New insights reveal details of how strange matter forms.
Category: DOE Science News
DOE science news, Department of Energy, Office of Science US gov.
Searching for the Decay of Nature’s Rarest Isotope: Tantalum-180m
The first results from the MAJORANA experiment dramatically improve current limits on this rare isotope’s decay.
Fostering Great Minds and Great Ideas
To help make our science workforce as vibrant and diverse as our nation, Director Berhe visited universities across the country.
Measuring the Thickness of the Neutron Skin with Ultra-Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions
Researchers determined the neutron skin of lead-208 from experimental data collected in lead-lead collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.
Inverting Fusion Plasmas Improves Performance
Plasmas with negative triangularity show reduced gradients that develop into instabilities, including under conditions relevant to fusion power plants.
Statisticians and Physicists Team Up to Bring a Machine Learning Approach to Mining of Nuclear Data
Bayesian statistical methods help improve the predictability of complex computational models in experimentally unknown research.
Cancer Research in 3D
Scientists are working to standardize a process to create images of clumped cancerous cells. This technology could help lead to new treatments.
In Peatland Soil, a Warmer Climate and Elevated Carbon Dioxide Rapidly Alter Soil Organic Matter
Experiments find increased temperatures and carbon dioxide rapidly altered peatland carbon stocks, highlighting peatlands’ vulnerability to climate change.
The “Nested Doll” Nucleus Nitrogen-9 Stretches the Definition of a Nucleus to the Limit
Nitrogen-9 has only two neutrons to its seven protons and decays to an alpha particle by emitting five of its protons in stages.
Filling in the Cracks: Scientists Improve Predictions for the Dissolution of Minerals in Rock Fractures
A new correction factor for predicting dissolution rates uses measurable geological properties in fractured media.
Unmanned Aerial Systems Propel Atmospheric Science Forward
Since the 1990s, the Atmospheric Research Measurement team has found new and better ways to use unmanned aerial systems for research.
Artificial Atoms Power a Novel Quantum Processor Architecture
Fluxonium qubits can build cutting-edge quantum devices that will harness the potential of quantum computing.
Novel Theory-Based Evaluation Gives a Clearer Picture of Fusion in the Sun
Theoretical calculations and experimental data combine to reduce uncertainty in a key reaction rate in modelling high-energy solar neutrinos.
How Scientists’ Ability to Adapt Led to New Insights into Magnetism
When research didn’t go as planned, an alternative led scientists to a surprising result and a new approach to understand it.
Physicists Remotely Sense Radioactive Decay to Probe Fundamental Forces and Particles
The Project 8 and He6-CRES collaborations use a new technique to set an upper limit on neutrino mass and prepare to test the nature of the weak force.
Surprising Strategies: Scientists Quantify the Activity of Algal-Associated Bacteria at the Microscale
High resolution isotope analysis of the algal microbiome identifies ecological strategies not predicted by genome content.
Fair Play for Data: Researchers Develop Practical FAIR Principles for Data Sets
FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles facilitate the use of large data sets by human and machine researchers.
The Search Engine of Materials Data: How the Materials Project Advances Research
As a PuRe Data Resource, the Materials Project makes data easier to find, access, and reuse.
Scientists Locate the Missing Mass Inside the Proton
Nuclear physicists have found the location of matter inside the proton that comes from the strong force – a fundamental force that holds protons together.
Researchers Directly Detect Interactions Between Viruses and their Bacterial Hosts in Soils
The first application of High-Throughput Chromosome Conformation Capture (Hi-C) Metagenome Sequencing to soil captures phage-host interactions at the time of sampling.
FLARE Brings New Power to Magnetic Reconnection Research
A new experiment at DOE’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory will provide insight into a fundamental process in plasma.
How the Quantum World Can Help Scientists Engineer Biology
Improving genome engineering with quantum biology and artificial intelligence.
Gluon Spins Align with the Proton They’re In
A measurement tracking ‘direct’ photons from polarized proton collisions points to positive gluon polarization.
Creating a Virus-Resistant Bacterium Using a Synthetic Engineered Genome
Scientists engineered a model bacterium’s genetic code to make it virus-resistant and unable to exchange genetic material or grow without special media.
