Department of Physics

In a paper published Sept. 6 in Physical Review Letters, an international team of researchers in the United States, Germany and France reported that a distinctive strategy they have used shows real promise to be the first approach to measure the mass of the neutrino. Once fully scaled up, their collaboration — Project 8 — could also reveal how neutrinos influenced the early evolution of the universe as we know it.

Kick off the Autumn quarter and celebrate a return to campus with these can’t-miss recommendations from the College of Arts & Sciences.

High school teachers spent four weeks at the UW Summer Institute in Physics and Physical Science to improve their understanding and teaching of physics. 

A particle physics experiment decades in the making — the Muon g-2 experiment — looks increasingly like it might set up a showdown over whether there are fundamental particles or forces in the universe that are unaccounted for in the current Standard Model. On Aug. 10, the international team of scientists behind Muon g-2 — pronounced “g minus 2” — released the world’s most precise measurement yet of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. Calculating the muon’s magnetic moment at a high precision will indicate whether it is interacting solely with the particles and forces known today, or if unknown particles or forces are out there.

A new type of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system invented by Mo Li, professor of physics and of electrical and computer engineering at the UW, and his team is poised to shake up what's possible within the LiDAR realm. The team built a laser beam-steering device with no moving parts and put it on a chip, which makes it 1000 times smaller than other LiDAR devices currently available. Putting it on a chip also makes the device compact and sturdy, as well as relatively easy and inexpensive to fabricate.

A team led by researchers at the University of Washington reports that it is possible to imbue graphite — the bulk, 3D material found in No. 2 pencils – with physical properties similar to graphite’s 2D counterpart, graphene. Not only was this breakthrough unexpected, the team also believes its approach could be used to test whether similar types of bulk materials can also take on 2D-like properties. If so, 2D sheets won’t be the only source for scientists to fuel technological revolutions. Bulk, 3D materials could be just as useful.

New electronic devices? New data storage methods? UW Physics & Materials Sciences Professor Xiaodong Xu studies the properties of single atomic layer semiconductors. He looks for new materials and new ways to control electrical conductivity.

A team led by scientists and engineers at the University of Washington has announced a significant advancement in developing fault-tolerant qubits for quantum computing. In a pair of papers published June 14 in Nature and June 22 in Science, they report that, in experiments with flakes of semiconductor materials — each only a single layer of atoms thick — they detected signatures of “fractional quantum anomalous Hall” (FQAH) states. The team’s discoveries mark a first and promising step in constructing a type of fault-tolerant qubit because FQAH states can host anyons — strange “quasiparticles” that have only a fraction of an electron’s charge. Some types of anyons can be used to make what are called “topologically protected” qubits, which are stable against any small, local disturbances.

The four new graduates honored as College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Medalists for 2023 are all working to improve our world, in different ways. 

By studying the light atoms emitted when stimulated by a laser, they were able to detect vibrations sometimes referred to as atomic "breathing," a feature fundamental to nature's building blocks. The UW's Mo Li, professor of physics and of electrical and computer engineering; Adina Ripin, a doctoral student in physics; and Ting Cao, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, are quoted.

Meghna Shankar, graduating with degrees in physics and computer science, found joy and balance by also performing in the UW Symphony Orchestra. 

The Husky 100 recognizes 100 UW undergraduate and graduate students who are making the most of their time at the UW.

The UW's Nancy Allbritton, dean of the College of Engineering and professor of bioengineering; Kai-Mei Fu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and of physics; and Charles Marcus, professor of materials science and engineering and of physics, are quoted.

An international team of scientists has for the first time detected neutrinos created by a particle collider. The discovery — announced March 19 by the Forward Search Experiment, or FASER collaboration — promises to deepen scientists’ understanding of the nature of neutrinos, which are the most abundant particle in the cosmos. FASER’s detector picked up neutrinos generated by the Large Hadron Collider, which is based at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

An international team of scientists has for the first time detected neutrinos created by a particle collider. The discovery — announced March 19 by the Forward Search Experiment, or FASER collaboration — promises to deepen scientists’ understanding of the nature of neutrinos, which are the most abundant particle in the cosmos. FASER’s detector picked up neutrinos generated by the Large Hadron Collider, which is based at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.