Fysik & material

Researchers have discovered that widely used computational methods for predicting how shape-memory alloys behave under stress are producing dangerously incorrect results. The problem stems from insufficient sampling in standard simulations—a fixable oversight that has major implications for designing better aerospace components, medical devices, and automotive parts that rely on these materials.EN

Scientists tested how iron-rich clays found across Mars capture and hold adenine, a DNA component, under Mars-like conditions. The discovery suggests these minerals could have preserved chemical signatures of ancient life—valuable intelligence for designing future Mars rovers and biosignature-detection equipment.EN

Researchers have developed a hybrid electrode system that removes tetracycline antibiotics from water with 90% efficiency, addressing a major source of drug-resistant bacteria. The breakthrough uses a material called MXene combined with light and electrical activation, potentially opening a scalable solution for water treatment facilities and pharmaceutical manufacturers dealing with antibiotic contamination.EN

Two European tokamak facilities have completed the first comprehensive testing of tungsten components that will line commercial fusion reactors. The work demonstrates whether these materials can withstand the extreme heat and particle bombardment required for continuous operation—a critical engineering hurdle for the fusion power industry targeting deployment in the 2030s.EN

Astronomers traced a rare interstellar comet's path through 10 million years of galactic history and found no stellar encounters that could explain its trajectory or origin. The finding narrows where the object came from but keeps its source frustratingly mysterious—raising questions about how many such visitors arrive unannounced from the outer cosmos.EN

Researchers have identified untapped Arabian environments—salt flats, volcanic fields, and hyperarid deserts—as potential testing grounds for detecting life beyond Earth. These sites could validate space mission instruments and biosignature detection methods far more efficiently than relying solely on established analogs in Chile and Antarctica.EN

Astronomers have found statistical evidence that powerful winds from supermassive black holes can trigger large-scale gas outflows in distant galaxies, potentially explaining how galaxies regulate their own growth. The discovery matters for understanding how the universe evolved in its first billion years—and how massive structures form today.EN

NASA's SPHEREx spacecraft detected water, carbon dioxide, and carbon gases streaming from the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS as it passed through our solar system in 2025. The discovery of a carbon dioxide atmosphere extending 420,000 kilometers outward challenges assumptions about how such visitors behave and could reshape models for detecting and studying similar objects from other star systems.EN

Six major physics simulation codes agree on some predictions for galaxies formed just after the Big Bang, but diverge sharply on others—particularly how heavy metals accumulated. The disagreement suggests current galaxy formation models may be incomplete, complicating efforts to interpret surprising observations from the James Webb Space Telescope that show the early universe was far more mature than theory predicted.EN

Researchers have systematically studied how lunar regolith and other resources flow and deform—critical knowledge for building habitats and extracting water on the moon. The work, prompted by NASA's Artemis missions, provides engineers with the physical blueprints needed to transform lunar materials into construction materials and fuel, potentially cutting the cost of sustained human presence in space.EN

A new roadmap outlines how nanoscale superconductivity can power quantum technologies, building on a century of physics breakthroughs. For companies and policymakers betting on quantum computing's commercial potential, the guide identifies which materials and design approaches are most likely to deliver practical, scalable systems.EN

Researchers have proven that counting communities in complex networks is just as difficult as finding them—contradicting hopes that partial information might be easier to extract. The finding has implications for machine learning systems analyzing social networks, supply chains, and financial markets, suggesting some structural insights may be fundamentally harder to compute than previously assumed.EN

Gravitationsvågsdetektorer kan nu ställa strängare krav på energiutsläpp från roterande neutronstjärnor än vad tidigare indirekta mätningar tillät. LIGO-detektorerna analyserade data från en Vela-pulsarglitch i april 2024 och sökte både korta burstliknande signaler från fundamentalmodoscillationer och längre kvasimonokaromatiska transienter upp till fyra månaders varaktighet. Ingen signifikant detektion identifierades, men detta gav forskare möjlighet att sätta direkta övre gränser på gravitationsvågsamplitud — ett första för denna pulsartyp. Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics ledde arbetet med stöd från internationella universitet. För leverantörer av sensorik och datoranalys inom gravitationsvågsfysik visar resultaten att förbättrad detektörkänslighet öppnar nya vägar för att begränsa neutronstarfysik och testkvaliteten på framtida mätningar utan att vänta på starkare källsignaler.

