Author(s): So Kunisada, Shintaro Adachi, Shiro Sakai, Nae Sasaki, Mitsuhiro Nakayama, Shuntaro Akebi, Kenta Kuroda, Takao Sasagawa, Takao Watanabe, Shik Shin, and Takeshi KondoThe experimental observation of band hybridization in a cuprate superconduct…
Correlated Three-Dimensional Imaging of Dislocations: Insights into the Onset of Thermal Slip in Semiconductor Wafers
Author(s): D. Hänschke, A. Danilewsky, L. Helfen, E. Hamann, and T. BaumbachA combination of imaging techniques provides an unprecedented 3D view of a network of crystal defects known as dislocations.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 215504] Published Mon Nov 20,…
Integral orbits
Visualising 15 years in space for ESA’s Integral satellite
New NASA Insights into the Secret Lives of Plants
Three NASA missions launching in the next two years will look at vegetation across our living planet to investigate the role of plants in Earth’s carbon and water cycles.
Week in Images
Our week through the lens: 13-17 November 2017
Pluto’s smog keeps it cool
The dwarf planet’s hazy smog layer may chill the world more than expected.
Superconductivity at the Polar-Nonpolar Phase Boundary of SnP with an Unusual Valence State
Author(s): M. Kamitani, M. S. Bahramy, T. Nakajima, C. Terakura, D. Hashizume, T. Arima, and Y. TokuraA low temperature superconducting phase (3-4K) in ferroelectric SnP is experimentally observed when its ferroelectric phase is suppressed through hydr…
Forced Imbibition in Porous Media: A Fourfold Scenario
Author(s): Céleste Odier, Bertrand Levaché, Enric Santanach-Carreras, and Denis BartoloExperiments mimicking a common oil drilling technique, in which fluid is forced into an oil-filled, porous medium, have uncovered four different flow patterns.[Phys….
Earth from Space
In the 248th edition, discover Chile’s largest salt flat in the Atacama Desert
Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere
A super-Earth exoplanet thought to sport lava lakes on its hot side, 55 Cancri e, likely also wears an atmosphere with ingredients similar to Earth’s, a new study indicates.
NASA Survey Technique Estimates Congo Forest’s Carbon
The equivalent of up to three-quarters of the carbon stored in contiguous U.S. forests is locked in the living vegetation of one African country, according to new research.
Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere
A super-Earth exoplanet thought to sport lava lakes on its hot side, 55 Cancri e, likely also wears an atmosphere with ingredients similar to Earth’s, a new study indicates.
The case of the shrinking white dwarf
For the first time, astronomers have found observational evidence of a contracting white-dwarf star.
New pulsar result supports particle dark matter
The nature of dark matter remains elusive, but astronomers are now one step closer to the answer.
Double-Exchange Interaction in Optically Induced Nonequilibrium State: A Conversion from Ferromagnetic to Antiferromagnetic Structure
Author(s): Atsushi Ono and Sumio IshiharaA theoretical proposal suggests that a ferromagnet could be optically switched into an antiferromagnet by manipulating the double exchange interaction.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 207202] Published Thu Nov 16, 2017
Lorentz Symmetry Violations from Matter-Gravity Couplings with Lunar Laser Ranging
Author(s): A. Bourgoin, C. Le Poncin-Lafitte, A. Hees, S. Bouquillon, G. Francou, and M.-C. AngoninTwo independent studies show no evidence that a fundamental symmetry in relativity, known as Lorentz invariance, breaks down.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 20110…
Interaction Dependent Heating and Atom Loss in a Periodically Driven Optical Lattice
Author(s): Martin Reitter, Jakob Näger, Karen Wintersperger, Christoph Sträter, Immanuel Bloch, André Eckardt, and Ulrich SchneiderExperiments confirm that photon interactions cause heating of ultracold atoms in a periodically driven optical lattice. D…
Superconducting-Gravimeter Tests of Local Lorentz Invariance
Author(s): Natasha A. Flowers, Casey Goodge, and Jay D. TassonTwo independent studies show no evidence that a fundamental symmetry in relativity, known as Lorentz invariance, breaks down.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 201101] Published Thu Nov 16, 2017
Fracture swarms on Mars
These striking features on Mars were caused by the planet’s crust stretching apart in response to ancient volcanic activity.
