Browse Physics

A report from the PAMELA satellite says the electron flux in cosmic rays is consistent with the existence of new sources, such as dark matter particles or other astrophysical phenomena, but the results are still inconclusive.

Tests of an early design for a gravity-wave detector determine sensitivity limits in a new frequency window.

New mass measurements of proton-rich nuclei will allow scientists to more accurately simulate the nucleosynthesis that occurs on the surface of neutron stars.

Dense matter containing strange quarks may significantly affect neutron star formation.

The rapid cooling of a neutron star signals a superfluid at its core.

More realistic simulations of merging binary black holes should help guide experiments designed to detect gravity waves.

Calculations show that vacuum electromagnetic fluctuations can be a source of rotational friction on a spinning particle.

A set of proposed relations among observable quantities may allow strong tests of whether a rapid expansion of the very early universe produced the seeds of the large-scale structure we see today.

More accurate predictions of the silicon content in meteoritic grains allow for a better understanding of the exploding stars that produced them.

During the formation of a neutron star, the energy of nearby empty space could grow to exceed that of the star’s mass.

New data from the PAMELA satellite on the abundance of antiprotons in cosmic rays still leave the door open for dark matter theories, as well as other explanations.

Plasma chamber offers a laboratory-scale view of magnetic field eruptions on the sun’s surface.

A comparison between the density in surrounding galaxies today and a few billion years ago provides a new upper bound on neutrino mass.

A lab-scale model for the future space-based gravitational wave detector inspires confidence that noise can be suppressed as planned.

New calculation of quark matter properties tells us what an exotic quark-neutron star might look like.

A new calculation of stellar core-collapse explosions that includes all three neutrino flavors shows unusual spectral patterns that will be important in understanding signals from future galactic supernovae.

New calculations of the effects of asymmetry in numbers of neutrons and protons in nuclei agree well with experiment and provide vital information in understanding nuclear matter at low density.

Data from a cluster of satellites maps the turbulence of the solar wind in three dimensions.

Theories of dark matter interacting with a light force carrier, proposed to explain the excess of high-energy positrons in the cosmic rays, turn out to have problems.

New simulations of merging binary neutron stars include details of the gravitational wave signature that should in coming years help us understand another mysterious process—short gamma-ray bursts.