Los Alamos National Laboratory News - SciTechDaily

AI-Powered Astrophysics: Unveiling the Cosmic Origins of Heavy Elements

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 15:01:10 +0000

Machine learning predictions successfully model atomic masses of nuclide chart. The origin of heavy elements in our universe is theorized to be the result of neutron star collisions, which produce conditions hot and dense enough for free neutrons to merge with atomic nuclei and form new elements in a split-second window of time. Testing this [...]

Unlocking the Secrets of Mars: Atmospheric Pressure and the Mystery of Methane Pulses

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 16:40:59 +0000

Simulations will help Curiosity search for signs of past or present life on the Red Planet. New research shows that atmospheric pressure fluctuations that pull gases up from underground could be responsible for releasing subsurface methane into Mars’ atmosphere; knowing when and where to look for methane can help the Curiosity rover search for signs [...]

AI’s New Frontier: Turning Sparse Sensor Data Into Gold

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 18:08:44 +0000

A new method employing natural-language models is expanding AI applications in edge computing. An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technique allows for the reconstruction of extensive datasets, like the total ocean temperature, using a minimal number of sensors placed in the field. This method utilizes energy-efficient “edge” computing, offering widespread potential uses in various sectors including [...]

Astrophysical Breakthrough: “Incredibly Profound” Evidence of Nuclear Fission Across the Cosmos

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 07:36:55 +0000

Fission models find clear fingerprints of nuclear process never before directly observed in stars. The elements above iron on the periodic table are thought to be created in cataclysmic explosions like the merger of two neutron stars or in rare classes of supernovae. New research suggests fission may operate in the cosmos during the creation [...]

NASA’s New Power Play: Plutonium-238 for Distant Space Journeys

NASA — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:18:49 +0000

The DOE’s shipment of 0.5 kilograms of plutonium-238 to Los Alamos National Laboratory marks a milestone in producing fuel for NASA’s radioisotope power systems, crucial for deep space exploration. This progress, part of a goal to produce 1.5 kilograms annually by 2026, supports missions like Mars 2020, demonstrating the ongoing, vital partnership between NASA and [...]

Chi-Nu Experiment’s Final Insights: Pioneering Data for Nuclear Security & Reactor Design

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 07:17:05 +0000

Experiment measures the energy spectrum of neutrons emitted from neutron-induced fission. The results of the Chi-Nu physics experiment at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory have contributed essential, never-before-observed data for enhancing nuclear security applications, understanding criticality safety, and designing fast-neutron energy reactors. The Chi-Nu project, a years-long experiment measuring the energy spectrum [...]

Mars’ Muddy Mystery: Did the Red Planet Once Have Seasonal Weather?

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Mon, 04 Sep 2023 04:25:01 +0000

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover finds evidence of high-frequency wet-dry cycling in the Gale Crater. New observations of mud cracks made by NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover show that high-frequency, wet-dry cycling occurred in early Martian surface environments, indicating that the red planet may have once seen seasonal weather patterns or even flash floods. The research was [...]

Nanowire Innovation: Revolutionizing Fuel Cells With Enhanced Durability

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 04:16:30 +0000

The Los Alamos National Laboratory introduced a corrosion-resistant fuel cell design featuring a coaxial nanowire electrode. This innovative approach holds promise for heavy-duty trucking, showing impressive durability in stress tests. A groundbreaking fuel cell design offers potential advancements for heavy-duty trucking and various other clean fuel cell applications. A promising, more durable fuel cell design [...]

New Quantum Computing Paradigm: Game-Changing Hardware for Faster Computation

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sat, 26 Aug 2023 22:54:00 +0000

Using natural quantum interactions allows faster, more robust computation for Grover’s algorithm and many others. Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a groundbreaking quantum computing approach using natural quantum interactions. This method promises longer-lived qubits, efficient problem-solving with Grover’s algorithm, and significant error resilience. A potentially game-changing theoretical approach to quantum computing hardware circumvents [...]

Quantum Illumination: Advanced Device Generates Single Photons and Encodes Information

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 20:50:22 +0000

New approach is a step toward using single photons in quantum communication and information processing. Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a novel technique to generate a stream of circularly polarized single photons, crucial for quantum information and communication. Using atomically thin materials, they’ve shown that a monolayer semiconductor can emit circularly [...]

A Leap in Performance – New Breakthrough Boosts Quantum AI

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 10:51:09 +0000

More is better — to a point — when using a large number of parameters to train machine-learning models on quantum computers. A groundbreaking theoretical proof reveals that using a technique called overparametrization enhances performance in quantum machine learning for tasks that challenge traditional computers. “We believe our results will be useful in using machine [...]

Two-in-One: Quantum Dot Breakthrough Combines Laser and LED Capabilities

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sat, 20 May 2023 04:49:14 +0000

Lab researchers drive colloidal quantum dot lasing technology closer to device-ready. Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have made significant progress in developing high-intensity light emitters using colloidal quantum dot technology, creating dual-function devices with unprecedented brightness levels. This breakthrough could impact various fields, including integrated electronics, photonics, and medical diagnostics, and brings functional quantum dot [...]