Autumn fireball
Operations image of the week: A meteoroid as big as a football was seen by thousands as it burned up in the atmosphere over Europe in the evening of 14 November 2017
Full house for EDRS
The EDRS–SpaceDataHighway has now begun relaying Earth images from Sentinel-2A, which marks the last of four Copernicus satellites in orbit being brought under the EDRS service.
A presentation of the black hole stretching effect
Black holes and the physics behind them is a fascinating topic for students of all levels. The
exotic conditions which prevail near a black hole should be discussed and presented to undergraduate
students in order to increase their interest in studyi…
Variation of the friction coefficient for a cylinder rolling down an inclined board
A cylinder rolling down an inclined board is a commonly seen and interesting object to study and it
is also easy to experiment with and model. Following what has become a popular practice, we use
smartphones to measure the angular acceleration of a c…
Our Living Planet Shapes the Search for Life Beyond Earth
The knowledge and tools NASA has developed to study life on Earth will be a great asset to the study of planets beyond our solar system.
Crater shadows
Human Spaceflight image of the week: Astronauts, planetary scientists and engineers cast their shadows at the rim of a volcanic crater
A potentially habitable planet has been discovered just 11 light-years away
Ross 128 may be our nearest chance to find life in another solar system.
Discovery of the Doubly Charmed ${\mathrm{Ξ}}_{cc}$ Baryon Implies a Stable $bb\overline{u}\overline{d}$ Tetraquark
Author(s): Marek Karliner and Jonathan L. RosnerA pair of theory papers use the recently discovered double-charmed baryon to predict double-beauty tetraquarks.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 202001] Published Wed Nov 15, 2017
Heavy-Quark Symmetry Implies Stable Heavy Tetraquark Mesons ${Q}_{i}{Q}_{j}{\overline{q}}_{k}{\overline{q}}_{l}$
Author(s): Estia J. Eichten and Chris QuiggA pair of theory papers use the recently discovered double-charmed baryon to predict double-beauty tetraquarks.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 202002] Published Wed Nov 15, 2017
Where no CubeSat …
Technology image of the week: Where no CubeSat has gone before; ESA’s M–Argo has been designed to survey small asteroids in deep space
Ozone ups and downs
Climate scientists studying three decades of ozone measurements from seven satellites see a positive trend in global recovery thanks to international efforts to curb ozone-depleting substances.
NASA’s Mars 2020 Mission Performs First Supersonic Parachute Test
First flight tests of the mission’s supersonic parachute have yielded dramatic video.
Are you ready for totality from a mountaintop?
You can view the 2019 total solar eclipse from La Silla Observatory in Chile.
Sliding Drops: Ensemble Statistics from Single Drop Bifurcations
Author(s): Markus Wilczek, Walter Tewes, Sebastian Engelnkemper, Svetlana V. Gurevich, and Uwe ThieleA statistical model of drops merging and splitting as they slide down an inclined plane shows that the drop ensemble properties converge to a near stat…
Origin of Negative Longitudinal Piezoelectric Effect
Author(s): Shi Liu and R. E. CohenThe negative longitudinal piezoelectric effect is predicted to be a general phenomenon caused by the strong ionic bonds, whose origin lies in small effective charges and rigid potential energy surfaces.[Phys. Rev. Lett…
Listening for Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars
To explore low-frequency gravitational waves, researchers look to a natural experiment in the sky called a pulsar timing array.
Art & Culture in space
You don’t have to be a scientist or an engineer to join our space adventure. Check out the creative ways you can be involved and inspired…
Flyby offer
Use coupon code COMET in the ESAshop checkout to land free standard shipping on your next purchase of ESA products. Spreadshirt’s offer flies by 14–16 November
Astronaut meets volcano
An expedition of astronauts, planetary scientists and engineers is off to Spain’s Canary Island of Lanzarote to learn best how to explore uncharted planets. The training will equip space travellers with a geologist’s eye.
Is there a terrestrial analogue for Titan?
Looking for life in Titan’s totally alien seas could start with Earth’s own asphalt lake.
