the security of the clients’ data. A team of researchers in the US (MIT, industry) introduced a linear algebra engine that leveraged the quantum nature of light for information theoretically secure multiparty computation using only conventional telecommunication components. They applied this linear algebra engine to deep learning and derived rigorous upper bounds on the information leakage of both the deep neural network weights and the client’s data and obtained test accuracies exceeding 96% while leaking less than 0.1 bits […]
Proof-of-concept design shrinks quantum rotation sensor to micron scale
Phys.org October 1, 2024 A team of researchers in the US (University of Michigan, DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory) investigated the possible realization of an ultracold-atom rotation sensor that was based on recently proposed tractor atom interferometry (TAI). They described an experimental design that included the generation of a Laguerre–Gaussian-beam-based “pinwheel” optical lattice and multi-loop interferometric cycles. Numerical simulations of the proposed system demonstrated TAI rotation sensitivity comparable to that of contemporary matter-wave interferometers. They applied quantum optimal control to devise a methodology suitable to address nonadiabaticity which might hinder systems performance. According to the researchers their studies are of interest […]
Quantum research paves the way toward efficient, ultra-high-density optical memory storage
Phys.org October 2, 2024 A team of researchers in the US (Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago) has developed a predictive and general approach to investigate near-field energy transfer processes between localized defects in semiconductors, which couples first-principles electronic structure calculations and a nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamics description of photons in the weak-coupling regime which could be applied to investigate broad classes of defects in solids. They applied their approach to investigate a point defect in an oxide, the F center in MgO, and showed that the energy transfer from a magnetic source to the vacancy could lead to spin nonconserving […]
Research team succeeds in ultra-fast switching of tiny light sources
Phys.org September 27, 2024 Excitons in monolayer semiconductors offer strong light–matter coupling, spin–valley locking and exceptional tunability allowing electrical switching of their optical response due to efficient interactions of excitonic emitters with free charge carriers forming trions and Fermi polarons. However, there are major limitations to how fast the light emission of these states can be tuned, restricting most applications to an essentially static regime. An international team of researchers (Italy, Sweden, Germany, Japan) demonstrated switching of excitonic light emitters in monolayer semiconductors on ultrafast picosecond time scales by applying short pulses in the terahertz spectral range following optical injection. […]
Researchers crack a key problem with sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and grid energy storage
Phys.org September 27, 2024 Microstrain and the associated surface-to-bulk propagation of structural defects are known to be major roadblocks for developing high-energy and long-life batteries. However, the origin and effects of microstrain during the synthesis of battery materials remain largely unknown. A team of researchers in the US (Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory) performed microstrain screening during real-time and realistic synthesis of sodium layered oxide cathodes and gathered evidence from multiscale in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and microscopy characterization. They found that the spatial distribution of transition metals within individual precursor particles strongly governed the nanoscale phase transformation, local […]