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Category: computing – Page 3

Nanoscale ‘Bragg gratings’ on photonic chips suppress noise in laser light

Researchers at the University of Sydney have cracked a long-standing problem in microchip-scale lasers by carving tiny “speed bumps” into the devices’ optical cavity in their quest to produce exceptionally “clean” light. This exquisitely narrow spectrum light could be used in future quantum computers, advanced navigation systems, ultra-fast communications networks and precision sensors.

In a new study published in APL Photonics, the team shows how to eliminate a critical source of noise in Brillouin lasers, a special class of light source known for its extraordinary purity, producing an ultranarrow spectrum that is almost a perfect single wavelength (or color) of light.

Light produced from sources like lightbulbs have a broad wavelength spectrum and are fine for everyday use but are too “noisy” for precision scientific purposes, where lasers are needed.

Superconductivity for addressing global challenges

High‑energy physics has always been one of the main drivers of progress in superconducting science and technology. None of the flagship accelerators that have shaped modern particle physics could have succeeded without large‑scale superconducting systems. CERN continues to lead the efforts in this field. Its next accelerator, the High‑Luminosity LHC, relies on high-grade superconductors that were not available in industry before they were developed for high-energy physics. Tomorrow’s colliders will require a new generation of high‑temperature superconductors (HTS) to be able to realise their research potential with improved energy efficiency and long‑term sustainability.

Beyond the physics field, next‑generation superconductors have the potential to reshape key technological sectors. Their ability to transmit electricity without resistance, generate intense magnetic fields and operate efficiently at high temperatures makes them suitable for applications in fields as diverse as healthcare, mobility, computing, novel fusion reactors, zero‑emission transport and quantum technologies. This wide range of applications shows that advances driven by fundamental physics can generate broad societal impact far beyond the laboratory.

The Catalysing Impact – Superconductivity for Global Challenges event seeks to accelerate the transition from science to societal applications. By bringing together top-level researchers, industry leaders, policymakers and investors, the event provides a structured meeting point for technical expertise and strategic financing. Its purpose is not simply to present progress but to build bridges across sectors, disciplines and funding landscapes in order to move superconducting technologies from early demonstrations to impactful applications.

The Cuckoo’s Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage

Before the Internet became widely known as a global tool for terrorists, one perceptive U.S. citizen recognized its ominous potential. Armed with clear evidence of computer espionage, he began a highly personal quest to expose a hidden network of spies that threatened national security. But would the authorities back him up? Cliff Stoll’s dramatic firsthand account is “a computer-age detective story, instantly fascinating [and] astonishingly gripping” (Smithsonian).

Cliff Stoll was an astronomer turned systems manager at Lawrence Berkeley Lab when a 75-cent accounting error alerted him to the presence of an unauthorized user on his system. The hacker’s code name was “Hunter” — a mysterious invader who managed to break into U.S. computer systems and steal sensitive military and security information. Stoll began a one-man hunt of his spying on the spy. It was a dangerous game of deception, broken codes, satellites, and missile bases — a one-man sting operation that finally gained the attention of the CIA…and ultimately trapped an international spy ring fueled by cash, cocaine, and the KGB.

X-Ray Imaging Uncovers Hidden Structures in Liquid-Metal-Grown Crystals

The delicate internal structure of platinum crystals growing in liquid metal has been revealed, according to new research employing a powerful X-ray technique that reveals new implications for quantum computing.

UNSW Professor Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, with the University of New South Wales (UNSW), led the study, which was reported in a recent paper in Nature Communications. The team behind the project has a history of specializing in exploiting liquid metals to produce new materials and green catalysts that improve industrial chemical reactions.

Rare Earth Element Crystals Found Forming in a Plant For The First Time

Scientists have just discovered an incredible superpower hidden away in the tissues of the fern Blechnum orientale, a plant that can collect and store rare earth elements.

The findings could lead to a more sustainable way of gathering mineral resources that we are increasingly reliant upon.

There are 17 rare earth elements in total, and these metallic materials are now deeply embedded in all kinds of tech – from wind turbines and computers, to broadband cables and medical instruments. They’re not actually that rare, but they are difficult and expensive to extract from the Earth’s crust in a useful form.

Corral technique measures fragile quantum states in magnet-superconductor hybrids from afar

Hybrid materials made of magnets and superconductors give rise to fascinating quantum phenomena, which are so sensitive that it is crucial to measure them with minimal interference. Researchers at the University of Hamburg and the University of Illinois Chicago have now demonstrated, both experimentally and theoretically, how these quantum phenomena can be detected and controlled over longer distances using special techniques with a scanning tunneling microscope.

Their findings, which could be important for topological quantum computers, were published in the journal Nature Physics.

When a magnetic atom is located in a superconductor, so-called Yu-Shiba-Rusinov quasiparticles are created. Normally, they can only be measured with a high detection probability directly at the location of the atom using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope.

Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders may originate in specific brain regions that show early structural damage

Researchers at the University of Seville have identified the possible origins of structural damage in the brains of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). These are regions that show the greatest morphological alterations in the early stages of the disease compared to neurotypical people of the same sex and age. The study also found that people with SSD have significant reductions in structural similarity between different regions of the temporal, cingulate and insular lobes.

The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Vicarious body maps bridge vision and touch in the human brain

A central question in sensory neuroscience is how inputs from vision and touch are combined to generate cohesive representations of the external world. Here we reveal a widespread mode of brain organization in which aligned topographic maps bridge vision and somatosensation. We developed a computational model that revealed somatotopic structure in dorsolateral visual cortex. Somatotopic tuning in these regions was predictive of visual field locations more dorsally and visual body part selectivity more ventrally. These results suggest more extensive cross-modal overlap than traditionally assumed: the computational machinery classically attributed to the somatosensory system is also embedded within and aligned with that of the visual system. These aligned visual and bodily maps are a likely brain substrate for internalized somatosensory representations of visual signals, and are a candidate human homologue of findings in mice whereby somatomotor responses dominate visual cortex36.

Consistent with embodied perception theories, our model-based quantifications of somatotopic and retinotopic connectivity revealed that dorsolateral visual cortical responses to naturalistic stimuli are best explained by selectivities in both modalities, as opposed to visual selectivity alone. The necessity of incorporating body-referenced processing into models of dorsolateral visual cortex supports evidence that its role extends beyond passive visual analysis, encompassing perceptual, semantic and bodily functions optimized for behavioural interactions with the world25.

Consistent with visuospatial alignment of somatosensory tuning, we found that body part preferences in dorsolateral visual cortex predicted visual field tuning. Such alignment, previously reported at the terminus of the dorsal visual pathway around the postcentral sulcus28, therefore extends far into dorsal and lateral streams of the visual system. This alignment may be reinforced by shared developmental influences, as somatotopic and retinotopic maps are shaped trophically from birth: dorsal regions represent the upper body and visual field, and ventral regions to the lower body and visual field22, providing a roughly aligned sensory periphery optimized for efficient environmental sampling and action. The explicit interweaving of touch and retinal coordinates may subserve efficient perception of environmental affordances and a cohesive sense of spatial self-representation.

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