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A Hint of Dark Matter Sends Physicists Looking to the Skies

October 19, 2021

After a search of neutron stars finds preliminary evidence for hypothetical dark matter particles called axions, astrophysicists are devising new ways to spot them.

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The Astronomer Who’s About to See the Skies of Other Earths

October 12, 2021

After the ultra-powerful James Webb Space Telescope launches later this year, Laura Kreidberg will lead two efforts to check the weather on rocky planets orbiting other stars.

Work on Earth’s Climate and Other Complex Systems Earns Nobel Prize in Physics

October 5, 2021

Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann have been honored for their work that led to reliable predictions of the effects of climate change. They will share the Nobel with Giorgio Parisi, who has made pioneering studies of chaotic physical systems.

Major Quantum Computing Strategy Suffers Serious Setbacks

September 29, 2021

So-called topological quantum computing would avoid many of the problems that stand in the way of full-scale quantum computers. But high-profile missteps have led some experts to question whether the field is fooling itself.

‘Impossible’ Particle Discovery Adds Key Piece to the Strong Force Puzzle

September 27, 2021

The unexpected discovery of the double-charm tetraquark has given physicists a new tool with which to hone their understanding of the strongest of nature’s fundamental forces.

A Massive Subterranean ‘Tree’ Is Moving Magma to Earth’s Surface

September 15, 2021

Deep in the mantle, a branching plume of intensely hot material appears to be the engine powering vast volcanic activity.

One Lab’s Quest to Build Space-Time Out of Quantum Particles

September 7, 2021

For over two decades, physicists have pondered how the fabric of space-time may emerge from some kind of quantum entanglement. In Monika Schleier-Smith’s lab at Stanford University, the thought experiment is becoming real.

The New Thermodynamic Understanding of Clocks

August 31, 2021

Investigations of the simplest possible clocks have revealed their fundamental limitations — as well as insights into the nature of time itself.

Q&A

This Physicist Discovered an Escape From Hawking’s Black Hole Paradox

August 23, 2021

The five-decade-old paradox — long thought key to linking quantum theory with Einstein’s theory of gravity — is falling to a new generation of thinkers. Netta Engelhardt is leading the way.

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