Newswise Feature Channel: Department of Energy

Advancing Quantum Technology: Tantalum's Impact on Next Generation Qubits

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 18:40:00 EST

If qubits lose energy, they can lose coherence and thus their stored information. Determining the key sources of energy loss and adjusting how qubits are made can help researchers design new devices that can retain coherence and thus quantum information for longer amounts of time. In this study, researchers designed a novel way to characterize energy losses in a thin-film resonator. The work found that tantalum construction and annealed sapphire substrates improve device performance.

It's Time to Jam

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 09:10:26 EST

In February, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with OpenAI, an American artificial intelligence research company, launched the first-of-its-kind 1,000 Scientist AI Jam Session.

Gluons' Density Isn't the Same in Bound vs Unbound Protons and Neutrons

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 19:40:38 EST

Nuclear physicists recently used photons emitted by an accelerated gold nucleus to probe the inner structure of the protons and neutrons (nucleons) in another gold nucleus to measure the resulting density of gluons. The research found that nucleons bound in a nucleus have lower gluon density than free, unbound nucleons.

Argonne's Physicists Are Redefining the Possible

Argonne National Laboratory — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:05:31 EST

Upgrades and new research at Argonne National Laboratory are helping physicists push boundaries, from basic science to the development of new technologies.

The Big Picture: Kristin Persson on Data and Machine Learning

Department of Energy, Office of Science — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 10:30:19 EST

Scientists recognized by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellow Award are pursuing answers to science's biggest questions.

Snapshot of CEBAF History Influences Next Generation of Particle Accelerators

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 19:30:08 EST

When the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) was being constructed in the early 1990s, scientists and engineers needed a way to test the recirculating properties of the racetrack-shaped beam. So, they built a scale model of the research machine using the first cryomodules to be installed.

A Subatomic Challenge Resolved: Supercomputer Calculations Produce the First Accurate Theoretical View of the Sigma Meson

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 18:30:46 EST

The sigma meson exists only for a fleeting moment before decaying into a pair of pions, making it hard to study. Nuclear physicists recently combined modern supercomputer calculations with more traditional theoretical tools to study the sigma meson, producing the first accurate theoretical view of the sigma as a system of quarks and gluons. This will aid in understanding the role the sigma meson plays in proton-neutron interactions and other phenomena.

Maximal Entanglement Sheds New Light on Particle Creation

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 08:40:10 EST

Physicists have shown that particles produced in collimated sprays called jets retain information about their origins in subatomic particle smashups.

A Quiet Revolution: New Technique Could Accelerate Noise-Free Superconducting Qubits for Quantum Computing

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 11:30:41 EST

Scientists have developed a new fabrication technique that could improve noise robustness in superconducting qubits, a key technology to enabling large-scale quantum computers.

Disturbed Sleep Cycle Propels Cyanobacteria Into Surprising Burst of Productivity

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:15 EST

People who have disrupted circadian rhythms suffer all kinds of negative effects. But in cyanobacteria, disrupted rhythms can pay off for researchers seeking new ways to produce biology-based products more efficiently. The circadian rhythms of these blue-green microbes offer a new window into predictive phenomics--how to predict and control the traits of an organism.

Quantum Shells Redefine X-ray Detection with Unmatched Speed and Sensitivity

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 20:20:20 EST

Researchers have developed a new type of scintillator using a colloidal quantum shell structure. These scintillators detect ionizing radiation, such as X-rays and electrons, with new levels of speed, efficiency, and durability. The advance could benefit fields ranging from medicine to national security to particle physics.

Longstanding Model Fails to Explain Spin Dynamics in 1D Cuprates

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 17:40:53 EST

Superconductivity - the ability of some materials to conduct electricity with no energy loss - holds immense promise for new technologies from lossless power grids to advanced quantum devices.

Engineering Innovation Meets History in Groundbreaking Neutrino Experiment at SURF

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 10:15:39 EST

At the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), hovercraft technology is being used to efficiently move massive steel beams for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.

