Science

3D Simulations Improve Understanding Of Energetic-Particle Radiation And Help Protect Space Assets

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3D simulations based on fundamental physics principles model the production of energetic ions and electrons. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

A team of researchers used 3D particle simulations to model the acceleration of ions and electrons in a physical process called magnetic reconnection.

The results could contribute to the understanding and forecasting of energetic particles released during magnetic reconnection, which could help protect space assets and advance space exploration.

“For the first time ever, we can use 3D simulations from fundamental physics principles to model the production Read More

AFRL Partners With UNM For New Directed Energy Center

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Ph.D. student Khandakar Nusrat Islam, left, and Master of Science degree graduate, Braulio Martinez at work in the UNM Pulsed Power, Beams and Microwaves Laboratory. Courtesy/UNM

Graduate students Alex Newell, left, and Kevin Reilly characterizing a semiconductor diode laser. Courtesy/UNM

Kirtland AFB News:

KIRTLAND AFB — The Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate is partnering with The University of New Mexico (UNM) to establish a center for directed energy studies, a congressionally funded endeavor.

The Directed Energy Center will be based at UNM and Read More

New Report Charts Path For Next Decade Of Astronomy & Astrophysics; Recommends Future Ground & Space Telescopes, Priorities, Investments In Scientific Community

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NASENM News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new decadal survey from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASENM) identifies scientific priorities, opportunities, and funding recommendations for the next 10 years of astronomy and astrophysics.

The report presents a visionary plan for the field to pursue discovery and exploration of habitable planets, enhance understanding of the dynamic and changing universe, and study what drives the formation of galaxies. It recommends an ambitious program of investments to strengthen the profession, change how large strategic Read More

AGU: 1,000 Years Of Glacial Ice Reveal ‘Prosperity And Peril’

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Researchers’ ice core drilling camp on Colle Gnifetti in 2015. Two ice cores extracted from this area preserved a continuous one-thousand-year record of European climate and vegetation. Courtesy/Margit Schwikowski

AGU News:

WASHINGTON — Europe’s past prosperity and failure, driven by climate changes, has been revealed using thousand-year-old pollen, spores and charcoal particles fossilized in glacial ice.

This first analysis of microfossils preserved in European glaciers unveils earlier-than-expected evidence of air pollution and the roots of modern invasive species problems. Read More

Verus® Research Announces $5 Million, 48-Month Contract With Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

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VERUS News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Verus® Research, a New Mexico-based team of scientists and engineers specializing in advanced research and development, announces it has been awarded a $5 million Waveform Agile RF Directed Energy (WARDEN) contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

If all options of the contract are exercised, the 48-month effort will develop hardware, theory and computational models to extend the range and effectiveness of high-power microwave (HPM) systems.

The contract focuses on electromagnetic interactions with electronics contained within Read More

Linnaeus University: Microbes May Have Lived Underground For More Than A Billion Years

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Microorganism-related calcite from a deep fracture in Swedish granite. This kind of mineral related biosignatures were used as one part of this new study to look for ancient habitable conditions at depth. Courtesy/Henrik Drake

Associate Professor Henrik Drake. Courtesy/LU

Linnaeus University News:

A study using the thermal history and biosignatures of the upper few kilometers of some of the oldest rocks on Earth place constraints on the evolutionary history of microbes in the deep biosphere.

The study, published in PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the Read More

LANL: New Results From MicroBooNE Provide Clues To Particle Physics Mystery

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MicroBooNE detector being lowered into the experimental facility at Fermilab. Courtesy/Fermilab

A look inside the MicroBooNE Time Projection Chamber detector. Courtesy/Fermilab

LANL News:

New results from a more-than-decade long physics experiment offer insight into unexplained electron-like events found in previous experiments. Results of the MicroBooNE experiment, while not confirming the existence of a proposed new particle, the sterile neutrino, provide a path forward to explore physics beyond the Standard Model, the theory of the fundamental forces of nature and elementary Read More

Anomalies At The Bradbury … Is It A Ghost?

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Courtesy/BSM

BRADBURY SCIENCE MUSEUM News:

Strange things are happening at the Bradbury Science Museum … Is it a ghost? Or can it be explained with science?

Audiences of all ages can now watch the Bradbury Science Museum’s spooktacular Halloween video Anomalies at the Bradbury on the Bradbury Science Museum’s YouTube page.

The Bradbury Science Museum hopes you enjoy it and have a safe and happy Halloween! Read More

LANL: Improved DOE Exascale Earth System Model Two Times Faster Than Previous Version

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High-resolution E3SM simulation over the Arctic showing surface ocean currents and temperatures (blue) and January sea-ice concentration (gray/white). Courtesy/Mark Petersen (LANL) and Francesca Samsel (UT Austin)

LANL News:

A new version of the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) is two times faster than its earlier version released in 2018, allowing for more accurate and timely simulations of the changing climate.

“This version of E3SM is faster and more capable than the first,” Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientist Luke Van Roekel said, who Read More

LANL: Three Los Alamos National Laboratory Scientists Elected 2021 Fellows Of American Physical Society

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2021 APS Fellows from left, Eric Brown, Nathan Moody and Takeyasu Ito. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Three Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) scientists have been elected fellows by the American Physical Society (APS). The new APS fellows are Eric Brown, Takeyasu Ito and Nathan Moody.

“I am pleased to see Eric, Takeyasu and Nathan recognized by the American Physical Society,” LANL Director Thom Mason said. “This recognition highlights their contributions to the physics community, and I congratulate each of them on this honor.”

The APS Fellowship Program recognizes APS members who may have Read More