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Studies of neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) could shed light on the mass of neutrinos and whether they exist as both matter and antimatter. Experiments involving the decay of germanium-76 into selenium-76 could help with this research. A new study provides key input for these kinds of experiments.

Scientists have developed a new way to study the shapes of atomic nuclei and their building blocks by modeling the production of particles produced in high-energy electron-nucleus collisions in the future Electron-Ion Collider (EIC). These results show that collisions that exclusively produce single mesons offer insight into the structure of the nucleus, including its deformation from a spherical shape.

Experiments searching for dark matter or astrophysical neutrinos require low background detectors. One type of these detectors transforms a xenon-136 target into a cesium-136 nucleus, whose gamma-ray emission allows scientists to separate rare signals from background radioactivity. However, scientists have lacked the needed nuclear data for cesium-136. This new research provides direct determination of that nuclear data.

Joshua Zide and his team at the University of Delaware are taking a new approach to materials, making metallic nanoparticles separately from films and then incorporating them. It turns semiconductors into nanocomposites with different properties and new applications.

Burning fusion plasmas host a wide array of electromagnetic waves that can push energetic ions out of the plasma. Recent measurements at the D-IIID facility provide the first direct observations of energetic ions moving through space and energy in a tokamak. Researchers combined these measurements with advanced computer models of electromagnetic waves and how they interact with energetic ions. The results provide an improved understanding of the interplay between plasma waves and energetic ions in fusion plasmas. The results may also help improve the reliability of satellites exposed to plasma wave-energetic ion interactions.

Semiconductors in photoelectrochemical cells can convert water into hydrogen for fuel. To develop this technology, researchers have developed a technique to measure these devices’ photovoltage, or energy output, quantitively. The technique avoids the difficulty of attaching wires to the front of the semiconductors in contact with water.

Scientists have confirmed possible evidence of a new elementary particle, the sterile neutrino. The results from the Baksan Experiment on Sterile Transitions (BEST) found that the germanium 71 yield was 20% to 24% lower than expected based on the intensity of the neutrino source and on scientists’ knowledge of how neutrinos are absorbed. This is consistent with earlier results on the so-called gallium anomaly.

Cell replication in our bodies is triggered by a cascade of molecular signals transmitted between proteins. Compounds that block these signals show potential as cancer drugs. Recently, scientists uncovered the molecular mechanisms that underlie a step in the signal-transmission pathway that requires three proteins to link up. This points the way to new targets for drugs that fight certain types of cancer.