High Energy Physics and Computational Science

In a major advance for quantum technology, researchers have discovered a surprisingly simple method to preserve atomic spin coherence using just a single laser beam. Scientists have developed a surprisingly effective technique to preserve atomic information, addressing a major obstacle in the advancement of quantum technologies . The approach involves directing a single, finely tuned laser at a gas of atoms, which helps synchronize their internal spins and significantly slows the loss of information. In many quantum devices such as sensors and memory systems, atoms can lose their magnetic alignment (known as spin) through collisions with each other or with the container walls. This process, called spin relaxation, undermines the reliability and accuracy of these technologies. Past solutions typically relied on operating in ultra-low magnetic fields and using cumbersome magnetic shielding equipment. The newly introduced method avoids those limitations. Rather than shielding the system, ...

Collapsing stars might act as cosmic laboratories for discovering hidden neutrino interactions. Neutrinos are among the most puzzling particles in the universe. Nearly massless and incredibly elusive, they rarely interact with anything, yet they play a deadly role in the life cycle of stars far larger than our sun. These subatomic particles exist in three known types electron, muon, and tau and despite decades of study, many of their behaviors remain poorly understood. Because neutrinos interact so weakly, it is nearly impossible to make them collide under laboratory conditions. As a result, scientists still do not know whether they follow the interaction rules laid out by the standard model of particle physics or if they engage in theorized “secret” interactions exclusive to neutrinos. In a new study, researchers with the Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics , and Symmetries (N3AS), including members from UC San Diego, have used theoretical models to demonstrate that massive s...