Ryan Wilkinson

Jan 9, 2025 | physics.aps.org | Ryan Wilkinson

January 9, 2025• Physics 18, s3A new method for fixing errors in quantum computations can be just as accurate as previous approaches while needing fewer resources. ×In quantum computing, the inherent fragility of quantum bits, or qubits, inevitably leads to calculational errors. The so-called surface code is a widely used technique for correcting such errors, but it requires many additional qubits and is thus poorly suited for large-scale quantum computation.

Dec 17, 2024 | physics.aps.org | Ryan Wilkinson

December 17, 2024• Physics 17, s156Atomic simulations deepen the mystery of how engineered materials known as refractory high-entropy alloys can suffer so little damage by radiation. ×Refractory high-entropy alloys are materials made from multiple high-melting-point metals in roughly equal proportions. Those containing tungsten exhibit minimal changes in mechanical properties when exposed to continuous radiation and could be used to shield the crucial components of future nuclear reactors.

Dec 12, 2024 | physics.aps.org | Ryan Wilkinson

December 12, 2024• Physics 17, s144Researchers have devised a way to use atoms in optical lattices to model high-temperature superconductors, whose behavior is not yet fully understood. ×Certain materials become superconducting when their electrons pair up. This phenomenon is well understood in conventional superconductors, which operate only at extremely low temperatures. But it remains obscure in some unconventional superconductors, which can function at surprisingly high temperatures.

Dec 5, 2024 | physics.aps.org | Ryan Wilkinson

December 5, 2024• Physics 17, s152Scientists have devised a way to use current gravitational-wave detectors to observe permanent deformations of spacetime caused by certain supernovae. ×Gravitational waves stretch and squeeze spacetime as they pass. But they are also expected to leave a lasting imprint on the Universe, forever altering the relative positions of points in space.

Dec 2, 2024 | physics.aps.org | Ryan Wilkinson

December 2, 2024• Physics 17, s147A new analysis challenges the claim that a gamma-ray signal observed from a direction near the Milky Way’s center is produced by a dwarf galaxy. ×The Fermi bubbles are vast regions of gas and cosmic rays that extend above and below the plane of our Galaxy from its center. The southern bubble contains a peculiar region dubbed the cocoon, which emits more gamma rays than the bubble around it.