Machine Learning Techniques Enhance the Discovery of Excited Nuclear Levels in Sulfur-38
Forefront nuclear physics capabilities and machine-learning data analyses combine to generate new information on quantum energy levels in sulfur-38.
Testing the Evolution of the Universe with Galaxy Clusters
Scientists compared data on galaxy clusters from simulations and telescopes to check if the observed data is representative enough to test theory.
Lab Repurposes a Former Particle Accelerator to Become a Scientific Data Center Facility
Turning a long-standing user facility into a data center helped increase space at Brookhaven National Laboratory while saving money and materials.
Beyond Ice Cubes: Researchers Bring Complex Shapes to Sea-Ice Dynamics Models
Voronoi tessellation meshes focus on sea ice areas of interest and reduce computer resource needs.
SNO+ Reveals the Power of Neutrinos
While the SNO+ experiment is focused on particle physics, it has also revealed insights into using neutrinos for nuclear non-proliferation.
Long-Lived State in Radioactive Sodium Discovered at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams
A newly discovered excited state in radioactive sodium-32 has an unusually long lifetime, and its shape dynamics could be the cause.
Unlocking the Secrets of the Universe through Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay
Scientists investigate neutrinoless double beta decay through neutrino mass and the nuclear structure of germanium-76.
Supercomputers Shine New Light on Ocean Turbulence
A new, more precise model of turbulence is helping scientists better understand how heat moves through the ocean.
Seeing the Shape of Atomic Nuclei
New theoretical work indicates that the future Electron Ion Collider can be used to measure the shape of atomic nuclei.
Joshua Zide: Then and Now / 2012 Early Career Award Winner
A new approach to materials by Joshua Zide and his team turns semiconductors into nanocomposites with different properties and new applications.
Discovery of Low-lying Isomeric States in Cesium-136 Has Applications in Particle Astrophysics
Measurements of the nuclear structure of cesium-136 open a new channel for measurements of astrophysical neutrinos and searches for dark matter.
Snow-Capped Mountains at Risk from Climate Change
Snowpack in mountains acts as water storage for downstream communities. They could face low-to-no snow winters under certain emissions scenarios.
DOE and France Sign Statement of Interest for EIC
The Department of Energy and The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have a rich history of scientific and technological cooperation spanning many fields and projects.
Researchers Use a Novel Approach to Design a COVID-19 Antiviral Drug
Solving atomic structure and binding for improved antiviral drugs.
Advanced Computing Brings Autonomous Investigations to Nanostructured Surfaces
Machine learning and artificial intelligence accelerate nanomaterials investigations.
Imaging Shows How Inorganic-Microbe Hybrids Use Light to Turn Carbon Dioxide into Bioplastic
Scientists develop a multimodal imaging approach to study microbe–semiconductor biohybrids at the single-cell to single-molecule level.
Modeling Polymers for Next-Generation Manufacturing and Sustainability
New computational methods “fingerprint” polymer motions under flow.
Simulating Galaxies to Dive into Astrophysics
Scientists have developed simulations of millions of galaxies to help them accurately interpret data from future state-of-the-art telescopes.
Ultrathin Crystals Vibe with Infrared Light
Crystalline nanoribbons synthesized to resonate with infrared light for imaging, sensing, and signaling pass a crucial test.
PROSPECT Characterizes the Footprint of Neutrinos
Experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor precisely measures the antineutrino energy spectrum.
Scientists Amplify Superconducting Sensor Arrays Signals Near the Quantum Limit
New tools borrowed from quantum computing will improve the detection of X-rays and gamma-rays.
Signaling Across Kingdoms to Build the Plant Microbiome
Scientists discover a mechanism for plant-microbe interactions.
Scientists Find the Potential Key to Longer-Lasting Sodium Batteries for Electric Vehicles
Understanding defects paves the way for longer lifetimes for sodium-ion batteries — and lower energy storage costs.
Catching Ghost Particles
Scientists and engineers are in the process of building and testing the infrastructure for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
Researchers Develop a Novel Method to Study Nuclear Reactions on Short-Lived Isotopes Involved in Explosions of Stars
Scientists take pictures of a nuclear reaction in the laboratory to understand processes inside the cores of stars.
Tuning a Fundamental Material Property with an Electronic Coating
A graphene-insulator coating enables scientists to tune the energy required to liberate electrons from semiconductors.