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International research team describes the new possibilities offered by the use of ultracold dipolar atoms The quantum properties underlying crystal formation can be replicated and investigated with the help of ultracold atoms. A team led by Dr. Axel U. J. Lode from the University of Freiburg's Institute of Physics has now described in the journal Physical Review Letters how the use of dipolar atoms enables even the realization and precise measurement of structures that have not yet been observed in any material.

By Christoph Pelzl Simulations at Graz University of Technology refute earlier theories on long-range charge transfer between organic and inorganic materials. Oliver Hofmann and his research group at the Institute of Solid State Physics at TU Graz are working on the optimization of modern electronics.

How can you perforate an atomic layer of material and leave the one underneath intact? Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) developed a technique for processing surfaces on an atomic scale. Nobody can shoot a pistol bullet through a banana in such a way that the skin is perforated but the banana remains intact.

By Christoph Pelzl "Core-shell" clusters pave the way for new efficient nanomaterials that make catalysts, magnetic and laser sensors or measuring devices for detecting electromagnetic radiation more efficient. Additional can be found at the end of the message Whether in innovative high-tech materials, more powerful computer chips, pharmaceuticals or in the field of renewable energies, nanoparticles - smallest portions of bulk material - form the basis for a whole range of new technological developments.

To fully exploit the potential of the "wonder material" graphene, it has to be combined with other materials. A new study investigates what is important for this. Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms. Exceptional electronic, thermal, mechanical and optical properties have made graphene one of the most studied materials at the moment.

An international team of scientists from Austria, Germany and Ukraine has found a new superconducting system in which magnetic flux quanta can move at velocities of 10-15 km/s. This opens access to investigations of the rich physics of non-equilibrium collective systems and renders a direct-write Nb-C superconductor as a candidate material for single-photon detectors.

By Birgit Baustädter For the Institute of Experimental Physics, heading into outer space is on the agenda: the researchers are taking part in an experiment on board the international space station to measure the surface tension of Böhler steel. "We've got something really great for you." When experimental physicist Gernot Pottlacher starts a phone call with these words, that's exactly what is behind it: something really great indeed.

Magnetism offers new ways to create more powerful and energy-efficient computers, but the realization of magnetic computing on the nanoscale is a challenging task. A critical advancement in the field of ultralow power computation using magnetic waves is reported by a joint team from Kaiserslautern, Jena and Vienna in the journal Nano Letters.

A particularly well-ordered kind of laser light can be created by turbulence, which is usually responsible for very disordered phenomena. It is a very special kind of light, which can be used for important measurements: so-called frequency combs play a major role in laser research today. While the light of an ordinary laser only has one single, well-defined wavelength, a frequency comb consists of different light frequencies, which are precisely arranged at regular distances, much like the teeth of a comb.

By Susanne Eigner Researchers at TU Graz in Austria have for the first time ever succeeded in visualizing at the single-molecule level the processes involved in a biological nanomachine, known as the cellulosome, as it degrades crystalline cellulose. The fundamental insights thus obtained could support sustainable concepts of cellulose utilization to make a breakthrough in industrial biotechnology.

Cutting-edge technology allows for real-time monitoring of biomineralisation as an important process of bone formation 21st century societal challenges such as demographic developments and an ageing population demand for new functional materials, such as for bone prostheses. Nature often serves as inspiration when designing these materials.

Using an ultra-thin gold layer, scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) succeeded in creating an almost optimal infrared absorber. Possible applications range from astrophysics to virus detection. Infrared detectors play an important role in research: many molecules absorb electromagnetic radiation in the infrared range in a very characteristic way.

Nickel is supposed to herald a new age of superconductivity - but this is proving more difficult than expected. Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) can now explain why. Last summer, a new age for high-temperature superconductivity was proclaimed - the nickel age. It was discovered that there are promising superconductors in a special class of materials, the so-called nickelates, which can conduct electric current without any resistance even at high temperatures.

Rapidly cooling magnon particles proves a surprisingly effective way to create an elusive quantum state of matter, called a Bose-Einstein condensate. The discovery can help advance quantum physics research and is a step towards the long-term goal of quantum computing at room temperature. An international team of scientists have found an easy way to trigger an unusual state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate.

BRITE Constellation observes complete nova eruption for the first time Satellite images from the BRITE mission with the participation of researchers* from Graz University of Technology and the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna document for the first time the complete development of a nova - from eruption to maximum brightness and burn out.

One of the central tenets of quantum mechanics is the wave-particle duality. It tells us that even massive objects behave like both particles and waves. A number of previous experiments have shown this for electrons, neutrons, atoms and even large molecules. Quantum theory maintains that this is a universal property of matter.

Researchers at the Universities Vienna and Stuttgart have investigated a version of Maxwell's demon embodied by a delayed feedback force acting on a levitated microparticle. They confirmed new fundamental limits that time delay imposes on the demon's actions which are not covered by the standard laws of thermodynamics.

By Christoph Pelzl Graz University of Technology researchers describe in Physical Review Letters how a molecule moves in the protective environment of a quantum fluid. Additional at the end of the text Markus Koch, head of the research group Femtosecond Dynamics at the Institute of Experimental Physics at TU Graz , and his team develop new methods for time-resolved femtosecond laser spectroscopy to investigate ultrafast processes in molecular systems.

Uranium is not always the same: depending on whether this chemical element is released by the civil nuclear industry or as fallout from nuclear weapon tests, the ratio of the two anthropogenic, i.e. man-made, uranium isotopes 233U and 236U varies. These results were lately found by an international team grouped around physicists from the University of Vienna and provides a promising new "fingerprint" for the identification of radioactive emission sources.

Today, most quantum experiments are carried out with the help of light, including those in nanomechanics, where tiny objects are cooled with electromagnetic waves to such an extent that they reveal quantum properties. Now, a team of physicists led by Oriol Romero-Isart at the University of Innsbruck and the Austrian Academy of Sciences is proposing to cool microparticles with sound waves instead.