Science Highlights
Machine learning program for games inspires development of groundbreaking scientific tool
DOE/Argonne National LaboratoryScientists 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.
- Journal
- Nature Communications
Water containing battery electrolyte could enable cheaper, easier to produce batteries
DOE/Argonne National LaboratoryWet electrolyte could be a key to inexpensive energy storage.
The source of the aurora borealis: Electrons surfing on Alfvén waves
DOE/US Department of EnergyNew 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.
- Journal
- Nature Communications
Decoding the lifecycle of photogenerated charges
DOE/US Department of EnergyNew 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.
- Journal
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
New quantum network shares information at a scale practical for future real-world applications
DOE/US Department of EnergyIn 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.
- Journal
- PRX Quantum
Curiosity reports back on ‘most chemically diverse part’ of Gale Crater on Mars
DOE/Los Alamos National LaboratoryThe 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.
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
Peatland plants hide responses to environmental change
DOE/US Department of EnergyPeatlands 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.
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences