The computer simulation Lumina is giving scientists a detailed view of how the universe’s earliest galaxies, stars, and other structures could have developed during the first 2 billion years after the Big Bang. 

Free-standing polymer films that are ultra-thin, lightweight, and robust hold significant promise for applications in flexible electronics. However, their performance has been constrained by the challenge of simultaneously enhancing mechanical strength and reducing density. Herein, an ultra-thin and robust polyimide (PI)-based covalent organic framework-modified multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT-COF) film is demonstrated for high-specific-power flexible GaAs solar cells. The film exhibits a high Young’s modulus of 1.53 GPa, a tensile strength exceeding 97.53 MPa, and a low density of 0.73 g cm⁻³, representing a 45.1% reduction in density. The incorporation of 3D interconnected layered and porous MWCNT-COF significantly enhances the film’s mechanical properties while reducing its density. The synergistic effects of robust MWCNTs and covalently bonded COF layers, combined with the thermally stable PI molecular structure, impart exceptional strength and lightness to the film. Computational studies further confirm that COF-grafted MWCNTs effectively modify the polyamide acid matrix, substantially improving the mechanical properties of the PI films. Moreover, flexible dual-junction and triple-junction GaAs solar cells were successfully fabricated using 6 µm-thick MWCNT-COF/PI composite films, delivering outstanding specific powers of 8998 and 7749 W kg⁻¹, along with efficiencies of 26.6% and 31.5% (AM0), respectively. These results underscore the potential for high-performance applications in space and energy systems. This work offers valuable insights into the development of high-performance flexible GaAs solar cells based on ultra-thin and robust PI films for a wide range of applications.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Nancy Roman Space Telescope are revealing the universe’s earliest chapters in extraordinary detail. To help astronomers understand what they are seeing, researchers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have developed “Lumina,” one of the largest and most detailed simulations ever created of the early universe. Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the new model recreates how ordinary matter, dark matter and radiation interacted during the universe’s first 2 billion years, giving scientists a powerful new tool to test theories about how the cosmos evolved after the Big Bang.

The SETI Institute and the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) installed and commissioned two LaserSETI stations at AlUla Manara in northwest Saudi Arabia. With these new stations, AlUla becomes LaserSETI’s first and only observing site in Asia and its fifth site worldwide, joining others in California, Hawai’i, Arizona and Puerto Rico.

The SETI Institute designed LaserSETI to keep a constant watch on large parts of the sky, looking for very brief flashes of light. These flashes might come from short-lived cosmic events, unusual astronomical phenomena or, potentially, laser technology beyond Earth.

“Two years ago, we announced our intention to bring LaserSETI to AlUla. Today, the instruments are installed, commissioned and observing the sky,” said Dr. Franck Marchis, Senior Planetary Astronomer and Director of Citizen Science at the SETI Institute. “AlUla gives LaserSETI an important new geographic vantage point and connects this remarkable astronomical site to a growing global network. This is exactly what LaserSETI needs: instruments distributed around the world, observing continuously and together.”

The SETI Institute designed LaserSETI to keep a constant watch on large parts of the sky, looking for very brief flashes of light. These flashes might come from short-lived cosmic events, unusual astronomical phenomena or, potentially, laser technology beyond Earth.