Gone for Good? California’s Carbon-Storing Pine Forests May Not Come Back

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 10:28:24 +0000

Due to lower tree-stand density, it is unlikely that massive infestations fueled by climate change will reoccur. The Sierra Nevada’s Ponderosa pine forests, which were devastated by western pine beetles during the 2012-2015 megadrought, will not regain their pre-drought density, leading to a reduction in an important storehouse for atmospheric carbon. “Forests store huge amounts [...]

Previously Undetected Hybrid Neutron-Star Merger Event Revealed by Unusual Gamma-Ray Burst

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 16:00:46 +0000

Modeling calls into question supernova origin, forcing a reconsideration of the prevailing view of gamma-ray-burst events. The standard view of gamma-ray bursts as a signature for different types of dying stars might need a rewrite. Recent astronomical observations, supported by theoretical modeling, reveal a new observational fingerprint of neutron-star mergers, which may shed light on [...]

Broad Implications – Harvard Scientists Have Discovered the First Ever Sea Level Fingerprint

Harvard University — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 22:27:18 +0000

The work validates almost a century of sea level science. Sea levels experience a bizarre and counterintuitive phenomenon as ice sheets melt. It functions much like a seesaw. Ocean levels drop in the vicinity of where these glacial ice masses melt. They do, however, rise thousands of miles away. This is primarily caused by the [...]

New Method Exposes How Artificial Intelligence Works

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 14:14:31 +0000

The neural networks are harder to fool thanks to adversarial training. Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have developed a novel method for comparing neural networks that looks into the “black box” of artificial intelligence to help researchers comprehend neural network behavior. Neural networks identify patterns in datasets and are utilized in applications as diverse as [...]

Schrödinger Was Wrong: New Research Overturns 100-Year-Old Understanding of Color Perception

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 19:22:31 +0000

A paradigm shift away from the 3D mathematical description developed by Schrödinger and others to describe how we see color could result in more vibrant computer displays, TVs, textiles, printed materials, and more. New research corrects a significant error in the 3D mathematical space developed by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger and others to [...]

A Beginner’s Guide to Quantum Programming

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 10:30:09 +0000

The guide covers the fundamentals, along with a summary of the main quantum algorithms and instructions on how to implement them on publicly available quantum computers As quantum computers proliferate and become more widely available, would-be quantum programmers are left scratching their brains over how to get started in the field. A new beginner’s guide [...]

Deep Underground Experiment Results Confirm Anomaly: Possible New Fundamental Physics

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 23:33:51 +0000

Sterile neutrino, physics fundamentals among interpretations of anomalous results. New scientific results confirm an anomaly seen in previous experiments, which may point to an as-yet-unconfirmed new elementary particle, the sterile neutrino, or indicate the need for a new interpretation of an aspect of standard model physics, such as the neutrino cross section, first measured 60 [...]

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Reports Back on “Most Chemically Diverse Part” of Gale Crater on Mars

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Sun, 24 Apr 2022 22:42:15 +0000

ChemCam played a key role in analyzing new data. The first study of the Glen Torridon region in Mars’ Gale crater reveals that groundwater altered the bedrock in the area during the planet’s early history, which has crucial implications for understanding past habitability and the likelihood of finding past life on Mars. The findings, which [...]

NASA Mars Perseverance Rover: Making Fast Tracks to the Delta

Roger Wiens, Los Alamos National Lab — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 11:09:58 +0000

Perseverance is in a drive campaign going faster than any previous rover. How fast, you may ask? Its actual speed is just under a tenth of a mile per hour, but it’s faster than its predecessors. It is making comparatively rapid progress by devoting several hours per day to driving on very smooth terrain. That [...]

Progress in Hybrid Algorithms Makes Small, Noisy Quantum Computers Viable

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 12:08:32 +0000

Hybrid algorithms can accommodate limited qubits, lack of error correction for real-world tasks. As reported in an article in Nature Reviews Physics, instead of waiting for fully mature quantum computers to emerge, Los Alamos National Laboratory and other leading institutions have developed hybrid classical/quantum algorithms to extract the most performance—and potentially quantum advantage—from today’s noisy, [...]

Atomic Armor for Next-Generation, Electron-Beam Accelerators

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 20:33:38 +0000

Advancement in single-atom layer graphene coatings improves accelerator electron source lifespans. Protective coatings are common for many things in daily life that see a lot of use: we coat wood floors with finish; apply Teflon to the paint on cars; even use diamond coatings on medical devices. Protective coatings are also essential in many demanding [...]

Fast-Forwarding Quantum Evolution: Physical Features Boost the Efficiency of Quantum Simulations

Los Alamos National Laboratory — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 23:21:17 +0000

Two recent papers settle long-standing questions about algorithms on future quantum computers. Recent theoretical breakthroughs have settled two long-standing questions about the viability of simulating quantum systems on future quantum computers, overcoming challenges from complexity analyses to enable more advanced algorithms. Featured in two publications, the work by a quantum team at Los Alamos National [...]