Advances in Atmospheric Science recently published a special topic​ on solar energy meteorology, led by scientists from the Harbin Institute of Technology and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This issue consists of five invited articles featuring progress and challenges in satellite remote sensing, solar system modeling, photovoltaic power forecasting, thermal balance of solar panels and decarbonization strategy.

A joint research team led by Prof. Jie Zhang found the reasons of discrepancies between experimental results of neutron spectral moment analyses and hydrodynamic predictions in nuclear burning plasmas in the recent inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments conducted at the National Ignition Facility, through unprecedented kinetic simulations incorporating large-angle collisions. These collisions generate supra-thermal ions during the deposition of alpha particles, causing deviations from the equilibrium state and falling outside the scope of the hydrodynamic descriptions. The kinetic simulations further reveal that large-angle collisions play a pivotal role in advancing the ignition moment and augmenting the deposition of α-particles in ICF nuclear burning plasmas.

Recently, researchers from Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences/Spallation Neutron Source Science Center and collaborators investigated the phonon dynamics in a low-thermal-conductivity crystal, which is stable in wide temperature of 8-700 K, and observed liquid-like phonon transport behavior in this ordered crystal CsAg₅Te₃, through first-principles calculations and neutron scattering experiments.

A novel machine learning framework accelerates the discovery of ionic thermoelectric materials, achieving precise Seebeck coefficient predictions. This groundbreaking method identified a waterborne polyurethane-potassium iodide ionogel with a Seebeck coefficient of 41.39 mV/K. Insights into key molecular features promise rapid advancements in waste-heat recovery and thermal sensing technologies.

In a paper published in Science Bulletin, Researchers discovered a unique signature of the planar Hall effect (PHE) in magnetic Weyl semimetals, where PHE conductivity is determined by a global quantity: the Chern number of Weyl point. Due to the robustness of the Chern number, the PHE conductivity here is independent of many material details, leading to a planar Hall plateau, which is rare and has great potential applications. By revealing completely new physical signatures, their work significantly advances the field of Hall transport.

In a paper published in National Science Review, an advanced catalytic team of scientists present a novel heterogeneous catalytic process that efficiently converts polyurethane waste into important chemicals like aromatic amines and lactones by combining methanolysis and hydrogenation with a CO₂/H₂ reaction medium. The intermediate chemicals were then transformed into functional polymers—polyimide and polylactone.

An international team of researchers has developed an innovative method to control the formation of molecular complexes using visible light. The results open new avenues for applications in chemical synthesis and the development of active materials and artificial systems capable of operating in biological environments with mechanisms similar to those of living organisms