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International research team succeeds for the first time in analysing different signals simultaneously A new method to study the signals associated with merging neutron stars can help researchers to collect data through multiple channels in parallel. The method was developed by an international team of scientists, including the Institute for Gravitational and Subatomic Physics (GRASP) , Utrecht University, and Nikhef.

Utrecht scientists, under the supervision of Marc-Etienne Moret, have discovered a new mechanism to build molecular catalysts. The new mechanism involves the earth-abundant metal nickel instead of precious metals that are often used as part of molecular catalysts. Moret: "This discovery initiates a new area of research that brings about a whole new concept for the design of more sustainable catalysts." In 2017, chemistry researcher Marc-Etienne Moret received an ERC Starting Grant  to study new catalysts with better properties.

New research has revealed that Rembrandt impregnated the canvas for his famous 1642 militia painting 'The Night Watch' with a lead-containing substance even before applying the first ground layer. Such lead-based impregnation has never before been observed with Rembrandt or his contemporaries. The discovery , published today in Science Advances, underlines Rembrandt's inventive way of working, in which he did not shy away from using new techniques.

Quantum scientists, including Nigel Hussey of Radboud University, have discovered a rare phenomenon that could hold the key to creating a 'perfect switch' in quantum devices which flips between being an insulator and superconductor. The research, published in Science , found these two opposing electronic states exist within purple bronze, a unique one-dimensional metal composed of individual conducting chains of atoms.

Quantum physicists at Delft University of Technology have shown that it's possible to control and manipulate spin waves on a chip using superconductors for the first time. These tiny waves in magnets may offer an alternative to electronics in the future, interesting for energy-efficient information technology or connecting pieces in a quantum computer, for example.

Currently, many (nano)structures are grown in layers, one above the other, but their ordering on the atomic scale is generally far from perfect.  The researchers aim for a better understanding of these processes that can eventually lead to smaller, faster and overall better nanotechnology and have, in a worldwide first observation, discovered pre-solidification in droplet mixture.

Researchers from Delft established a way to address many quantum dots with only a few control lines using a chessboard-like method. This enabled the operation of the largest gate-defined quantum dot system ever. Their result is an important step in the development of scalable quantum systems for practical quantum technology.

In an international collaboration involving the University of Twente and universities in Finland and Australia, researchers have succeeded in reprogramming the capsids of plant viruses into different shapes. They did this by folding nanoscale DNA structures into moulds around which the capsids form.

Observations with the James Webb Space Telescope have for the first time revealed the presence of water in the inner disk around a young star where giant planets have already formed further away. The research took place within the MINDS collaboration, led by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany, and including astronomers from Radboud University, the University of Groningen, and Leiden University.

A new physics model could help gain more insight into the events surrounding the birth of the universe. Combining principles of holography and string theory, researchers from Utrecht University, together with colleagues from other universities and Cern, developed the model that could potentially elucidate how the universe expanded, and gained enough heat in the final phase before the Big Bang.

Researchers from the Complex Photonic Systems (COPS) group used two layers of random materials to encrypt and decrypt a message sent via light communication. With that, they hid the sender and receiver simultaneously, and only when the light passed through both layers was the message received. The research team published their findings in the journal Optics Express, and believes this proof of concept has applications in visible light communication systems, light fidelity (LiFi), and optical fibre communications.

PhD candidate Vincent Debets investigated which elements are important for the movement behavior of a cancer cell. Why do tumor cells stay put under certain conditions, but become mobile in others, raising the prospect of metastasis? TU/e researcher Vincent Debets looked at the cells in the human body from a physics perspective and developed a unique model designed to boost our understanding of complex cell movements.

In a ground-breaking experiment, scientists from the University of Groningen, together with colleagues from HFML-FELIX, University of Twente and the Harbin Institute of Technology (China), have discovered the existence of a superconductive state that was first predicted in 2017. In this week's edition of Nature, they present evidence for a special variant of the so-called FFLO superconducting state, a discovery that could have significant applications, particularly in the field of superconducting electronics.

It seems quantum mechanics and thermodynamics cannot be true simultaneously. In a new publication, UT researchers use photons in an optical chip to demonstrate how both theories can be true at the same time. They recently published their results in the scientific journal Nature Communications. In quantum mechanics, time can be reversed and information is always preserved.

With novel calculations TU/e researchers reveal new properties of supercooled liquids that could be used in efficient optical materials and recyclable plastics. When cooled to their freezing point, most liquids become solids or crystallize. In other words, the molecules arrange themselves in a perfectly ordered fashion, which physicists call a crystal.

A team of European astronomers, together with Indian and Japanese colleagues, has for the first time found strong evidence of ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves, which probably come from pairs of supermassive black holes at the centre of merging galaxies. It is the result of more than 25 years of observations with the most sensitive radio telescopes in Europe and India, including the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT).

The Dutch Research Council for Scientific Research (NWO), has awarded Vidi funding to four UT research projects. These are studies led by Arnd Hartmanns, Linn Leppert, Jelmer Renema and Roland van Rijswijk-Deij. With this contribution of 800,000 euros, they can develop an innovative line of research and set up a research group in the coming five years.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded eight TU Delft researchers from the Science (ENW) and Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES) domains, a Vidi grant of up to 800,000 euro. This will enable the laureates to develop an innovative line of research over the next five years and further expand their own research group.

The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 188 promising researchers from the full breadth of science, fifteen of whom are from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, with a Veni funding. This will allow the laureates to further develop their own research ideas over the next three years.

A team of European astronomers, along with Indian and Japanese colleagues, has reported evidence that strongly suggests the detection of ultra-low-frequency gravitational waves. Such waves, which have not previously been observed, probably originate from pairs of supermassive black holes at the centre of merging galaxies.