news 2019

A team of researchers from Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Bochum, and the University of Linz has succeeded in observing the transfer of protons in a hydrogenase reaction. No 391/2019 from Dec 13, 2019 Scientists from Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Bochum, and the University of Linz have found evidence for the design of so-called biomimetic catalysts.

Donut-shaped orbitals and Ising magnetism in Ca3Co2O6 The research teams of Hao Tjeng from the MPI-CPfS, Andrea Severing from the University of Cologne, Antoine Maignan from CRISMAT Laboratory Caen, and Maurits Haverkort from the University of Heidelberg have succeeded in determining the electronic orbital that is responsible for the Ising magnetism in Ca3Co2O6.

Date: November 26, 2019, No. Researchers of Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics and University of Stuttgart present a new method that shows single neuron data [Picture: whitehoune - stock.adobe.com, Max-Planck-Institut für biologische Kybernetik, Universität Stuttgart. Montage: Martin Vötsch, design-galaxie.de.

Smaller, faster, more energy-efficient - this is the goal that developers of electronic devices have been working towards for years. In order to be able to miniaturize individual components of mobile phones or computers for example, magnetic waves are currently regarded as promising alternatives to conventional data transmission functioning by means of electric currents.

Superconductivity has fascinated scientists for many years both for fundamental reasons and because it offers the potential to revolutionize current technologies. Materials only become superconductors - meaning that electrons can travel in them with no resistance - at very low temperatures. These days, this unique zero resistance superconductivity is commonly found in a number of technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Theoretical calculations indicate that under certain conditions silicon can endow solar cells with a much higher efficiency. Small silicon clusters may provide a source of accordingly modified silicon. However, to date these clusters have not been accessible in soluble form, a prerequisite for flexible processing.

An international team headed by physicists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has, for the first time ever, experimentally implemented secure quantum communication in the microwave band in a local quantum network. The new architecture represents a crucial step on the road to distributed quantum computing.

The continuously growing need for higher data rates as well as globally available broadband internet requires innovative technology developments and the exploitation of a new electromagnetic spectrum. In the scope of R&D projects funded by the German Aerospace Center, researchers at the University of Stuttgart have developed a high-performance technology platform to exploit the frequency spectrum in the so-called E-band at 71-86 GHz.

Researchers at the University of Münster have developed a method which makes it possible to create three-coordinate Lewis superacids on the basis of phosphorus. Previously, it had not been possible to isolate this type of compound, either in a liquid or in a solid state, due to its extreme electrophilicity and the associated reactivity.

Physicists create plasma for the first time using nanowires and long-wavelength ultrashort pulse laser Light Physicists at the University of Jena have developed a new method for producing plasma, enabling them to deal with some of the problems that stand in the way of this extremely difficult process.

Quantum effects are genuinely found in the world of nanostructures and allow a wide variety of new technological applications. For example, a quantum computer could in the future solve problems, which conventional computers need a lot of time to handle. All over the world, researchers are engaged in intensive work on the individual components of quantum technologies - these include circuits that process information using single photons instead of electricity, as well as light sources producing such individual quanta of light.

Researchers make visible, how AIDS pathogens multiply in the body Life In order to treat diseases better, we must understand how they arise.

Despite their extremely small mass, neutrinos play a key role in cosmology and particle physics. After evaluation of the first measurement results in the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino Experiment (KATRIN), it is now clear: The previously unknown mass of the neutrinos must be less than 1 electron volt. This result is more accurate than previous measurements and raises hopes of discovering new neutrino properties.

Münster researchers combine nano-optics and organic chemistry to measure complex light landscapes in the tight focus of a laser beam / Study published in "Nature Communications" Structured laser light has already opened up various different applications: it allows for precise material machining, trapping, manipulating or defined movement of small particles or cell compartments, as well as increasing the bandwidth for next-generation intelligent computing.

Apart from photons, the fundamental quanta of light, neutrinos are the most abundant elementary particles in the universe. As they possess a small non-zero mass, these "light-weights of the universe" play a key role in cosmology and particle physics. The most precise scale for neutrinos in the world is the international experiment "KATRIN" at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, in which scientists of the University of Münster are also involved.

A supersolid is a state of matter that can be described in simplified terms as being solid and liquid at the same time. In recent years, extensive efforts have been devoted to the detection of this exotic quantum matter. A research team led by Tilman Pfau and Tim Langen at the 5th Institute of Physics of the University of Stuttgart has succeeded in proving experimentally that the long-sought supersolid state of matter exists.

In the quest to prove that matter can be produced without antimatter, the GERDA experiment at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory is looking for signs of neutrinoless double beta decay. The experiment has the greatest sensitivity worldwide for detecting the decay in question. To further improve the chances of success, a follow-up project, LEGEND, uses an even more refined decay experiment.

Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin develop a deep learning method to solve a fundamental problem in statistical physics No 255/2019 from Sep 05, 2019 A team of scientists at Freie Universität Berlin has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) method that provides a fundamentally new solution of the "sampling problem" in statistical physics.

Biophysics researchers used a free-electron laser to detect light-induced structural changes with the utmost in temporal and spatial precision No 250/2019 from Sep 04, 2019 The process by which light energy translates into a change in protein structure plays a crucial role in many areas of life, from vision to photosynthesis.

They are tiny signalling molecules that play important roles in many processes in living organisms. However, the exact function of these substances is often still unknown, which is why scientists are constantly on the lookout for new methods with which they can further investigate them. Researchers at the Universities of Münster and Nanjing (China) have developed such a method for an important messenger substance in plants, called phosphatidic acid.