Generation of Caustics and Rogue Waves from Nonlinear Instability
Author(s): Akbar Safari, Robert Fickler, Miles J. Padgett, and Robert W. BoydExperiments show that the nonlinear response of an optical system can enhance localization of energy, leading to the formation of rogue waves.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 203901] Pu…
Satellite-to-Ground Entanglement-Based Quantum Key Distribution
Author(s): Juan Yin, Yuan Cao, Yu-Huai Li, Ji-Gang Ren, Sheng-Kai Liao, Liang Zhang, Wen-Qi Cai, Wei-Yue Liu, Bo Li, Hui Dai, Ming Li, Yong-Mei Huang, Lei Deng, Li Li, Qiang Zhang, Nai-Le Liu, Yu-Ao Chen, Chao-Yang Lu, Rong Shu, Cheng-Zhi Peng, Jian-Yu…
Observation of Broad $d$-Wave Feshbach Resonances with a Triplet Structure
Author(s): Yue Cui, Chuyang Shen, Min Deng, Shen Dong, Cheng Chen, Rong Lü, Bo Gao, Meng Khoon Tey, and Li Youd-wave interactions like those thought to underlie unconventional superconductivity have been implemented in a cold-atom gas.[Phys. Rev. Lett….
Phobos photobomb
Space Science Image of the Week: Phobos, the Red Planet’s innermost moon, sneaks into Hubble’s image of Mars
Week in Images
Our week through the lens: 6-10 November 2017
Quantifying the Coherence between Coherent States
Author(s): Kok Chuan Tan, Tyler Volkoff, Hyukjoon Kwon, and Hyunseok JeongA measure ties quantum coherence inextricably to the nonclassicality of light, showing that resources underlying both phenomena are the same.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 190405] Publis…
Direct Imaging of a Zero-Field Target Skyrmion and Its Polarity Switch in a Chiral Magnetic Nanodisk
Author(s): Fengshan Zheng, Hang Li, Shasha Wang, Dongsheng Song, Chiming Jin, Wenshen Wei, András Kovács, Jiadong Zang, Mingliang Tian, Yuheng Zhang, Haifeng Du, and Rafal E. Dunin-BorkowskiA vortex-like magnetic spin structure inside a small disk of m…
Earth from Space
In this week’s edition, the Sentinel-2B satellite takes us to the Republic of Fiji in the South Pacific Ocean
Dawn Explores Ceres’ Interior Evolution
Surface features on Ceres and its interior evolution have a closer relationship than one might think.
Look at the Moon
Human Spaceflight image of the week: ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli’s room with an atypical view
The road to Orion’s launch
NASA’s Orion spacecraft aims to send humans further into space than ever before, and ESA’s European Service Module will provide the essentials for keeping the astronauts alive and on course.
A review of the programme by NASA to assess pro…
Is there (frozen) life on Mars?
A new study finds frozen microbes could indeed survive the harsh martian climate for millions of years.
Testing before use
Operations image of the week: Engineers ensure that the hardware and software used to control satellites works without errors
Photonic Counterparts of Cooper Pairs
Author(s): André Saraiva, Filomeno S. de Aguiar Júnior, Reinaldo de Melo e Souza, Arthur Patrocínio Pena, Carlos H. Monken, Marcelo F. Santos, Belita Koiller, and Ado JorioA pairing of photons—similar to the pairing of electrons in superconductors—can …
Spin-Resolved Spectroscopy of the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov States of Individual Atoms
Author(s): L. Cornils, A. Kamlapure, L. Zhou, S. Pradhan, A. A. Khajetoorians, J. Fransson, J. Wiebe, and R. WiesendangerThe first experimental evidence is presented for the spin-polarization of Yu-Shiba-Rusinov states induced by the presence of a sing…
Three years of Sentinel-1
In this special edition of Earth from Space, discover how radar data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission has been used to advance science and in emergency response
What is dead may never die
Astronomers discovered a bizarre “zombie” star that went supernova not just once, but twice.
Discussing dark matter
A recent roundtable discussion hosted by The Kavli Foundation delves into the latest dark matter map of the cosmos.
Focusing and Sorting of Ellipsoidal Magnetic Particles in Microchannels
Author(s): Daiki Matsunaga, Fanlong Meng, Andreas Zöttl, Ramin Golestanian, and Julia M. YeomansResearchers propose a scheme to position, focus, and sort magnetic particles in a microchannel with a magnetic field.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 198002] Publishe…
Cross-Kerr Nonlinearity for Phonon Counting
Author(s): Shiqian Ding, Gleb Maslennikov, Roland Hablützel, and Dzmitry MatsukevichThe motional states of trapped ions are nonlinearly coupled through the anharmonicity of the inter-ion Coublomb interaction.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 193602] Published Wed…
Vega launches Earth observation satellite for Morocco
Arianespace has launched a Vega rocket to deliver an Earth observation satellite into orbit for the Kingdom of Morocco.
