Science Highlights

Scientists have developed a new theoretical model for preparing particle accelerator structures made of niobium metal. The model predicts how oxygen in the thin oxide layer on the surface of the niobium metal moves deeper into the metal during heat treatment. Tests indicate that the treatment should improve accelerator structure performance and make accelerators easier to build.

Scientists have developed a groundbreaking AI-based algorithm for modeling the properties of materials at the atomic and molecular scale. It should greatly speed up materials discovery.

New experiments have shown the source of the aurora borealis. Researchers have demonstrated Alfvén waves accelerating electrons under conditions that correspond to Earth’s magnetosphere. The new experiments show that electrons “surf” on the electric field of the Alfvén wave in a plasma. These electrons are the ultimate source of the light we call the aurora borealis.

New materials will enable novel technologies to turn sunlight into electricity and fuels. Combinations of molecules and tiny nanoparticles make these materials a reality. Scientists have found a way to track electrons along their round trip from the molecules to the nanoparticles and back, helping to find where electrons can travel and where they get stuck, information that is crucial to finding better combinations for innovative materials.

In a test of the photon entanglement that makes quantum communication possible, researchers built a quantum local area network (QLAN) that shared information among three systems in separate buildings. The team used a protocol called remote state preparation, where a successful measurement of one half of an entangled photon pair converts the other photon to the preferred state. The researchers performed this conversion across all the paired links in the QLAN—a feat not previously accomplished on a quantum network.

The first analysis of the Glen Torridon region in the Gale crater on Mars shows that bedrock in the area was changed by groundwater in the planet’s early history, which has important implications for understanding past habitability and the possibility of finding past life on Mars.

Peatlands store a significant amount of carbon, and researchers expect that peatland plants respond to warming climates will influence future carbon uptake and storage. To better understand this mechanism, especially below ground level, researchers conducted experiments on ecosystem warming. They found that warming and the resulting soil drying significantly increased the growth of fine roots, which may indicate peatlands’ ability to adapt to changing conditions.