Science Highlights

A depiction of proposed four-quark structures and their sizes relative to the proton. The labels u and c represent the up and charm quarks, respectively, while the labels u and c with bars indicate the corresponding antiquarks.

Can Four-Quark States Arise from Inside the Proton Itself?

Theoretical calculations suggest charm tetraquarks may be less compact than previously thought.

An artist’s impression of a quantum electrodynamics simulation using 100 qubits of an IBM quantum computer. The spheres and lines denote the qubits and connectivity of the IBM quantum processor; gold spheres denote the qubits used in the simulation.

Nuclear Physicists Create Scalable Quantum Circuits to Simulate Fundamental Physics

Researchers developed and executed algorithms for preparing the quantum vacuum and hadrons on more than 100 qubits of IBM quantum computers.

A photon (γ) and a jet of other particles emerges from a proton-proton (p-p) collision (left). But in a deuteron (d)-gold nucleus (Au) collision (right), the jet loses energy while the photon is not affected. Neutral pions (π0) are proxies for the jet.

Fresh Direct Evidence for Tiny Drops of Quark-Gluon Plasma

Particles of light from collisions of deuterons with gold ions provide direct evidence that energetic jets get stuck.

An artist’s impression of an analog quantum computer in which atoms are manipulated by lasers to simulate quantum many-body systems.

Scientists Take an Important Step toward Mitigating Errors in Analog Quantum Simulations of Many-Body Problems

A new framework for quantifying uncertainties increases the predictive power of analog quantum simulations.

Illustration of quarkonium states interacting with co-moving particles in relativistic heavy ion collisions.

Scientists Measure the Temperature Achieved in Heavy Ion Collisions by Looking at Broken Particles

First precise measurement of a hard to detect bound charm quark pair state indicates it is not affected by the medium in high-energy proton-lead collisions.

Representation of the magnitude of the elastic πΣ hadron scattering amplitude showing the double-pole structure that suggests the hadron has a pair of resonances at 1380 megaelectronvolts (MeV) and 1405 MeV, not just one at 1405 MeV.

To Understand a Special Hadron, Researchers Turn to Supercomputers and Quantum Chromodynamics

Scientists Gain new insights into the nature of the puzzling lambda 1405 hyperon resonance and its controversial partner.

This sample of niobium has been treated in a process that is typical for preparing particle accelerator components. Tests have revealed how adding oxygen to such components makes them more efficient.

Oxygen Tweaking May Be the Key to Optimizing Particle Accelerators

Modeling the diffusion of oxygen into accelerator cavities allows scientists to tailor their properties.

Visualization of the evolution of the nuclear size and shape from indium and tin isotopes between the major nuclear shells at N=50 and N=82, where N is the number of neutrons in the nucleus.

Testing the Possible Doubly Magic Nature of Tin-100, Researchers Study the Electromagnetic Properties of Indium Isotopes

Scientists are closing in on a major cornerstone of nuclear physics, Tin-100.

To make element 116, researchers fused isotopes of titanium and plutonium.

New Progress Toward the Discovery of New Elements

Scientists demonstrated a new way to produce the superheavy element livermorium (element 116) with titanium-50.

Gravity from mountains on rapidly rotating neutron stars produces ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) searches for such waves.

Neutron Star Mountains Would Cause Ripples in Space-Time

Extreme stars may have mountains like those on moons in our solar system. If so, they could produce detectable oscillations of space and time.

Ground-based radio telescopes, gravitational wave detectors, and a space-based X-ray telescope (right) all measure neutron stars (top left, shown merging), lending insight into the pairing of different-colored quarks in dense matter (bottom left).

Neutron Star Measurements Place Limits on Color Superconductivity in Dense Quark Matter

Requiring consistency between the physics of neutron stars and quark matter leads to the first astrophysical constraint on this exotic phase of matter.