Hot News from the Antarctic Underground
A geothermal heat source may help explain why West Antarctica’s ice sheet is so unstable.
Stressed seedlings in space
Life on Earth has a myriad of problems, but gravity isn’t one of them – staying grounded means organisms can soak up the light and heat that enables growth.
You can name New Horizons’ next target
NASA invites the public to submit nicknames for MU69, a distant Kuiper Belt object.
Why won’t Enceladus just freeze already?
Astronomers created a model for Saturn’s moon Enceladus that may explain why its subsurface ocean has yet to freeze solid.
The first known interstellar interloper
Astronomers have spotted a visitor from another solar system.
Quantum Depletion of a Homogeneous Bose-Einstein Condensate
Author(s): Raphael Lopes, Christoph Eigen, Nir Navon, David Clément, Robert P. Smith, and Zoran HadzibabicAn experiment with cold atoms confirms a 70-year-old theory predicting the fraction of a Bose gas that turns into a Bose-Einstein condensate.[Phys…
Cancellation Mechanism for Dark-Matter–Nucleon Interaction
Author(s): Christian Gross, Oleg Lebedev, and Takashi TomaA simple Higgs portal dark matter model could explain why dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles has not yet been directly detected.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 191801] Publis…
Powering Saturn’s Active Ocean Moon
A new study finds heat from friction could power hydrothermal activity on Saturn’s moon Enceladus for billions of years if the moon has a highly porous core.
Heating ocean moon Enceladus for billions of years
Enough heat to power hydrothermal activity inside Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus for billions of years could be generated through tidal friction if the moon has a highly porous core, a new study finds, working in favour of the moon as a pot…
100 days of Vita
ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli marks his 100th day in space for the Vita mission.
Making waves
Space Science Image of the Week: Cassini catches small moon Daphnis making waves in Saturn’s rings
Looking ahead to the Square Kilometer Array
This web of telescopes will help astronomers unlock the mystery behind black holes, pulsars, and more.
Ultrafast and Energy-Efficient Quenching of Spin Order: Antiferromagnetism Beats Ferromagnetism
Author(s): Nele Thielemann-Kühn, Daniel Schick, Niko Pontius, Christoph Trabant, Rolf Mitzner, Karsten Holldack, Hartmut Zabel, Alexander Föhlisch, and Christian Schüßler-LangeheineA class of magnetic materials can be reordered at the nanoscale more ra…
Binding Energy of $^{79}\mathrm{Cu}$: Probing the Structure of the Doubly Magic $^{78}\mathrm{Ni}$ from Only One Proton Away
Author(s): A. Welker, N. A. S. Althubiti, D. Atanasov, K. Blaum, T. E. Cocolios, F. Herfurth, S. Kreim, D. Lunney, V. Manea, M. Mougeot, D. Neidherr, F. Nowacki, A. Poves, M. Rosenbusch, L. Schweikhard, F. Wienholtz, R. N. Wolf, and K. ZuberTwo indepen…
Persistence of the $Z=28$ Shell Gap Around $^{78}\mathrm{Ni}$: First Spectroscopy of $^{79}\mathrm{Cu}$
Author(s): L. Olivier et al.Two independent experiments on the isotope copper-79 confirm that its nuclear neighbor nickel-78 is indeed a doubly magic nucleus.[Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 192501] Published Mon Nov 06, 2017
Astronomers Complete First International Asteroid Tracking Exercise
An international team of astronomers led by NASA scientists successfully completed the first global exercise using a real asteroid to test global response capabilities.
More Than 2.4 Million Names Are Going to Mars
An open call generated overwhelming response from the public.
Week in Images
Our week through the lens: 30 October – 3 November 2017
European Space Week starts today in Estonia
When is the last time you used space technology? Probably a matter of minutes ago, if you took bearings on your phone, checked the weather or withdrew money. Starting today, European Space Week celebrates space for the rest of us – as a so…
The brown dwarf that killed its brother
A rare pair tells a strange tale of a premature stellar death.
