AI could accelerate the hunt for new physics, but sometimes it knows too much to see what’s right in front of it. Artificial intelligence could make it much cheaper and faster to search for new laws of physics, according to a new study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP). But the [...]Astronomers have discovered a powerful “galaxy-killing wind” in the early universe that may help solve one of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy: why so many massive galaxies stopped forming stars much earlier than scientists expected. The discovery suggests that some young galaxies grew rapidly and then died just as quickly, not because of exotic […]
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A new detector-based method clarifies how gravitational waves should be measured in an evolving universe. Imagine trying to measure a ripple on the surface of a pond while the pond itself is slowly changing shape. That is the challenge scientists face when they study gravitational waves not as isolated signals from colliding black holes, but [...]
The nature of time has long puzzled scientists, and now one researcher at the University of Birmingham has constructed a mini-universe in a laboratory to get to the bottom of this and other fundamental questions about gravity and quantum mechanics.
Revealed in a recent paper published in Physical Review Research, Professor Giovanni Barontini created a universe in a sealed quantum system to answer the lingering questions of “what is time?” with a laboratory model. His work creates an intriguing new testbed for exploring the nature of our universe from beginning to end, and all the phenomena in between.
Physicists have long puzzled over how a sequence of events could be understood in a universe without an external clock. The new work demonstrates how to move purely theoretical work into a practical laboratory environment, allowing exploration of deep questions about time and quantum physics.
In the new paper, Professor Barontini describes creating a miniature universe from 24,000 atoms held at just several degrees above absolute zero. Such temperatures are essential to many quantum explorations, including quantum computing technologies.
In this quantum system, the hermetically sealed cloud of ultracold atoms acts like a miniature universe. A thin barrier divides this tiny universe in half, while two lasers set to different frequencies bombarded it to create an observed bright region and an unobserved dark region.
Crucial to the experiment, Barontini did not measure time externally but instead waited for the internal relationship between the particles to generate time within this new universe. This idea comes from theoretical physics concepts such as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, which posits that the universe exists in an ever-steady quantum state exhibiting both wave- and particle-like behavior, without an external time.
Barontini observed the bright side behaving similarly to our universe, albeit on “fast-forward,” repeating a cycle of Big Bangs and Big Crunches, continually expanding and collapsing back in on itself. Since the sequence of events could be reconstructed entirely within the quantum system without reference to a laboratory clock, this shows that time emerges from the system itself, created by the disorder of spreading atoms, rather than being an external function.
Time moved forward in a single direction, with the increase or decrease in particles in the bright sector as they moved into the dark sector and back again, indicating an arrow of time. Yet, when the atomic distribution remained steady, Barontini observed a halt in time, leading him to describe what he witnessed as “entropic time.”
While this version of time corrects the order of events, it is not steady; it varies with the system’s entropy level. Notably, Schrödinger’s equation, the linchpin of quantum theory, still works in entropic time.
“In some theories of the universe, especially quantum gravity, time doesn’t appear as a built‑in feature,” Barontini said. “Yet in everyday life, time flows from past to future – why is this so, when most basic laws of physics work the same way forwards and backwards?”
“This study provides the first controlled experimental evidence that ‘time’ can be defined by changes within a system rather than as the external ‘ticking clock’ we think of as time,” Barontini concluded. “It offers new insight into the nature of time in quantum gravity that could be used to describe dynamics just as effectively as conventional time.”
Moving forward, such artificial universes could be used to probe the mysteries of our own universe, including its earliest moments, the emergence of time, and even black holes.
The paper, “Testing the Problem of Time with Cold Atoms,” appeared in Physical Review Research on June 11, 2026.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.
Here’s one of the most unsettling facts in all of science. The universe is not just expanding, it’s expanding faster and faster. Every galaxy is moving away from every other galaxy, and the further away it is, the faster it goes and worse still, that acceleration is speeding up. Whatever is driving it, and we […]
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As artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and online services continue to grow, the demand for faster and more energy-efficient computer hardware is rising rapidly. Now, researchers in Japan have developed a new type of magnetic memory that can be rewritten using a single pulse of laser light instead of electric current, potentially paving the way for […]
The post Scientists use a single flash of light to rewrite magnetic memory 1,000 times faster appeared first on Knowridge Science Report.
