Tidal forces heat white dwarfs to unexpected temperatures in tight binary orbits
Impression of the 6.9 minute double white dwarf binary J1539+5027, composed of a tidally heated white dwarf (yellow)…
Compact laser-plasma accelerator can generate muons on demand for imaging
Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator (BELLA) detected and characterized directional muons. Credit: https://pxhere.com/es/photo/788784?utm_content=shareClip&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pxhere Muon beams can now be created…
Mechanical method uses collisions to break down plastic for sustainable recycling
Graphical abstract. Credit: Chem (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.chempr.2025.102754 While plastics help enable modern standards of living, their accumulation in…
Anomalous metal sheds light on ‘impossible’ state between superconductivity and insulation
(a) Colorized scanning electron micrograph of a reference device, taken before depositing the global top gate. The square…
Carbon offsets have failed for 25 years, and most should be phased out
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Academics at the University of Oxford and the University of Pennsylvania have conducted the…
Can we hear gravitational-wave ‘beats’ in the rhythm of pulsars?
Credit: CC0 Public Domain Pulsars suggest that ultra–low-frequency gravitational waves are rippling through the cosmos. The signal seen…
General relativity could make life possible on planets orbiting white dwarfs
Parameter space showing the effect of GR on eccentricity oscillations due to an exterior planetary companion for a…
Two-step excitation unlocks and steers exotic nanolight
Two-step excitation of higher-order hyperbolic phonon polaritons. Credit: Nature Photonics (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-025-01755-5 An international team of researchers…
Powerful and precise multi-color lasers now fit on a single chip
This schematic illustration shows the diffractive element in the high-power microcomb source separating comb lines spectrally. Credit: Michal…
New study rules out binary hardening as cause of Dimorphos’s orbital period drop
Gravitational scattering of ejecta cannot explain the observed period drop of Dimorphos. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL A new…
Plasma rampdown prediction model could improve reliability of fusion power plants
A shot-by-shot breakdown of every shot in the experiment. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63917-x Tokamaks are machines…
Physicists develop new quantum sensor at the atomic lattice scale
Working principle of the quantum electrometer. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61839-2 From computer chips to quantum dots—technological…