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26 September 2023

There was an error in the previous newsletter about the institution where the work on the feature article was completed. This version has the correct institution.

Exciting Exotic Nuclei for Nuclear Physics

They don’t feel emotions, but nuclei can get excited. In fact, adding energy to a nucleus excites it. Nuclei are in the center of every atom. They’re made up of positive protons and neutral neutrons. When additional energy excites a nucleus, it assumes a discrete energy level. Each of these energy levels is specific to a particular type of nucleus – no two are the same. Examining these energy levels is very useful to nuclear physicists. It helps them understand the shape and the arrangement of the nuclei’s internal structures.

Learn more about how researchers at Michigan State University supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science developed a new way to investigate energy levels and expand our understanding of exotic nuclei.

NEWS CENTER

The Office of Science posted 61 science headlines and university and stakeholder news pieces between 9/12/23 and 9/25/23.

Magnetic materials: Wind energy, data storage, and electric vehicle technologies all use high performance magnets. But the ones we have now use critical materials in high demand. A team of scientists from DOE’s Ames National Laboratory has developed a new machine learning model that carries out a key step in finding materials that are permanent magnets but don’t use critical elements. This technique could increase the speed of finding new ones that don’t use these materials.

Upcycling: A team led by Virginia Tech researchers has developed a new method for upcycling plastics into high-value chemicals. Manufacturers use such chemicals, called surfactants, to make soap, detergent, and other products. It is a relatively simple process and doesn’t use any unique catalysts. The method can be used to process the two types of plastics most often used by consumers and doesn’t require separating them from each other.

Rare isotopes: Oxygen-28 has 20 neutrons and 8 protons bound together in its nucleus. Isotopes that have many neutrons like oxygen-28 are usually unstable. However, this particular number of neutrons and protons usually has stronger binding energy than other configurations. Researchers at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory were part of a team that investigated oxygen-28’s stability for the first time. The team used the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility, to run simulations.  

Trapping light: A team led by researchers from the City College of New York found that trapping light inside magnetic materials may greatly enhance the magnets’ properties. They studied a layered magnet that hosts strongly bound excitons (a type of quasiparticle). They found that the material can trap light by itself. These magnets could potentially be useful in magnetic lasers and memory devices.

Neutrino mass: Neutrinos are incredibly abundant, so figuring out their mass would help us better understand the universe’s origin. A research team including scientists from DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a new technique to reliably track and record a process called beta decay. The scientists could then use those measurements to determine the neutrino’s mass.

Jet fuel: One of the major challenges to developing sustainable jet fuel is that it must include “aromatic” molecules. These molecules maintain certain combustion properties and keep seals tight. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found a way to remove the lignin that makes up plant cell walls from poplar wood and turn it into a chemical with aromatic molecules.

SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

The Office of Science posted six new highlights between 9/12/23 and 9/24/23.

Hydrocarbons: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a type of molecule that appears in an array of wildly different situations. On Earth, they form from the burning of coal, oil, and other substances. Their particles become soot that is harmful for human health. Elsewhere in the universe, they exist around stars, interstellar clouds, and planets. Scientists from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and their partners studied how the simplest representative of PAHs form from reactions in the gas phase of matter. This result expands our fundamental knowledge of chemistry. The research used the Advanced Light Source, a DOE Office of Science user facility.

IN THE NEWS

Popular Science: This record-breaking X-ray laser is ready to unlock quantum secrets

DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has achieved “first light” on the Linac Coherent Light Source-II. It will help scientists expand research into quantum materials.

Wired: The ‘Little Bang’ helping physicists study the infant universe

Researchers running experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider DOE Office of Science user facility work to replicate the conditions at the beginning of the universe.

Axios: Top 5 reasons Idalia stands apart from other storms

Incredibly warm ocean temperatures transformed Hurricane Idalia into a massive storm extremely quickly. Karthik Balaguru from DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory discusses other factors that also accelerated its growth.

BASIC TO BREAKTHROUGH

LCLS-II Reaches First Light

The Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has fired up the world’s most powerful X-ray laser: the Linac Coherent Light Source-II (LCLS-II). This powerful tool will produce up to a million X-ray flashes per second, 8,000 times more than its predecessor. This upgrade will open up new areas for research, from quantum materials to clean energy technologies to medicine. Find out more about how this technology will take X-ray science to the next level in a press release from SLAC.

END NOTES

Hands-On Research Expands Opportunities for Students

Gaining practical, hands-on experience with research at a national laboratory or institution supported by the DOE’s Office of Science can make a huge difference in a young person’s career.

The Office of Science has two long-standing internship programs for undergraduate students: the Community College Internship and the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship programs. They provide students with a chance to perform research at one of 17 DOE national laboratories or facilities.  

The Office of Science and its laboratories are also supporting new programs to expand opportunities for students who are from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math. At DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Energy and Environment Diversity Internship Program focuses on sustainable energy and environmental sciences. DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory has a new program called Bridge into Internships that partners with high schools on the South Side of Chicago to support students in underserved communities. The lab is also collaborating with minority serving institutions through the Community Research on Climate & Urban Science (CROCUS) urban integrated field laboratory. At DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, researchers are working to broaden and diversify the nuclear and particle physics research communities. They are running traineeships that expose students to hands-on research projects and provide them with mentoring from researchers at the lab.

Today’s high school and undergraduate students will be the researchers of the future. We’re finding new ways to get them the experience they need to get there.

Please see the archive on Energy.gov for past issues.

No. 111: 26 September 2023