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Cosmology

Viewpoint: Supernova Study Dampens Dark Matter Theory

A search for lensing of supernovae by black holes comes up empty, leading researchers to conclude that black holes cannot account for all dark matter. Read More »

FEATURE

Q&A: Where Chirality and Science Fiction Collide

Ventsislav Valev explains how tiny, metal particles with a certain “handedness” can be used to make nanosized robots and other devices that appeal to his inner science-fiction fan. Read More »

Biological Physics

Synopsis: A “Meta” Solution to MRI Inhomogeneities

A simple metamaterial “atom” placed inside an MRI scanner may help create better spatial uniformity in the radio waves that drive the signal. Read More »

Soft Matter

Synopsis: Reversible Self-Assembly of Macroscopic “Polymers”

Reconfigurable materials step closer to reality with a colloidal system that self-assembles, disassembles, and reassembles into polymer-like chains in response to temperature changes. Read More »

Astrophysics

Synopsis: Solar Gamma Rays Behaving Strangely

Nearly 10 years of Fermi telescope images show unexpected changes in the numbers and energies of gamma-ray photons coming from the Sun. Read More »

Astrophysics

Focus: Gas Cloud Temperature Constrains Dark Matter

One proposed type of dark matter should heat up cold hydrogen clouds in the Galaxy, so their low temperatures imply limits on this dark matter theory. Read More »

Photonics

Viewpoint: Non-Hermitian Topological Systems

A theoretical framework tries to sort out where topological phases may arise in non-Hermitian systems—which are systems with gain and loss. Read More »

Spintronics

Synopsis: Anisotropic Spin Currents in Graphene

Two groups have shown they can create long-lived, polarized spin currents in bilayer graphene. Read More »

Magnetism

Synopsis: A Faster Diamond Magnetometer

Diamond-defect magnetometers can now simultaneously determine all spatial components of a magnetic field, leading to a factor of 4 decrease in measurement times. Read More »

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