High Energy Physics and Computational Science

A new form of energy is being explored that is entirely renewable, cost effective, and environmentally friendly. Infinite energy sounds too good to be true, but is it? What are these cosmic rays known as neutrinos? In 2015, Japanese scientist, Takaaki Kajita and Canadian scientist, Arthur McDonald were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery that neutrinos have a mass. Neutrinos are the tiny subatomic particles that permeate just about everything in the universe. These neutrinos, once thought to be massless, are capable of converting their miniscule mass into energy, in accordance with Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2. This equation underpins much of our contemporary understanding of the universe. This same theory posits that neutrinos can be used to generate energy on earth to power our homes, cars, and cell phones. If it is possible, how would neutrino power work? A neutrino power cell would work much like the photovoltaic cell (found in this fence that is revolution...

Fresh DESI data suggests dark energy may evolve over time, contradicting long-standing cosmic expansion theories. New research suggests that dark energy, the unknown force driving the accelerated expansion of the universe, may not be behaving as previously believed. Observations from a large-scale 3D map indicate that this force could be evolving over time, contradicting long-standing models of cosmology. The data, derived from extensive observations of millions of galaxies, provides fresh insights into the fundamental workings of the universe. Scientists are now questioning whether the standard model, which assumes a constant dark energy force, remains valid in explaining the cosmos. Evidence from DESI's 3D Mapping Project According to the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which operates from the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-Meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory , findings suggest that dark energy may not be a fixed force. The analysis is based on data collected ...

The standard model of particle physics is our best theory of the elementary particles and forces that make up our world: particles and antiparticles, such as electrons and positrons, are described as quantum fields. They interact through other force-fields, such as the electromagnetic force that binds charged particles. To understand the behaviour of these quantum fields and with that our universe, researchers perform complex computer simulations of quantum field theories . Unfortunately, many of these calculations are too complicated for even our best supercomputers and pose great challenges for quantum computers as well, leaving many pressing questions unanswered. Using a novel type of quantum computer, Martin Ringbauer’s experimental team at the University of Innsbruck, and the theory group led by Christine Muschik at IQC at the University of Waterloo, Canada report in a publication in the journal Nature Physics how they have successfully simulated a complete quantum field theory i...

University of Queensland scientists have cracked a long-standing puzzle in nuclear physics , showing that nuclear polarization, once thought to hinder experiments with muonic atoms, has a much smaller effect than expected. This surprising result clears a major obstacle and paves the way for a new era of atomic research, offering deeper insights into the mysterious inner workings of atomic nuclei using exotic, muon-based atoms. Breakthrough in Muonic Atom Research Researchers at the University of Queensland have made a significant breakthrough in muonic atom research, paving the way for new experiments in nuclear physics . A team from UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics combined theoretical models and experimental data to demonstrate that nuclear polarization does not significantly interfere with the study of muonic atoms. Co-author Dr Odile Smits said this discovery removes a key obstacle, allowing scientists to use muonic atoms to gain clearer insights into the magnetic structure ...

Scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) and collaborators have discovered a groundbreaking way to control superconductivity an essential phenomenon for developing more energy-efficient technologies and quantum computing by simply twisting atomically thin layers within a layered device. By adjusting the twist angle, they were able to finely tune the “ superconducting gap ,” which plays a key role in the behavior of these materials. The research was published in Nature Physics. The superconducting gap is the energy threshold required to break apart Cooper pairs bound electron pairs that enable superconductivity at low temperatures. Having a larger gap allows superconductivity to persist at higher, more accessible temperatures, and tuning the gap is also important for optimizing Cooper pair behavior at the nanoscale, contributing to the high functionality of quantum devices . To date, efforts to control the superconducting gap have largely focused on “real sp...

Dark energy is the placeholder name scientists have given to the unknown force causing the universe to expand faster and faster over time. Paris: Dark energy makes up roughly 70 percent of the universe, yet we know nothing about it. Around 25 percent of the universe is the equally mysterious dark matter , leaving just five percent for everything that we can see and touch matter made up of atoms. Dark energy is the placeholder name scientists have given to the unknown force causing the universe to expand faster and faster over time. But some recent cosmic clues have been chipping away at the leading theory for this phenomenon, which could eventually mean humanity will have to rethink our understanding of the universe. And with several new telescopes taking aim at the problem, scientists hope to have some concrete answers soon. Here is what you need to know about what many scientists have called the greatest mystery in the universe. So what is dark energy exactly? No one knows. It is i...

A trio of physicists from Princeton University, CIT's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Spectral Sensor Solutions, all in the U.S., is proposing the possibility of generating electricity using energy from the rotation of the Earth. In their study, published in the journal Physical Review Research, Christopher Chyba, Kevin Hand and Thomas Chyba tested a theory that electricity could be generated from the Earth's rotation using a special device that interacts with the Earth's magnetic field. Over the past decade, members of the team have been toying with the idea of generating electricity using the Earth's rotation and its magnetic field, and they even published a paper describing the possibility back in 2016. That paper was met with criticism because prior theories have suggested that doing so would be impossible because any voltage created by such a device would be canceled as the electrons rearrange themselves during the generation of an electric field. The researchers wo...

Experiments support a controversial proposal to generate electricity from our planet’s rotation by using a device that interacts with Earth’s magnetic field. Attractive planet. Earth’s magnetic field might potentially allow the harvesting of energy from the planet’s rotation, according to new experimental results. “It seems crazy,” says Chris Chyba of Princeton University, talking about the hollow magnetic cylinder he has built to generate electricity using Earth’s magnetic field. The cylinder doesn’t move at least not in the lab but it rotates with the planet and is thus dragged through Earth’s magnetic field . “It has a whiff of a perpetual motion machine,” Chyba says, but his calculations show that the harvested energy comes from the planet’s rotational energy. He and his colleagues now report that 18 microvolts (µV) are generated across the cylinder when it is held perpendicular to Earth’s field. Next they have to convince other scientists that the effect is real. Chyba became int...

