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Physicists Spot Quantum Tornadoes Twirling in a ‘Supersolid’

November 6, 2024

New observations of microscopic vortices confirm the existence of a paradoxical phase of matter that may also arise inside neutron stars.

Extra-Long Blasts Challenge Our Theories of Cosmic Cataclysms

December 11, 2023

Astronomers thought they had solved the mystery of gamma-ray bursts. A few recent events suggest otherwise.

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.

Brighter Than a Billion Billion Suns: Gamma-Ray Bursts Continue to Surprise

June 30, 2021

These ultrabright flashes have recently been tracked for days, upending ideas about the cataclysms that create them.

Squishy Neutron Star Setback Dampens Hopes of Exotic Matter

May 26, 2021

Groundbreaking results show that neutron stars of different masses may have the same size — upending astrophysical models.

‘Unicorn’ Discovery Points to a New Population of Black Holes

January 27, 2021

Small black holes were nowhere to be found, leading astronomers to wonder if they didn’t exist at all. Now a series of findings, including a “unicorn” black hole, has raised hopes of solving the decade-long mystery.

Secret Ingredient Found to Power Supernovas

January 21, 2021

Three-dimensional supernova simulations have solved the mystery of why they explode at all.

A Surprise Discovery Points to the Source of Fast Radio Bursts

June 11, 2020

After a burst lit up their telescope “like a Christmas tree,” astronomers were able to finally track down the source of these cosmic oddities.

‘Radical Change’ Needed After Latest Neutron Star Collision

February 20, 2020

A recent neutron star merger has defied astronomers’ expectations, leading them to question longstanding ideas about neutron stars and the supernovas that create them. “We have to go back to the drawing board.”

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