Imaging Nuclear Shapes by Smashing them to Smithereens

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 22:45:43 EST

Researchers demonstrated a new way to reveal the shapes of atomic nuclei. The method analyzes the flow and momentum of particles from high-energy collisions of nuclei. Those flow patterns are linked to the shape of nuclear matter created in these collisions, and the shape of the nuclear matter is in turn determined by the shapes of the colliding nuclei. The researchers compared observed flow patterns with flow models for different sizes and shapes of melted matter to reconstruct the highly deformed shapes of colliding uranium nuclei. STAR Collaboration

New Progress Toward the Discovery of New Elements

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 20:05:55 EST

Researchers recently created two atoms of livermorium (element 116) using a new approach that offers a path to discovering even heavier elements. This brings scientists closer to creating a new element with 120 protons, which would push the boundaries of the periodic table to a new eighth row and move closer to the "island of stability."

Novel Biosensor Illuminates Plant RNA in Real Time

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 07:40:18 EST

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a first-ever method of detecting ribonucleic acid, or RNA, inside plant cells using a technique that results in a visible fluorescent signal.

Study Tracks Chromium Chemistry in Irradiated Molten Salts

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 10:20:21 EST

Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory report that radiation-induced chemical reactions may help mitigate the corrosion of metals in a new type of nuclear reactor cooled by molten salts.

International Conference of Plasma Experts Discuss Space and Fusion Physics

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 08:30:13 EST

Physicists from around the world gathered at PPPL for the 2025 International Workshop on Magnetic Reconnection in Space, Solar, Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas. Participants discussed recent findings involving magnetic reconnection, one of the most common phenomena in the cosmos.

Understanding the Adsorption Properties of Terbium for Future Medical Use

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 20:20:19 EST

Terbium-161 (Tb-161) is a radiolanthanide that shows promise for use in theranostic nuclear medicine. To obtain Tb-161 in a form amenable for medical use, the isotope must be separated from gadolinium, generally using DGA (N,N,N',N'-tetra-n-octyldiglycolamide) and LN (Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate) resins.

Cutting-Edge Experiments Reveal 'Hidden' Details in Transforming Material

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 19:45:32 EST

Using SLAC's LCLS for one of the first studies of its kind, researchers discover surprising behaviors of a complex material that could have important implications for designing faster microelectronic devices.

Oxygen Tweaking May Be the Key to Optimizing Particle Accelerators

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 20:10:47 EST

Many particle accelerators rely on superconducting radiofrequency components made of niobium. Nuclear physicists found that dissolving oxygen atoms a few micrometers into niobium greatly improves the performance of components made of the metal. Now, the researchers are perfecting a model using different processes for adding oxygen. The model helps to predict and optimize component performance.

AAAS Elects Five ORNL Scientists as Fellows

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 10:15:52 EST

Five scientists from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- Ho Nyung Lee, David Graham, Andrew Sutton, Roger Rousseau and Troy Carter -- have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS.

Molecular Modeling Reveals How Nanocrystals Take Shape

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 19:50:11 EST

The shape of nanoparticles depends on the choice of solvent and temperature during their growth, but the seed particles that form first are too small to measure accurately. Researchers have developed a new approach to successfully model seed particles with 100 to 200 atoms.

In an Advance for Promethium Production, Researchers Get a New View of the Element's Properties

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 19:25:08 EST

Promethium's short half-life and lack of stable isotopes makes it difficult to study. In addition, promethium is difficult to separate from other lanthanide elements because of these elements' similarity. In this study, scientists created a pure sample of the isotope promethium-147 and used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to examine the way it chemically bonds.

Two Argonne scientists elected American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows

Argonne National Laboratory — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 17:55:29 EST

Two Argonne scientists, Karen Mulfort and Di-Jia Liu, have been elected as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for achievements in their field.

New Approach to Materials Synthesis--with Quick Validation by a Robotic Lab

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 17:35:34 EST

To make inorganic materials such as catalysts, industry mixes precursor powders and fires them in an oven. This often produces a mix of compositions and structures. In this study, researchers developed a new way to select precursors to increase yield and quickly validated their results using a robotic lab. The new recipe selection process obtained higher purity for 32 of the 35 target materials.

