Physics

MIT researchers describe a way to make atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates even more precise by eliminating a source of error endemic to earlier designs.

Hyperprecise measurement with Bose-Einstein condensates

New atom interferometer could measure inertial forces with record-setting accuracy.

December 27, 2016

MIT postdoc Jörn Venderbos (left) and graduate student Vladyslav Kozii co-authored a new paper with Biedenharn Career Development Assistant Professor of Physics Liang Fu proposing that a class of superconducting materials can host Majorana fermions near absolute zero, and their existence can be verified using nuclear magnetic resonance.

Majorana fermions predicted in a superconducting material

MIT researchers propose a new method for verifying the existence of a theoretical quasiparticle.

December 21, 2016

MIT researchers believe they have finally captured the process of quantum melting — a phase transition in quantum mechanics, in which electrons that have formed a crystalline structure purely through their quantum interactions melt into a more disordered fluid, in response to quantum fluctuations to their density.

Scientists detect a quantum crystal of electrons and “watch” it melt

New observations confirm an 80-year-old quantum theory.

December 20, 2016

Participants in the first Rising Stars in Physics Workshop at MIT

Young women in physics explore faculty careers in inaugural MIT workshop

Rising Stars event features research presentations, panel discussions on academic life.

December 14, 2016

MIT senior Rasheed Auguste’s parents emigrated from Haiti to Boston as teenagers and completed master’s degrees in the U.S. “When I was born, the standard was, ‘we have master’s degrees; a PhD is the next step for this next generation.’ That was always the bar,” says Auguste. “It just so happens I got lucky. I actually do want this PhD that was prescribed from birth.”

Nuclear engineering student advocates for change on campus and Capitol Hill

Senior Rasheed Auguste is fueled by passions for science, policy, and creating a more inclusive MIT.

December 7, 2016

After making several upgrades, scientists have restarted the twin detectors of LIGO, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory. The Livingston detector site, located near Livingston, Louisiana, is pictured here.

LIGO back online, ready for more discoveries

Upgrades make detectors more sensitive to gravitational waves.

November 30, 2016

This image shows simulated iso-frequency contours of a photonic crystal slab superimposed on each other and tiled.

New method for analyzing crystal structure

Exotic materials called photonic crystals reveal their internal characteristics with new method.

November 25, 2016

“I’m working on bigger questions not only from a scientific perspective, but also from a societal perspective,” says Brian Henderson, Stanton Fellow in Nuclear Science and Security.

Brian Henderson: Experimenting with physics and policy

Nuclear Science and Engineering Stanton Fellow Brian Henderson brings his physics experience to bear on nuclear weapons disarmament policies.

November 21, 2016

2016 MIT AAAS Fellows: (clockwise from top left) William Green, Wolfgang Ketterle, Howard Shrobe, and Elly Nedivi.

Four MIT faculty elected 2016 AAAS Fellows

Green, Ketterle, Nedivi, and Shrobe are among those recognized for their efforts toward advancing science.

November 21, 2016

“As a child I would throw a ball through the air and wonder why it made a curved shape; I would hold an ice cube in my hand and wonder at the processes that made it melt. And it turned out there are physical models for all those things and you can explain them somehow with math. That was just really beautiful for me,” says MIT graduate student Libby Tolman.

Fusing theory and practice

Grad student Libby Tolman melds the elegance of theoretical physics with practical applications of nuclear science.

November 14, 2016

This image shows the basic setup that enables researchers to use lasers as optical “tweezers” to pick individual atoms out from a cloud and hold them in place. The atoms are imaged onto a camera, and the traps are generated by a laser that is split into many different focused laser beams. This allows a single atom to be trapped at each focus.

Scientists set traps for atoms with single-particle precision

Technique may enable large-scale atom arrays for quantum computing.

November 3, 2016

Three MIT mentors were among this year's student participants, mentors, and judges at the final International Young Physicists’ Tournament at the San Joaquin campus of Pontifical Catholic University.

MIT-Chile collaboration stresses hands-on projects and teamwork in STEM education

MIT alumni and the MIT-Chile Program are bringing unique learning opportunities to Chilean high school students in a partnership with two major Santiago universities.

November 1, 2016

MIT graduate student Changmin Lee stands by an experimental setup that uses light pulses to map the magnetic direction and strength of a buried interface between two exotic materials, bismuth selenide and europium sulfide.

Mapping buried magnetism

MIT researchers use an optical technique to probe magnetism at a hidden interface between two exotic thin films.

October 25, 2016

Clockwise from top left: Riccardo Comin, Timothy Cronin, Andrew Lawrie, Elchanan Mossel, Kerstin Perez, Alexander Radosevich, and Bin Zhang.

Seven new faculty members join the School of Science this fall

October 21, 2016

Ten from the Department of Physics honored by the American Physical Society

Prize winners include faculty, students, and alumni from all divisions.

October 19, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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