Category: News

Diagnostic Tool Sheds New Light on Instabilities in High-Power Lasers

Finn Kohrell and Jeroen van Tilborg discuss the laser's optical stretcher, a part of the laser system that controls the separation (stretching) and re-compression of different wavelength components of the laser pulse, which are all crucial for laser amplification and pulse envelope shaping. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer, Berkeley Lab)

A New Method for Measuring Inter-Tape Resistance in Superconducting Cables

Reed Teyber and Chet Spencer work on the experimental setup for measuring inter-tape contact resistance in REBCO-based superconducting cables. (Credit: Matthew Fullmer, Berkeley Lab)

New Technique Sheds Light on Chemistry at the Bottom of the Periodic Table

A team led by Jacklyn Gates (left) and Jennifer Pore used FIONA to make the first direct measurement of molecules containing nobelium. Credit: Marilyn Sargent, Berkeley Lab

New Angles on Jet Scattering in the Quark-Gluon Plasma at RHIC and the LHC

An artistic representation of a liquidlike fireball of "quark-gluon plasma" (QGP) created in a collision of two gold ions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). This collision has also produced a correlated spray of particles (a "jet") back-to-back with a photon (wavy purple line). Scientists from RHIC's STAR Collaboration showed that interactions of the jet particles cause the QGP to splash sideways, like the wake behind a power boat, enabling them to measure properties of the plasma. (Valerie A. Lentz/Brookhaven National Laboratory)

Magnets Could Unlock a New Way to Detect Gravitational Waves

Gravitational waves (blue lines) that pass through a magnet (orange) will cause it to oscillate, thereby generating an oscillating magnetic field that could be detected. In this way, large magnets can operate as Weber Bars. Image Credit: Nick Rodd, Berkeley Lab

Tracking Down Three-Particle Components in the Nucleus

Jefferson Lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) Hall A. (Credit: Jefferson Lab)

Researchers Make Key Gains in Unlocking the Promise of Compact X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

Jeroen van Tilborg, Sam Barber, and Carl Schroeder lean over the chicane magnets that connect the laser plasma accelerator (behind them) to the downstream undulator. The electron beam excursion in the chicane allows for remnant laser light to be blocked, while also temporally separating electrons of different energies to reduce the sliced energy spread. Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab

A delicate dance with 20-ton concrete blocks

The rigging team moves Roof Blocks 74 and 76 at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) Sector 12 area, as part of Summer 2025 shutdown work. Credit: Thor Swift, Berkeley Lab

Berkeley Lab hosts 2025 DESI Summer Collaboration Meeting

2025 DESI Summer Collaboration Meeting participants at Berkeley Lab, July 2025. (Credit: Tami Blackwell, Berkeley Lab)

Super Set of Supernovae Suggests Dark Energy Surprise

$The bright dot of Supernova 1994D appears next to galaxy NGC 4526. Credit: NASA, ESA, The Hubble Key Project Team, and The High-Z Supernova Search Team Alt text: A white dot with diffraction spikes appears near a large swirling galaxy with a bright core.$