Category Astronomy/Space

High-Resolution Simulations Explore the Physics of Star Formation

Rocking the magnetic cradle of stellar birth
The new simulations show a cross section of the star and its surrounding disk of gas. In the left image, where the young star is weakly magnetized, gas can be seen flowing freely from the surrounding disk of material to the surface of the protostar. In the right image, material flows along the magnetic field lines towards the star’s poles, in a much more defined flow. Credit: Astronomy & Astrophysics (2024). DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202451842

Stars are born in clouds of gas and dust, making it difficult to observe their early development. But researchers at Chalmers have now succeeded in simulating how a star with the mass of the sun absorbs material from the surrounding disk of material—a process called accretion.

The researchers simulated four stars with the same mass but with v...

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Helical Magnetic Fields: A Universal Mechanism for Jet Collimation?

Results of the Rotation Measure analysis in the HH80-81 jet. The left image shows the streamline image of the component of the magnetic field parallel to the plane of the sky. In the middle panel, the color scale of the RM indicates the direction of the magnetic field along the line of sight, i.e., red, away from the observer, and blue, towards the observer. The right panel shows a scheme depicting the 3D configuration of the magnetic field, exhibiting a helical topology.
Credit: Rodríguez-Kamenetzky et al. 2025, The Astrophysical Journal.

New observations from the National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (NSF NRAO) Karl G...

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Research may Boost Next-Generation Space Rockets

a solar-powered EP spacecraft design
A solar-powered EP spacecraft design. (Courtesy of NASA)

Hidden patterns in electric propulsion plasma beams could help ensure the success of long-term space missions. Go faster, farther, more efficiently.

That’s the goal driving spacecraft propulsion engineers like Chen Cui, a new assistant professor at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. Cui is exploring ways to improve electric propulsion thrusters — a key technology for future space missions.

“In order to ensure the technology remains viable for long-term missions, we need to optimize EP integration with spacecraft systems,” Cui said.

Working with his former adviser, University of Southern California professor Joseph Wang, Cui published findings last month in Plasma Sources Science and Tec...

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Scientists detect Mysterious Suppression in Cosmic Structure Growth

Scientists detect mysterious suppression in cosmic structure growth
A section of the three-dimensional map constructed by BOSS. Image credit: Jeremy Tinker and the SDSS-III collaboration. Credit: Jeremy Tinker and the SDSS-III collaboration

A new study in published in Physical Review Letters analyzes the most complete set of galaxy clustering data to test the ΛCDM model, revealing discrepancies in the formation of cosmic structures in the universe, hinting at a new physics.

The ΛCDM model is the standard model of cosmology describing the universe’s evolution, expansion, and structure. It encompasses cold dark matter (CDM), normal matter and radiation, and the cosmological constant (Λ), which accounts for dark energy.

The model has been successful in explaining several cosmological observations, including the large-scale structure of the univer...

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