Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking mechanism in waveguide quantum electrodynamics (QED) that breaks conventional limits on quantum emitter lifetimes. By leveraging non-Markovian dynamics and delayed feedback, the team demonstrated a sub-local decay rate—where the total decay rate of emitters drops below their intrinsic free-space decay rate. This energy quantum confinement effect dynamically traps photons within the waveguide, enabling unprecedented suppression of local dissipation. The discovery opens new pathways for robust quantum memory, high-fidelity metrology, and scalable quantum networks.

Researchers analyzed a global database of 500,000 strange streaks that occur on steep Martian slopes, concluding that they’re most likely caused by dry processes rather than liquid flow.

The largest sample of galaxy groups ever detected has been presented by a team of international astronomers using data from the James Webb Space telescope (JWST) in an area of the sky called COSMOS Web. The study marks a major milestone in extragalactic astronomy, providing unprecedented insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe.

A joint research team from the Defense Innovation Institute at the Chinese Academy of Military Science and the College of Aerospace Science and Engineering at the National University of Defense Technology has developed a novel method for satellite 3D component layout optimization based on engineering requirements. The satellite 3D component layout problem involves determining both component assignment schemes and position variables simultaneously with complex multidisciplinary constraints, making it an NP-hard multi-constrained bilevel combinatorial optimization problem. The team proposed a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model to formulate the heat dissipation performance objective and the constraints of component 3D geometry, system stability, and special component position, transforming the original bilevel problem into a single-level optimization problem. Case studies demonstrate that the proposed method can efficiently generate layout solutions, providing fresh insights for engineering layout design.

KAIST researchers have developed a technology that offers a vivid, lifelike experience in virtual space, alongside a new tool that assists choreographers throughout the creative process.

SAN ANTONIO — May 15, 2025 — The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has successfully completed its initial commissioning following the October 14, 2024, launch. Scheduled to arrive in the Jovian system in 2030, the spacecraft will orbit Jupiter and ultimately perform repeated close flybys of the icy moon Europa. Previous observations show strong evidence for a subsurface ocean of liquid water that could host conditions favorable for life.

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have discovered that Cepheid variable stars in our neighboring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, are moving in opposing directions along two distinct axes. They found that stars closer to Earth move towards the northeast, while more distant stars move southwest. This newly discovered movement pattern exists alongside a northwest-southeast opposing movement that the scientists previously observed in massive stars.