Physics Content

Physicists Expand Equation of State for Fermi-Hubbard Model

Andy Fell — March 15, 2024 - 2:42pm

When studying complex materials, condensed matter physicists often harness the Fermi-Hubbard model to explore a material’s electric, magnetic and superconductive properties. But the model isn’t without limitations. Historically, its theoretical and experimental applications have been limited to atoms with electrons that exist in two possible states.

Closing Equity Gaps in Physics Education

Andy Fell — September 11, 2023 - 4:11pm

Physics faces an equity problem.

Heavier Than Expected Particle Raises Questions About Standard Model

Andy Fell — April 08, 2022 - 4:37pm

An international team of physicists, including several from the high energy experiment group at the �� Department of Physics and Astronomy, has come up with the best measure yet of the mass of the W-boson – putting it in conflict with existing elements of the Standard Model of particle physics.

�� Leads $3.7M Multicampus Grant to Stem Shortage of Instrumental Physicists

Andy Fell — October 22, 2021 - 9:30am

There is an alarming shortfall of particle physicists prepared to design instruments that open pathways to Nobel Prize-winning discoveries like neutrino oscillations and the Higgs boson. To help fill the gap, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $3.7 million to a consortium led by the University of California, Davis, to train 32 graduate students in high-energy physics instrumentation.

Understanding Matter at Atom-Crushing Densities

Anonymous — August 10, 2020 - 6:42pm

University of California, Davis, will be part of a new National Science Foundation Physics Frontier Center focusing on understanding the physics and astrophysical implications of matter under pressures so high that the structure of individual atoms is disrupted.

New Double-Contrast Technique Picks Up Small Tumors on MRI

Andy Fell — May 25, 2020 - 4:35pm

Early detection of tumors is extremely important in treating cancer. A new technique developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis, offers a significant advance in using magnetic resonance imaging to pick out even very small tumors from normal tissue. The work is published May 25 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

Taking the Temperature of Dark Matter

Andy Fell — January 15, 2020 - 9:24am

Warm, cold, just right? Physicists at the University of California, Davis, are taking the temperature of dark matter, the mysterious substance that makes up about a quarter of our universe.

We have very little idea of what dark matter is, and physicists have yet to detect a dark matter particle. But we do know that the gravity of clumps of dark matter can distort light from distant objects. Chris Fassnacht, a physics professor at ��, and colleagues are using this distortion, called gravitational lensing, to learn more about the properties of dark matter.

Scientists Receive $6 Million to Support Particle Accelerator, Wildfire Research

Andy Fell — November 26, 2019 - 2:17pm

Michele Barbato, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Eric Prebys, professor of physics, are leading projects that will receive more than $6 million over three years from the University of California Laboratory Fees Research Program competition.

New Measurement of Hubble Constant Adds to Cosmic Mystery

Andy Fell — October 23, 2019 - 10:15am

New measurements of the rate of expansion of the universe, led by astronomers at the University of California, Davis, add to a growing mystery: Estimates of a fundamental constant made with different methods keep giving different results.

“There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of mystification and from my point of view it’s a lot of fun,” said Chris Fassnacht, professor of physics at �� and a member of the international SHARP/H0LICOW collaboration, which made the measurement using the W.M. Keck telescopes in Hawaii.

Crocker Nuclear Laboratory to Produce Rare Medical Isotope

Andy Fell — September 09, 2019 - 10:58am

The Crocker Nuclear Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, has received a $340,000 grant from the Department of Energy to manufacture a rare isotope, astatine-211, for medical use. The award is part of a federal program to produce critical isotopes for U.S. science, medicine and industry needs.