Attosecond science is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing branches of physics today.

Its popularity was demonstrated by the award of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics to Anne L’Huillier, Paul Corkum and Ferenc Krausz for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.

One of the most important processes in this field is dephasing. This happens when an electron loses its phase coherence because of interactions with its surroundings.

This loss of coherence can obscure the fine details of electron dynamics, making it harder to capture precise snapshots of these rapid processes.

The most common way to model this process in light-matter interactions is by using the relaxation time approximation. This approach greatly simplifies the picture as it avoids the need to model every single particle in the system.

Its use is fine for dilute gases, but it doesn’t work as well with intense lasers and denser materials, such as solids, because it greatly overestimates ionisation.

This is a significant problem as ionisation is the first step in many processes such as electron acceleration and high-harmonic generation.

To address this problem, a team led by researchers from the University of Ottawa have developed a new method to correct for this problem.

By introducing a heat bath into the model they were able to represent the many-body environment that interacts with electrons, without significantly increasing the complexity.

This new approach should enable the identification of new effects in attosecond science or wherever strong electromagnetic fields interact with matter.

 

The post Studying the role of the quantum environment in attosecond science appeared first on Physics World.

Describing the non-classical properties of a complex many-body system (such as entanglement or coherence) is an important part of quantum technologies.

An ideal tool for this task would work well with large systems, be easily computable and easily measurable. Unfortunately, such a tool for every situation does not yet exist.

With this goal in mind a team of researchers from Spain and Poland began work on a special type of quantum state used in quantum computing – graph states.

These states can be visualised as graphs or networks where each vertex represents a qubit, and each edge represents an interaction between pairs of qubits.

The team studied four different shapes of graph states using new mathematical tools they developed. They found that one of these in particular, the Turán graph, could be very useful in quantum metrology.

Their method is (relatively) straightforward and does not require many assumptions. This means that it could be applied to any shape of graph beyond the four studied here.

The results will be useful in various quantum technologies wherever precise knowledge of many-body quantum correlations is necessary.

 

The post Characterising quantum many-body states appeared first on Physics World.

China’s Landspace carried out the first launch of its reusable Zhuque-3 rocket late Tuesday, successfully achieving orbit, but failing with a first stage landing attempt.

The post Zhuque-3 reaches orbit on test flight, first stage lost during landing attempt appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated at a Dec. 2 ceremony hosted […]

The post Honoring a career opening doors for the commercial space sector appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

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Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

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Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

The post Leading the integration of commercial and military capabilities in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

The post Making seamless connections between D2D patchwork appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

The post Using AI to scan the Earth appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

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Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

The post A rapid deployment of a space traffic management platform appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

The post Spotting smaller wildfires sooner than ever appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

The post Making multiple breakthroughs in spacecraft swarms appeared first on SpaceNews.

Each year, SpaceNews selects the people, programs and technologies that have most influenced the direction of the space industry in the past year. Started in 2017, our annual celebration recognizes outsized achievements in a business in which no ambition feels unattainable. This year’s winners of the 8th annual SpaceNews Icon Awards were announced and celebrated […]

The post A vindication for NASA’s CLPS program, and a victory for Firefly appeared first on SpaceNews.

Learn more about two of the earliest reports of a total solar eclipse and corona, which were recorded in China, and solve several mysteries about our ancient Solar System.

Learn about tannins, the plant molecule that dries out your mouth and provides a surprising number of health benefits.

Learn more about the variety of health benefits tea has to offer and some of the downsides of certain tea products.

Reorganization could shift mission of the United States’s largest funder of the physical sciences

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Spot the stunning ‘Cold Moon,’ the third in the series of three sequential supermoons in 2025, which will appear alongside the stars on December 4, 2025.

On December 3, 2025, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will hold a hearing to examine the re-nomination of Mr. Jared Isaacman for NASA Administrator. A central issue at the Hearing will be the implications of Mr. Isaacman’s leaked “Project Athena Strategic Plan” (the Plan), which outlines potential reasons for and actions […]

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A normal, seasonal maintenance task might be more dangerous than we thought, especially for those with a cardiovascular history and who live mostly sedentary lives.

The most tragic event in modern astronomy isn’t a funding cut or a launch failure. It is a “missed connection.” Right now, a neutron star collision somewhere in the distant universe is blasting out a short gamma-ray burst. In seconds, that signal will fade. In minutes, the afterglow will vanish. While a few elite robotic […]

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