News by Subject Chemistry & Physics

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have spotted the light of a massive galaxy seen only 970 million years after the Big Bang. This galaxy, called MAMBO-9, is the most distant dusty star-forming galaxy that has ever been observed without the help of a gravitational lens.

The APS Tip Sheet highlights noteworthy research recently published in the Physical Review Journals. Unless otherwise noted, Physical Review papers are not embargoed. Please contact media@aps.org for media inquiries and complimentary access to the journals.

The most extensive survey of atmospheric chemical compositions of exoplanets to date has revealed trends that challenge current theories of planet formation and has implications for the search for water in the solar system and beyond.

Scientists may have figured out how dust particles can stick together to form planets, according to a Rutgers co-authored study that may also help to improve industrial processes.

Russian scientists discovered a unique neutron star, the magnetic field of which is apparent only when the star is seen under a certain angle relative to the observer. The neutron star GRO J2058+42 studied by the researchers offers an insight into the internal structure of neutron star's magnetic field only at a certain phase of its rotational period.

Researchers from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Science (NAOC), Peking University and Tsinghua University have found a special population of dwarf galaxies that could mainly consist baryons within radii of up to tens of thousands of light-years. This contrasts with the normal expectation that such regions should instead be dominated by dark matter.

Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is of great interest to scientists due to its subsurface ocean, making it a prime target for those searching for life elsewhere. New research led by Carnegie's Doug Hemingway reveals the physics governing the fissures through which ocean water erupts from the moon's icy surface, giving its south pole an unusual "tiger stripe" appearance.

Shortly after NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at asteroid Bennu, an unexpected discovery by the mission's science team revealed that the asteroid could be active, or consistently discharging particles into space.

Nuclear physics usually involves high energies, as illustrated by experiments to master controlled nuclear fusion. One problem is how to overcome the strong electrical repulsion between atomic nuclei which requires high energies to make them fuse. But fusion could be initiated at lower energies with electromagnetic fields that are generated by state-of-the-art free electron lasers emitting X-ray light. Researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) describe how this could be done in the journal Physical Review C.

Technology 'squeezes' out quantum noise so more gravitational wave signals can be detected.