Dark matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in science. Scientists cannot see it directly, yet they believe it makes up most of the matter in the universe. Now, a new study suggests that dark matter may gather around supermassive black holes, forming large invisible clouds that influence their surroundings. Researchers from Virginia Tech have […]
The post Scientists use light echoes to hunt dark matter around giant black holes appeared first on Knowridge Science Report.
What if a waste product from coal-fired power plants could become a valuable source of materials needed for electric vehicles, smartphones, and renewable energy technologies? Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new method to recover rare earth elements from coal fly ash, a powdery waste left behind after coal is burned. […]
The post Scientists turn coal ash waste into a valuable source of rare earth elements appeared first on Knowridge Science Report.
Astronomers using NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope may have solved one of the biggest mysteries of the early universe. A strange object known as a “little red dot” appears to be a rapidly growing supermassive black hole hidden inside a thick cloud of gas. Little red dots were first discovered by the James Webb […]
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Astronomers studying the atmospheres of several intensely heated exoplanets uncovered an unexpected pattern that may reveal a hidden property of these distant worlds. Astronomers have uncovered the clearest evidence so far that some planets beyond our Solar System possess magnetic fields. By measuring atmospheric winds on seven extremely hot gas giants, researchers found signs that [...]A new gravitational-wave catalogue reports 161 additional black hole mergers, bringing the total to 390 detections. Scientists at the University of Glasgow’s Institute for Gravitational Research are celebrating the release of a major new collection of gravitational wave discoveries, a milestone that highlights the rapid growth of gravitational astronomy. The latest Gravitational Wave Transient Catalogue [...]New claims challenge inconsistencies in one of the foundational principles of physics.
At this moment, a spacecraft is headed from Earth to Europa, an ice-veiled moon of Jupiter thought to contain an ocean similar in some ways to one of our own. NASA engraved a metal plate affixed to the spacecraft with a poem, commissioned from Ada Limón during her time as poet laureate of the United States. It reads, in part: And it is not darkness that unites us, not the cold distance of…
2 min read
Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. Galaxy clusters like MACS0329-0211 are important signposts in the story of how the structure of the universe evolved, and are the ultimate telescopic lenses, placing gravitationally lensed galaxies from the earliest stages of the universe into our view.
Zoom into this galaxy swarm and you will find large, oval-shaped elliptical galaxies, and thin spiral and lenticular galaxies viewed from the edge. We can also see the full, face-on view of spiral galaxies and their curving spiral arms. The image’s upper-right quadrant holds faint arcs of distant galaxies gravitationally lensed by the cluster’s massive gravity. The largest of these arcs appears above the bright oval shape of a giant elliptical galaxy. Closer inspection of the image’s center reveals several bright-white intersecting curves that appear as a distorted figure eight. This may be another distant galaxy whose light was magnified and distorted by this massive cluster’s gravity.
Hubble looked at MACS0329-0211 as part of an observing program of X-ray bright galaxy clusters. Researchers used Hubble’s two main cameras, the Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Wide Field Camera 3, to gather data visible and infrared light from the cluster. Hubble’s ability to see such a broad spectrum of light makes it a valuable tool in understanding the very nature of these galaxy clusters.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
2 min read
Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211. Galaxy clusters like MACS0329-0211 are important signposts in the story of how the structure of the universe evolved, and are the ultimate telescopic lenses, placing gravitationally lensed galaxies from the earliest stages of the universe into our view.
Zoom into this galaxy swarm and you will find large, oval-shaped elliptical galaxies, and thin spiral and lenticular galaxies viewed from the edge. We can also see the full, face-on view of spiral galaxies and their curving spiral arms. The image’s upper-right quadrant holds faint arcs of distant galaxies gravitationally lensed by the cluster’s massive gravity. The largest of these arcs appears above the bright oval shape of a giant elliptical galaxy. Closer inspection of the image’s center reveals several bright-white intersecting curves that appear as a distorted figure eight. This may be another distant galaxy whose light was magnified and distorted by this massive cluster’s gravity.
