2017

Astrophysicists of the University of Zürich and ETH Zürich show how the icy moons of Uranus were born. Their result suggests that such potentially habitable worlds are much more abundant in the Universe than previously thought.

Nowadays, quantum systems can be manipulated with extremely high, but not with perfect precision. ETH physicists have now demonstrated how errors that occur during such operations can be monitored and corrected on the fly.

Optical measurements by an international team led by ETH physicist Leonardo Degiorgi provide unprecedented insight into the make-up of the enigmatic nematic order in iron-based superconductors.

Cosmic-ray events, such as exceptionally large solar eruptions, are recorded globally in trees. This is what 67 scientists from 56 institutions under the leadership of the Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics at ETH Zurich and the WSL Birmensdorf show in a study based on more than 400 radiocarbon analyses of 44 tree-ring records.

The theory of quantum mechanics is well supported by experiments. Now, however, a thought experiment by ETH physicists yields unexpected contradictions. These findings raise some fundamental questions – and they’re polarising experts.