New measurements probe hidden mechanisms across physics

Summary

Using the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, physicists measured particle production inside atomic nuclei at distances as small as roughly one-quarter of a proton. They found a sharp decline in J/ψ production at the smallest scales, a result that conventional nuclear shadowing does not easily explain and that helps distinguish competing accounts of gluon behavior.

Why it matters

The result probes how the strong force organizes matter at its smallest scales and could reshape calculations used across nuclear and particle physics.

Summary

Ancient rocks from Western Australia indicate that water reached deep into Earth’s interior more than three billion years ago. The researchers argue that water-rich crust sank through a process called dripduction, helping generate magma and volcanic eruptions before modern plate tectonics was fully established.

Why it matters

The finding suggests water may have shaped Earth’s interior and volcanic history before plate tectonics took its modern form.

Summary

Harvard researchers used microscopic sound waves to protect quantum information in a diamond-based qubit, extending its coherence time by roughly threefold. The phonons could eventually help transmit and preserve quantum information in compact, chip-based networks.

Why it matters

Sound-based control could provide a smaller and potentially more integrated way to preserve quantum information.