Hubble looked at MACS0329-0211 as part of an observing program of X-ray bright galaxy clusters. Researchers used Hubble’s two main cameras, the Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Wide Field Camera 3, to gather data visible and infrared light from the cluster. Hubble’s ability to see such a broad spectrum of light makes it a valuable tool in understanding the very nature of these galaxy clusters.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
The post Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies appeared first on NASA Science.
“It really makes me look forward to more exciting results in the future."
Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers may have found a supernova remnant in an intriguing neighborhood in the middle of our galaxy. A paper describing these new findings published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Supernova remnants are the expanding remains of exploded stars and provide elements – like iron, oxygen, and silicon – that are critical for the formation of planets and for life as we know it to form and flourish.
This new supernova remnant, if confirmed, would be one of the closest ever discovered to the supermassive black hole at the central region of the Milky Way galaxy, an exotic region crammed with massive stars, long threads of magnetic fields and dense clouds of gas orbiting rapidly around the Galactic Center.
A new composite image of this region contains X-rays from Chandra and ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) XMM-Newton mission (shown in blue) as well as radio data from the MeerKAT telescope (shown in red) in South Africa. These have been combined with an optical image from the Pan-STARRS telescopes in Hawaii (red, green, and blue). The plane of the galaxy runs horizontally from left to right in the image, and the central black hole is off to the left of the image.
The evidence for the new supernova remnant, located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, comes from X-ray data from Chandra and XMM-Newton. The X-ray data reveals a “blob” of X-ray emission that may come from the remains of a massive star that self-destructed as a supernova, buried within the larger cloud of expanding gas.
The location of this suspected supernova remnant in the image is labeled with a circle.
It is in a bubble of gas that has had electrons stripped away from hydrogen – called an “H II region” – surrounding a massive, young star. This bubble is a bright source of radio emission called Sagittarius C.
If this is indeed a supernova remnant, then it is expanding at about two million miles per hour and is at least about 1,700 years old. Previously, observations with NASA’s now-retired SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) mission had shown evidence for an expanding shell of gas surrounding Sagittarius C. This gave astronomers a hint that a stellar explosion had occurred in the same spot.
The long filaments seen in the radio image are caused by energetic particles travelling along magnetic fields that are mostly directed perpendicular to the plane of the galaxy.
The nuclear fusion engines of stars create elements from hydrogen and helium that were abundant at the beginning of the universe. When stars explode at the end of their lives as supernovae, they send these newly synthesized elements into interstellar space and provide material for the next generation of stars and planets.
The team of astronomers searched the X-ray data for signs of increased amounts of key elements in the remnant, which would have been caused by the stellar explosion blasting them into space. While they did not see an enhancement, this could imply that the stellar debris has already mixed with the surrounding gas.
An alternative explanation for the X-ray blob is that the hot gas comes from a collection of massive stars in the region. The authors of the recent study don’t think this explanation is likely, because the X-ray emission from the blob is more than ten times brighter than the X-ray emission of large, known stellar clusters with bright, massive stars.
An additional image shows data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope added to the X-ray and radio data. The light blue color represents infrared light from gas in the H II region, and the darker blue depicts X-rays from the supernova remnant candidate, on the right side of the image. X-rays near the center of the image are associated with the H II region, possibly caused by material blown away by massive stars that has heated gas to millions of degrees, producing X-rays.
The study’s authors are Zhenlin Zhu and Mark Morris of the University of California, Los Angeles; Gabriele Ponti of Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics; and Ping Zhou of Nanjing University in China.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
This release features a composite image of colorful, overlapping clouds, which suggests to astronomers that a supernova remnant may be buried in gas near the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
Set against a backdrop packed with distant stars and other specks of light are two distinct, overlapping clouds. The larger, visually dominant cloud, is red and multifaceted. It has an irregular shape, and features patches of different textures, including pockets that resemble wispy smoke, tangles of faint red veins, and clear streaking lines. This large cloud of expanding gas represents radio data from the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa.
Overlapping with that red cloud is a cloudy blue blob representing X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton. Astronomers suggest that this blue blob of X-ray emissions is the remains of a massive star destroyed by a supernova.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory
To learn more about NASA’s Chandra mission, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/chandra
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
Joel Wallace
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov
Chandra X-ray Observatory
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