What do belts around Proxima Centauri mean for exoplanet research?
Astronomy has a Q&A with Guillem Anglada Escude, one of the discoverers of the nearest exoplanet to us.
10-Qubit Entanglement and Parallel Logic Operations with a Superconducting Circuit
Author(s): Chao Song, Kai Xu, Wuxin Liu, Chui-ping Yang, Shi-Biao Zheng, Hui Deng, Qiwei Xie, Keqiang Huang, Qiujiang Guo, Libo Zhang, Pengfei Zhang, Da Xu, Dongning Zheng, Xiaobo Zhu, H. Wang, Y.-A. Chen, C.-Y. Lu, Siyuan Han, and Jian-Wei PanThe larg…
Earth from Space
In this week’s edition, the Sentinel-3A satellite gives us a view from the fourth most populous city to the rugged Outback of Australia
A discussion about ionising and non-ionising radiation and the critical issue of mobile phones
Electromagnetic radiation is one of the most important issues affecting peoples’ lives today. The
misunderstanding of students and the general population of the effects of electromagnetic radiation
is a problem which must be eliminated. Thus, a discu…
A demonstration device for cosmic rays telescopes
We describe a hands-on accurate demonstrator for cosmic rays realized by six high school students.
The main aim is to show the relevance and the functioning of the principal parts of a cosmic ray
telescope (muon detector), with the help of two large …
Liquid oscillations in a U-tube
In hydrostatics, pressure measurement with U-gauges and their relationship to density is a
well-known experiment. Very little is studied or experimented with the dynamics of the movement of a
liquid in a U-tube probably due to its theoretical complex…
A useful demonstration of calculus in a physics high school laboratory
The real power of calculus is revealed when it is applied to actual physical problems. In this
paper, we present a calculus inspired physics experiment suitable for high school and undergraduate
programs. A model for the theory of the terminal veloci…
Heat convection at the density maximum point of water
Water exhibits a maximum in density at normal pressure at around 4° degree temperature. This paper
demonstrates that during cooling, at around 4 °C, the temperature remains constant for a while
because of heat exchange associated with convective curr…
Juno Aces Eighth Science Pass of Jupiter, Names New Project Manager
NASA’s Juno spacecraft completed its eighth science flyby over Jupiter on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Launch your design with Cheops
ESA is offering graphic designers and artists a unique opportunity to feature their work on the rocket carrying the Cheops satellite.
Quarry queries
Human Spaceflight image of the week: Testing the Heracles lunar rover
Wind satellite vacuum packed
With liftoff on the horizon, ESA’s Aeolus satellite is going through its last round of tests to make sure that this complex mission will work in orbit. Over the next month, it is sitting in a large chamber that has had all the air sucked o…
This scorching exoplanet snows sunscreen
It’s a perpetual summer day.
The better to see you with, my dear
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will be armed with an impressive array of 23 cameras to help it analyze and navigate the red planet.
Operating Quantum States in Single Magnetic Molecules: Implementation of Grover’s Quantum Algorithm
Author(s): C. Godfrin, A. Ferhat, R. Ballou, S. Klyatskaya, M. Ruben, W. Wernsdorfer, and F. BalestroGrover’s algorithm, which finds an element in an unsorted list, has been implemented using a nuclear spin in a single-molecule magnet.[Phys. Rev. Lett….
Giant Kovacs-Like Memory Effect for Active Particles
Author(s): Rüdiger Kürsten, Vladimir Sushkov, and Thomas IhleThe prediction of memory effects in an active gas of polar point particles would mean that, contrary to expectations, the system cannot be fully characterized by the gas density and the polar…
Sentinel-5P timelapse
A look back on the preparations for the 13 October liftoff of Sentinel-5P
Teaching the nature of physics through art: a new art of teaching
Science and art are traditionally represented as two disciplines with completely divergent goals,
methods, and public. It has been claimed that, if rightly addressed, science and art education could
mutually support each other. In this paper I propos…
New Greenland Maps Show More Glaciers at Risk
New maps of Greenland’s seafloor and bedrock show that two to four times as many coastal glaciers are at risk of accelerated melting as previously thought.
Overlooked Treasure: The First Evidence of Exoplanets
The Mount Wilson telescopes were ahead of their time — in one case, capturing signs of distant worlds that wouldn’t be recognized for a century.