New Precise Calculation of Nuclear Beta Decays Paves the Way to Uncover Physics Beyond the Standard Model

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 21:30:22 EST

Through the weak nuclear force, one quark flavor can transmute into another. However, current data and theory indicate that the probabilities of quark flavor transmutation do not add up to 100%, as predicted by the Standard Model of Particle Physics. To understand whether this is due to physics beyond the Standard Model or underestimated uncertainties, nuclear theorists laid out a new framework needed to extract the up-down quark flavor mixing with a precision of a few parts in ten thousand from certain nuclear beta decays.

Maximizing Hydropower Efficiency with Hydrogen Production

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:00:14 EST

Hydropower is a reliable source of energy. However, the inconsistent nature of water flows and electricity demand often challenges hydropower operators and reduces revenue.

Solving a Molecular Mystery for Better Bioproducts

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:30:31 EST

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Cincinnati achieved a breakthrough in understanding the vulnerability of microbes to the butanol they produce during fermentation of plant biomass. The discovery could pave the way for more efficient production of domestic fuels, chemicals and materials.

Simulations Showed That Six Valves Provided the Ideal Setup for Rapidly Dispersing Cooling Gas

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 08:30:07 EST

Researchers have determined that six gas valves provide the best protection against plasma disruptions in SPARC, a next-generation, experimental fusion system.

An Intricate Jigsaw Puzzle: Pre-Fitting Components of the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade Before Reassembly

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 20:00:07 EST

The National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade project team is pre-fitting tiles and other components inside the vacuum vessel prior to reassembly in a process comparable to pre-assembling an intricate jigsaw puzzle. The process helps them identify any potential problems, which could save time down the road.

Moire than Meets the Eye

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 11:00:52 EST

Researchers have discovered that phasons, low-temperature quasiparticles found in crystal lattices, enable interlayer excitons to move at very low temperatures, when motion should stop. In addition to contributing to foundational materials science knowledge, this discovery could help improve the stability of quantum technologies, such as using excitons as qubits.

Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) Enters 25th and Final Run

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 08:40:27 EST

Today, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility for nuclear physics research at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory, entered its 25th and final year of operations, smashing together the nuclei of gold atoms traveling close to the speed of light.

Can Electricity Flow Without Electrons?

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 18:20:40 EST

Scientists have long held that electricity is carried by individual electrons with discrete charges moving in a metal, even in the case of electrons clumped into quasiparticles. However, "strange metals" fail to obey this paradigm. Researchers have observed a radical quantum blurring of electrons in strange metal into a featureless liquid, potentially pointing toward a new theory of electrical transport.

Testing the Possible Doubly Magic Nature of Tin-100, Researchers Study the Electromagnetic Properties of Indium Isotopes

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 20:25:12 EST

Atomic nuclei with "magic numbers" of protons or neutrons in their nuclear shells are extremely stable. Nuclear physicists are especially interested in nuclei with doubly magic numbers--those that have full shells for both protons and neutrons. One example is the tin isotope Sn-100, which has 50 protons and 50 neutrons. To prepare for future work on Sn-100, researchers studied the properties of isotopes of indium as they approached 50 neutrons. This helps to demonstrate how adding single particles changes the properties of a nucleus.

New DESI Results Strengthen Hints That Dark Energy May Evolve

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 EST

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument used millions of galaxies and quasars to build the largest 3D map of our universe to date. Combining the DESI data with other experiments shows signs that the impact of dark energy may be weakening over time -- and the standard model of how the universe works may need an update.

DESI Opens Access to the Largest 3D Map of the Universe Yet

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 18:00:00 EST

A new data release from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument is now available for researchers to explore. The collection contains information on 18.7 million galaxies, quasars, and stars -- the largest dataset of its kind ever shared.

