9 D Universe

Light forms the backbone of many of today’s advanced technologies, offering the ability to transmit data and information much quicker than electrons. Within optical networks, optical amplifiers are used to increase the intensity of light and enable its transmission over long distances. Without this ability to amplify optical signals, satellite [...]

Particle physicists have been searching for new fundamental scalar and pseudoscalar bosons because, if discovered, they could reveal physics beyond the Standard Model and help explain mysteries such as dark matter and even why the Higgs exists. The Higgs remains the only confirmed scalar boson, and no pseudoscalar bosons have [...]

Thermoelectric materials convert heat into electricity, and their effectiveness is largely determined by their thermopower, which reflects how charge carriers respond to their environment. Designing materials with very high thermopower is important because it boosts overall thermoelectric efficiency, enabling sensors with stronger voltage output, higher sensitivity, and the ability to [...]

When I started my physics degree, I knew it could open the door to a range of career opportunities, but I wasn’t sure what path it would take me down. In the end, it was the optional modules that encouraged my interest in nuclear energy physics, steering me towards my [...]

Particle therapy is an incredibly powerful cancer treatment. But it is also an incredibly expensive option that relies on massive, bulky accelerator systems. As such, in 2025 there were only 137 proton and carbon-ion therapy facilities in operation worldwide. So how can more people benefit? Hoping to resolve this challenge, the [...]

Mulugeta Bekele paid a heavy price for remaining in Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s. While many other academics had fled their homeland to avoid being targeted by its military rulers, Mulugeta did not. He stayed to teach physics, almost single-handedly keeping it alive in the country. But Mulugeta was [...]

The British-American theoretical physicist Anthony Leggett died on 8 March at the age of 87. Leggett shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics with Alexei Abrikosov and Vitaly Ginzburg for their “pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluidity”. Born on 26 March 1938 in London, UK, Leggett graduated in literae [...]

A. Neil Pappalardo ‘64, co-founder of MEDITECH (Medical Information Technology, Inc.) and a leading supporter of the MIT Department of Physics for decades, died on January 27, 2026, at age 83. He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Jane; their four children; and 13 grandchildren. A. Neil Pappalardo ’64 (1942-2026) Credit: [...]

A new study by researchers at the SETI Institute suggests that stellar "space weather" could make radio signals from extraterrestrial intelligence harder to detect. Stellar activity and plasma turbulence near a transmitting planet can broaden an otherwise ultra-narrow signal, spreading its power across more frequencies and making it more difficult [...]

The latest crop of space-time wobbles includes a variety of heavy, fast-spinning, and lopsided colliding black holes. When the densest objects in the universe collide and merge, the violence sets off ripples, in the form of gravitational waves, that reverberate across space and time, over hundreds of millions and even billions [...]

Senior engineer Badri Ratnam has enhanced his education and career with 40 courses offered by MITx at MIT Open Learning. As a professional mechanical engineer, Badri Ratnam was inspired when MIT started offering massive open online courses (MOOCs) in engineering and science in 2012. He wondered if he was up to [...]

When most people think of a supernova, they're thinking of a Type II core-collapse supernova. These are massive stars that have reached the end of their time on the main sequence. They've used up their supply of hydrogen and continue fusing heavier elements until the star can't support its own [...]

Vol. 7063. Cosmology (including clusters of galaxies) A sub-ppm upper limit on the cosmological variations of the fine structure constant α by S. Muller, A. Beelen, M. Guélin, et al. 2026, A&A, 706, A365 Using molecular lines toward two lensed quasars at different, moderate redshifts, the paper presents the most stringent limits to [...]

When the densest objects in the universe collide and merge, the violence sets off ripples, in the form of gravitational waves, that reverberate across space and time, over hundreds of millions and even billions of years. By the time they pass through Earth, such cosmic ripples are barely discernible.And yet, [...]

Author(s): Charles DayA coordinate transformation devised for an expanding universe leads to new insights into how a collapsing protogalaxy acquires a large magnetic field.[Physics 19, s26] Published Thu Mar 05, 2026 [...]

Author(s): Matteo RiniWith the debut of a public alert stream, the Rubin Observatory demonstrates the ability to report transient signals—from supernovae, variable stars, active galactic nuclei and asteroids—in near real time.[Physics 19, 31] Published Thu Mar 05, 2026 [...]

Author(s): Sophia ChenElectrons accelerated to relativistic speeds in a dielectric material can produce bursts of x rays, similar to a phenomenon found in thunderstorms.[Physics 19, s24] Published Thu Mar 05, 2026 [...]