news 2015

Depending on its age, condition and even engine, how much does an individual vehicle pollute the urban air? Researchers from Heidelberg University are looking into the matter. The team led by environmental physicist Dr. Denis Pöhler has developed an innovative device that can measure nitrogen dioxides in the exhaust of the preceding vehicle.

A mathematical problem underlying fundamental questions in particle and quantum physics is provably unsolvable, according to scientists at UCL, Universidad Complutense de Madrid - ICMAT and Technical University of Munich. It is the first major problem in physics for which such a fundamental limitation could be proven.

Using a new procedure researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Ludwig Maximillians University of Munich (LMU) can now produce extremely thin and robust, yet highly porous semiconductor layers. A very promising material - for small, light-weight, flexible solar cells, for example, or electrodes improving the performance of rechargeable batteries.

Researchers at Heidelberg University have devised a new way to study the phenomenon of magnetism. Using ultracold atoms at near absolute zero, they prepared a model that simulates the behaviour of electrons in a solid, which enables the investigation of magnetic properties. The findings of the team led by Prof. Selim Jochim of the Institute for Physics are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the fundamental processes in solids and lead to the development of new types of materials over the long term.

Both in materials science and in biomedical research it is important to be able to view minute nanostructures, for example in carbon-fiber materials and bones. A team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Lund, Charité hospital in Berlin and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have now developed a new computed tomography method based on the scattering, rather than on the absorption, of X-rays.

Theoretical Physicists at Freie Universität Berlin Develop Method to Detect Functioning of Quantum Machines Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin have developed a new method to certify the proper functioning of quantum machines. Such quantum machines allow the simulation of complex systems that cannot be simulated even with modern supercomputers.

A key issue with lithium ion batteries is aging. It significantly reduces their potential storage capacity. To date, very little is known about the causes of the aging effects. Scientists from the Department of Technical Electrochemistry and the Research Neutron Source FRM II at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now come a step closer to identifying the causes in their latest experiments.

Joint Project Details Charge Transport in Polymeric Carbon Nitride for First Time Polymeric carbon nitride is an organic material with interesting optoelectronic properties. As an inexpensive photocatalyst, it can be used to facilitate water splitting using sunlight. Joint research by Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, the University of Rostock, and Freie Universität Berlin as well as other partners has now investigated for the first time how light creates charge carriers in this class of materials and established details about charge mobility and lifetimes.

Usually, harvesting energy and raw materials from plants requires many process steps and aggressive chemicals. To make these processes more efficient and resource saving, researchers are looking for suitable enzymes. Using neutrons, researchers have now investigated the reaction mechanism of an important class of enzymes: the glycosidases.

Some fundamental properties of the coinage metal elements gold, silver and copper, such as chemical behaviour or colours, are already predetermined in their atoms. The unique properties of gold can be largely explained by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Chemists from Heidelberg University have been able to demonstrate this through their investigations of gold, silver and copper carbenes.

10/14/2015 For the first time, physicists from the University of Würzburg have successfully modelled and studied a particularly chaotic system in quantum nature. The experiment starts from the principle of a classic billiard table. An international team of physicists created a kind of miniature pool table where the balls are replaced by quantum particles.

While the cleaning of car exhausts is among the best known applications of catalytic processes, it is only the tip of the iceberg. Practically the entire chemical industry relies on catalytic reactions. Catalyst design plays a key role in improving these processes. An international team of scientists has now developed a concept that elegantly correlates geometric and adsorption properties.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are designed to identify traffic hazards. But to assess the behavior of other road users, these systems need detailed data. That is why researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a pedestrian simulator that con be linked with other virtual worlds, enabling reconstruction of critical scenarios without exposing participants to danger.

LMU chemists have developed novel porous materials called "covalent organic frameworks", which provide a basis for the design of polymeric photocatalysts with tunable physical, chemical and electronic properties. Chemical systems that are capable of generating hydrogen gas by light-activated scission of water molecules (often termed artificial photosynthesis) represent a promising technology for the efficient storage of solar energy.

A team of researchers based at LMU and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics has developed an infrared laser that can be used to identify and quantify molecules in complex mixtures with high specificity and sensitivity. The new laser system developed at LMU emits ultrashort pulses of infrared light at a repetition rate of 100 million per second.

Light is ideally suited to data transfer, as it can transmit large quantities of information in a very short time, and is an indispensable part of the IT world of today and tomorrow. However, a stumbling block so far has been the storage of large quantities of data directly in the optical domain. While optical fibre cables - and, with them, data transfer by means of light - have long since become part of our everyday life, data on a computer are still processed and stored electronically.

Scientists of the COMPASS collaboration at CERN have observed a new exotic combination of light quarks. Researcher from the Cluster of Excellence "Origin and Structure of the Universe" of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) had a leading role in the data analysis of the new finding. So far theoretical physicists are not able to correctly describe all characteristics of this exotic new particle.

The Earth, planets, stars, and galaxies form only the visible portion of the matter in the universe. Greater by far is the share accounted for by invisible "dark matter". Scientists have searched for the particles of dark matter in numerous experiments - so far, in vain. With the CRESST experiment, the search radius can be considerably expanded: The CRESST detectors are being overhauled and are then able to detect particles whose mass lies below the current measurement range.

For many it's simply irresistible and their favorite candy: chocolate. Its success is presumably due not only to its taste but also to its smooth texture, which is achieved by a process known as conching and the addition of lecithin. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now explained how all the ingredients interact at the molecular level and what gives chocolate its characteristic texture.

Our existence is still a great mystery in theoretical physics. Why did anti-matter disappear almost completely from our universe, whereas matter did not? Scientists are attempting to solve this mystery at the particle accelerator of the major European research institute at CERN. The ALICE collaboration has now published the most precise measurement of the properties of light atomic nuclei and anti-nuclei ever made in the "Nature Physics" journal.