Argonne Team Uses Aurora Supercomputer to Investigate Potential Dark Energy Breakthrough

Argonne National Laboratory — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 20:20:15 EST

Argonne researchers used the lab's Aurora exascale supercomputer to perform large-scale simulations of the universe, providing a testing ground to investigate Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument's potentially game-changing observations of dark energy.

1,000 Scientist AI Jam kicks off at Argonne

Argonne National Laboratory — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:55:13 EST

The 1,000 Scientist AI Jam brought together DOE researchers at Argonne and eight other labs to explore models from OpenAI and Anthropic and understand AI's potential to accelerate discoveries in energy, materials science, medicine and more.

Rising Stars: PPPL Researchers Honored in 2024 Physics of Plasmas Early Career Collection

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 08:30:23 EST

Research by Frances Kraus, Jason Parisi and Willca Villafana will be featured in the Physics of Plasmas Early Career Collection.

Web Search Formulas Offer a First Step for Protecting Critical Infrastructure

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 00:00:23 EST

Scientists are exploring how web search engine technology might also keep the lights on, the water running and the trains moving.

Unlocking the Passcodes to Manipulate Natural Bacterial Communities

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 19:50:59 EST

Bacteria commonly produce toxins that are lethal to themselves, but also produce the required antitoxins. These toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems may be useful in modifying bacteria for biotechnology applications, but the systems have unpredictable behavior. A new study of communities instead of individual species makes TA systems easier to understand and use.

Nuclear Physicists Create Scalable Quantum Circuits to Simulate Fundamental Physics

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 21:05:50 EST

Simulations of equations from the Standard Model of particle physics are too difficult for classical supercomputers. In this research, scientists for the first time created scalable quantum circuits to prepare a simulation of the starting state for a particle accelerator collision to test aspects of strong interactions. The researchers first determined these circuits for small systems using classical computers, then scaled the quantum circuits to a large system on more than 100 qubits of IBM's quantum computers.

Heavy Ligands Unravel New Chemistry for Heavy Elements

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 20:50:07 EST

The transplutonium actinides are highly radioactive and rare, making them difficult to study. To examine their chemical properties, researchers typically use non-radioactive lanthanides as surrogates. In this study, scientists streamlined the synthesis of transplutonium actinide compounds, which allowed for more accurate direct comparisons of lanthanides and heavy actinide compounds, showing that transplutonium actinides have truly unique properties.

New Computer Code Could Lead to Simpler, Less Costly Stellarators for Fusion Power

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 09:35:52 EST

Physicists have created a new computer code that could speed up the design of the complicated magnets that shape the plasma in stellarators, making the systems simpler and more affordable to build.

Scientists Discover New Heavy-Metal Molecule 'Berkelocene'

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 11:00:11 EST

Scientists have discovered "berkelocene," the first organometallic molecule to be characterized containing the heavy element berkelium. The breakthrough disrupts long-held theories about the chemistry of the elements that follow uranium in the periodic table.

Scientists Take an Important Step Toward Mitigating Errors in Analog Quantum Simulations of Many-Body Problems

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 09:10:40 EST

Simulations of quantum many-body problems are a challenge for even the most powerful conventional computers. Quantum computing has the potential to solve this challenge using an approach called an analog quantum simulation. To succeed, these simulations need theoretical approximations of how quantum computers represent many-body systems. In this research, nuclear physicists developed a new framework to analyze these approximations and minimize their effects.

A New Way to Engineer Composite Materials

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 11:00:33 EST

A new study led by researchers at Berkeley Lab outlines a way to engineer pseudo-bonds in materials. Instead of forming chemical bonds, which is what makes epoxies and other composites so tough, the chains of molecules entangle in a way that is fully reversible.

Energy Secretary Focuses on American Leadership During ORNL Visit

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:50:40 EST

During his first visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Energy Secretary Chris Wright compared the urgency of the lab's World War II beginnings to today's global race to lead in artificial intelligence, calling for a "Manhattan Project 2."

SLAC Scientists Created the Most Powerful Ultrashort Electron Beam in the World

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:30:27 EST

Researchers carefully positioned lasers to compress billions of electrons together, creating a beam five times more powerful than ever before.