A modified version of Einstein’s general relativity equation reveals the strange connection between gravity and entropy. Several physicists have proposed theories that try to unite quantum mechanics with Einstein’s general theory of relativity. But a new study goes one step ahead; it not only links the two theories but also suggests that gravity emerges from quantum entropy. The study author, Ginestra Bianconi, who is a physicist and a professor of applied mathematics at the Queen Mary University of London, proposes that “gravity is derived from an entropic action coupling matter fields with geometry.” In simple words, this means that gravity is not a fundamental force by itself but instead comes from the way matter interacts with the shape (geometry) of space. This interaction is driven by entropy, which is a measure of disorder in a system. This indirectly suggests that a lack of entropy growth might cause gravitational effects to diminish, leading to unpredictable consequences for...

In a rare occurrence, physics made it possible to control the fastest travelling element - light. Italian scientists have managed to freeze the light, as per reports. A recent study published in a British weekly journal reportedly revealed that light can exhibit ‘ supersolid behavior ’ a unique state of matter that flows without friction while retaining a solid-like structure. The research, led by Antonio Gianfate from CNR Nanotec and Davide Nigro from the University of Pavia, marks a significant step in understanding supersolidity in light. The scientists described their findings as “just the beginning” of this exploration, as per reports. In what can be termed as ‘manipulating photons under controlled quantum conditions ’, the scientists demonstrated that light, too, can exhibit this behaviour. (A photon is a bundle of electromagnetic energy which is massless, and travel at the speed of light) How did scientists freeze light? As we know, freezing involves lowering a liquid’s tempera...

Simulations of quantum many-body systems are an important goal for nuclear and high-energy physics . Many-body problems involve systems that consist of many microscopic particles interacting at the level of quantum mechanics. They are much more difficult to describe than simple systems with just two particles. This means that even the most powerful conventional computers cannot simulate these problems. Quantum computing has the potential to address this challenge using an approach called analog quantum simulation. To succeed, these simulations need theoretical approximations of how quantum computers represent many-body systems. In research on this topic, nuclear physicists at the University of Washington developed a new framework to systematically analyze the interplay of these approximations. They showed that the impact of such approximations can be minimized by tuning simulation parameters. This method provides a new tool for quantifying the uncertainties in analog quantum simulatio...

Five decades ago, famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking theorized that the Big Bang may have flooded the universe with tiny black holes. Now, researchers believe they may have seen one explode. In Feb. 2025, the European collaboration KM3NeT  which consists of underwater detectors off the coasts of France, Italy and Greece announced the discovery of a stupendously powerful neutrino. This ghostly particle had an energy of around 100 PeV over 25 times more energetic than the particles accelerated in the Large Hadron Collider , the world's most powerful atom smasher. Physicists have struggled to come up with an explanation for such an energetic neutrino. But now, a team of researchers who were not involved in the original detection have proposed a surprising hypothesis: The neutrino is the signature of an evaporating black hole. The team described their proposal in a paper that was uploaded to the arXiv database and has not been peer-reviewed yet. Hawking's elephant-size black hol...

XRISM has uncovered how galaxy clusters evolve violent mergers create turbulence, preventing hot gas from cooling. This discovery solves a long-standing mystery and provides new insight into cosmic history. XRISM’s Advanced X-ray Spectrometer – Using its superior capabilities, XRISM detected oscillating hot gas motion at the center of the Centaurus Cluster for the first time. First Direct Evidence of Cluster Mergers – The observed gas movement confirms that galaxy clusters grow through collisions and mergers. Solving a Long-Standing Mystery – By directly measuring the velocity of the gas, scientists can better understand the heating mechanism that has puzzled astronomers for decades. Galaxy Clusters: Cosmic Giants Shaped by Gravity The Universe is shaped by gravity, which pulls galaxies  huge collections of stars and gas  into even larger structures called galaxy clusters. These clusters are held together by dark matter’s gravitational pull, and within them, gas becomes super...

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new technique to better understand how electrons interact within materials. By using a moiré material  created by twisting ultra-thin atomic layers  they generated an artificial crystal lattice in a nearby semiconductor, allowing for more precise studies of electron behavior. Scientists have devised a method to create artificial crystal lattices with a large lattice constant in semiconductor materials . The increased lattice constant reduces the electrons’ motional energy, making their interactions more prominent. This technique will help researchers study electron interactions across different materials. A better understanding of these interactions could explain how certain insulators transition into superconductors when extra electrons are introduced. Unveiling Electron Interactions Physicists have long devised creative methods to study how electrons interact within materials. These interactions are crucial because they drive import...

A groundbreaking achievement that advances our understanding of condensed matter physics. Imagine a type of matter where particles are arranged in a neat crystal pattern but can flow without friction. This peculiar state is called a supersolid, requiring particles to share a common phase and self-organize to minimize their energy . Although the concept of a supersolid has existed for over 50 years, experiments have only recently provided solid proof. Researchers mainly used ultracold atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) combined with electromagnetic fields to achieve this. Scientists have turned light into a supersolid for the first time in a groundbreaking new study. This milestone is a significant leap forward in condensed matter physics . Dimitrios Trypogeorgos from Italy’s National Research Council (CNR) expressed excitement, saying it’s incredible that they made light solid. The idea came from earlier work by CNR scientist Danielle Sanvitto, who showed over a decade ago that li...