# CSST-rymdsatelliten behöver precis rätt stjärnfält för att hålla kalibringen stabil Den kinesiska rymdstationen CSST kommer genomföra en tioårig avbildningsöversyn som kräver extremt noggrann kalibrering för att bevara fotometrisk och astrometrisk precision över hela missionstiden. Ett internationellt forskarlag från Kinas akademi och observatorier har identifierat sex globulära stjärnhopar — M13, M92, NGC 104, NGC 362, NGC 1261 och NGC 1851 — som optimala referensfält för denna on-orbit-kalibrering. Forskargruppen analyserade 29 kandidatkluster mot strikta kriterier: synbarhet från omlopp, stjärntäthet, föroreningar från ljusa stjärnor, dammutslöckning och färg-magnitudtäckning. Endast sex hopar uppfyllde samtliga krav. Valet begränsar sig till ekliptiska och galaktiska breddgrader för att minimera interferens. För leverantörer av rymdteleskopton och fotometrisk kalibreringsutrustning markerar detta en konkretion av CSST:s tekniska specifikationer inför lansering.

A proposed physics experiment could detect subtle deviations in how neutrinos interact with matter, constraining theoretical models of physics beyond current understanding. The finding matters because it could validate or eliminate competing theories about fundamental forces, shaping the next generation of particle physics research and detector design.EN

Researchers using China's BESIII detector have completed the first search for an invisible particle in a specific type of particle decay, finding no evidence but setting strict limits on where such particles could hide. The result narrows the search space for physics beyond the Standard Model, informing where future experiments should focus resources and attention.EN

A new study reveals that injector coking—buildup from renewable fuel blends—dramatically increases harmful particulate emissions in gasoline engines, offsetting emissions gains from switching to greener fuels. The finding suggests automakers and fuel suppliers must redesign injectors or fuel formulations to realize climate benefits from renewable gasoline, creating new cost and compliance pressures.EN

A new study shows that the specific chemistry of renewable gasoline blends—not just their carbon footprint—dramatically affects how much soot a car engine produces during cold starts. The finding could force automakers to reformulate fuel blends and recalibrate engines, creating both compliance costs and opportunities for fuel suppliers who get the chemistry right.EN

Researchers reanalyzed five years of supernova data and found evidence that dark energy—the force driving cosmic expansion—may be evolving over time, challenging decades of cosmological assumptions. The finding, though weakened from previous claims, could reshape our understanding of the universe's future and influence long-term physics research priorities and funding strategies.EN

Autonomous AI systems can now execute complex drug research workflows faster and more reliably than human teams, compressing literature reviews from weeks to minutes and assay development from months to hours. The speed gains could reshape pharmaceutical R&D economics and accelerate time-to-market for new treatments, though companies will need governance frameworks to manage autonomous decision-making in high-stakes research environments.EN

Researchers mapped how Population III stars—the universe's earliest stellar generation—formed and died in the cosmic dawn, establishing a framework that helps explain why James Webb Space Telescope observations show galaxies more massive than theory predicted. The findings bridge a critical gap between the first stars and modern galaxy formation, with implications for understanding cosmic chemical evolution and stellar physics.EN

Astronomers detected gamma-ray emissions from turbulent outflows in massive star-forming regions, confirming these violent events accelerate high-energy particles—the first direct evidence that stellar explosions contribute to Earth's cosmic-ray environment. The findings validate decades of theory and could reshape how scientists model space weather impacts on satellites and power grids.EN

Researchers have identified the breaking point for bismuth selenide films used in next-generation terahertz imaging and sensing devices. The findings reveal that even modest laser exposure can degrade these materials, a critical constraint for manufacturers developing commercial THz systems for security screening, medical imaging, and wireless communications.EN

Researchers have catalogued public databases of blood proteins that could transform how doctors diagnose disease and monitor patient health. The work reveals both the promise and pitfalls of using blood proteomics at scale—offering a roadmap for turning protein signatures into practical clinical tools that could reduce healthcare costs and improve personalized treatment decisions.EN

Astronomers have discovered three previously unknown satellite galaxies circling the Milky Way, including two that appear to be ancient dwarf galaxies. The findings, enabled by improved survey data and detection algorithms, could reshape models of how galaxies form and help settle debates about dark matter's role in galactic structure.EN