Dwarf galaxies appear to be missing dark-matter halos

16 Aug 2022

Holding together The dwarf galaxy NGC1427A is in the Fornax galaxy cluster. Observations of the distortions of the galaxy are not in line with the presence of a dark matter halo. (Courtesy: ESO)

A study of the gravitational distortion of dwarf galaxies appears to support a theory of modified gravity rather than the existence of dark matter – the latter being a key component of the Standard Model of cosmology.

 

New Horizons probe may have observed light from decaying dark matter

19 Dec 2022

Outward bound: artist’s impression of the New Horizons probe. (Courtesy: NASA/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL)

An unexpected excess of light from beyond the Milky Way could be evidence of decaying dark matter particles, a trio of US-based astronomers has suggested. Drawing from observations made by NASA’s New Horizons probe, José Luis Bernal, Gabriela Sato-Polito and Marc Kamionkowski at Johns Hopkins University propose that this light could provide evidence for the decay of axions, which are hypothetical particles that could account for some of the dark matter that appears to permeate the universe.

 

Revived photon entanglement could enhance quantum communication and imaging   

08 Jan 2023 Lavanya Taneja

Loss and revival: artistic illustration of the angular-position entanglement measured by Anand Jha and colleagues. (Courtesy: Anand Jha)

Researchers in India have shown that photon entanglement in a certain continuous-variable basis revives itself as the photons propagate away from their source. The discovery could prove useful for securely transmitting quantum information over long distances and for quantum imaging in turbulent media.

 

Spaghettified star ripped apart by a black hole lights up with a relativistic jet

09 Dec 2022

Tidal disruption event A black hole devours a star that has come too close. In rare circumstances, this may also result in jets moving with almost the speed of light that generate light at many frequencies. (Courtesy: Zwicky Transient Facility/R Hurt (Caltech/IPAC))

A star ripped apart by a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy has been caught producing a rare but powerful jet of particles travelling at nearly the speed of light. The discovery, initially made by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at Palomar Observatory in California, is the first time such a jet has been seen at optical wavelengths, and it is shedding light on how the star met its demise.

 

Breathing new life into the iconic photos of NASA’s Apollo missions

11 Jan 2023

Andrew Glester reviews Apollo Remastered by Andy Saunders

Emerging view David Scott in the Command Module Hatch during Apollo 9. (Photo: Rusty Schweickart; courtesy: NASA /JSC /ASU /Andy Saunders)

If you’re a fan of space travel, chances are that you’ve already got coffee-table books featuring photographs from NASA’s Apollo missions. So you might be wondering whether you really need another one to add to your collection. In my opinion, the answer is yes – and the reason you do is evident as soon as you open Apollo Remastered by Andy Saunders.

 

Quantum error correction could help astronomers image stars

10 Jan 2023 Maria Violaris

Quantum error correction can protect fragile captured starlight from being degraded by unwanted interactions with its environment (Courtesy: iStock/angelinast)

Space is not a studio: when studying stars, astronomers have no control over the objects they are trying to image. Instead, they rely on improvements to telescopes and analysis techniques to create higher-resolution images from whatever light they receive, however faint or noisy it may be. Now, a team of scientists has proposed a way of using quantum error correction to combat noise in the starlight captured by telescopes.

 

Length selection produces single-chirality nanotubes

05 Jan 2023 Isabelle Dumé

Like a giraffe stretching for leaves on a tall tree, making carbon nanotubes reach for food as they grow may lead to a long-sought breakthrough. (Courtesy: Ksenia Bets/Rice University)

Theoretical physicists at Rice University in the US have proposed a practical new approach to growing carbon nanotubes with a single chosen “handedness”, or chirality. If realized experimentally, the approach would fulfil a long sought-after goal in nanotechnology and could make nanotube-based technologies more accessible.