Researchers at HSE University and the Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of the Russian Academy of Sciences have discovered a way to control both the colour and brightness of the glow emitted by rare earth elements. Their luminescence is generally predictable—for example, cerium typically emits light in the ultraviolet range. However, the scientists have demonstrated that this can be altered. They created a chemical environment in which a cerium ion began to emit a yellow glow. The findings could contribute to the development of new light sources, displays, and lasers. The study has been published in Optical Materials.

In a paper recently published in Chinese Physics Letters, a research team from Peking University report their latest discovery in the field of high-temperature superconductivity, revealing the existence of pair density modulation within a single unit cell of iron-based superconductors. This finding provides unprecedented microscopic insights into unconventional Cooper pairing mechanisms at the atomic scale.

MIT engineers have fabricated a metamaterial that is not only strong but also stretchy. Their new method could enable stretchable ceramics, glass, and metals, for tear-proof textiles or stretchy semiconductors.

Given the multitude of conditions that must be optimized in synthesis routes, chemical synthesis remains a complex and multidimensional challenge. The rapid development of computational guidelines and machine learning (ML) techniques has brought exciting hope to this dilemma. A new study published in the journal National Science Review highlights the advancement of computationally guided and ML-assisted approaches in inorganic material synthesis.

Researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) achieved the first direct laboratory observation of ion acceleration through reflection off laser-generated magnetized collisionless shocks. This observation demonstrates how ions gain energy by bouncing off supercritical shocks, central to the Fermi acceleration mechanism. The research was published in Science Advances.

In a paper published in National Science Review, a Chinese team of scientists presents the role of pyrope garnet in water transport from the upper mantle to the topmost lower mantle. Pure single crystals of pyrope garnet were synthesized at high-pressure and high-temperature conditions of the upper mantle to the top lower mantle using a large-volume press. Pyrope garnet can contain up to 2000 wt. ppm water with a strong dependence on pressure and temperature in the transition zone and topmost lower mantle. Hydrated pyrope garnet may serve as a vital water carrier and reservoir in the deep mantle, offering new insights into water cycling up to the topmost lower mantle.