Related papers: Inflatable Evergreen Polar Zone Dome (EPZD) Settle…
Mid-infrared spectroscopy is one of the few ways to observe the composition of the terrestial planet forming zone, the inner few au, of proto-planetary disks. The species currently detected in the disk atmosphere, for example CO, CO2, H2O…
Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides possess valley dependent functionalities that are usually available only at crogenic temperatures, constrained by various valley depolarization scatterings. The formation of exciton…
Environmentally-powered computer systems operate on renewable energy harvested from their environment, such as solar or wind, and stored in batteries. While harvesting environmental energy has long been necessary for small-scale embedded…
We develop an athermal version of the shear-transformation-zone (STZ) theory of amorphous plasticity in materials where thermal activation of irreversible molecular rearrangements is negligible or nonexistent. In many respects, this theory…
Before about 500 million years ago, most probably our planet experienced temporary snowball conditions, with continental and sea ices covering a large fraction of its surface. This points to a potential bistability of Earth's climate, that…
Metal halide perovskite solar cells (MHPSCs) hold great promise related to their high efficiency and low fabrication costs, but their long-term stability under environmental conditions remains a major challenge. In this study, we…
Polar amplification describes the predicted reduction in the latitudinal surface temperature gradient, which will have physical implications for mid-latitude dynamics. The precise nature of these dynamical consequences remains unclear. Here…
We introduce a novel Earth-like planet surface temperature model (ESTM) for habitability studies based on the spatial-temporal distribution of planetary surface temperatures. The ESTM adopts a surface Energy Balance Model complemented by:…
White and brown dwarfs are astrophysical objects that are bright enough to support an insolation habitable zone (IHZ). Unlike hydrogen-burning stars, they cool and become less luminous with time, and hence their IHZ moves in with time. The…
Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) can provide constant, reliable electricity and heat with minimal emissions, but high drilling costs and uncertain cost reductions leave their future unclear. We explore scenarios for the future adoption of…
We systematically explore the design space of ferroelectric hafnium-zirconium oxide (H0.5Z0.5O or HZO) heterostructures for reliable high temperature operation. HZO films are deposited using thermal and plasma-enhanced atomic layer…
We perform numerical simulations to study the Habitable zones (HZs) and dynamical structure for Earth-mass planets in multiple planetary systems. For example, in the HD 69830 system, we extensively explore the planetary configuration of…
The similarity of Venus and Earth in bulk properties make Venus an appealing target for future colonization. Several proposals have been put forward for colonizing and even terraforming Venus despite the extreme conditions on the planet's…
We point out that two problems of observational cosmology, the facts i) that > 60% of the baryonic content of the universe is not observed at z=0 and ii) that the properties of small clusters do not agree with simple expectations, could be…
Real-world passive radiative cooling requires highly emissive, selective, and omnidirectional thermal emitters to maintain the radiative cooler at a certain temperature below the ambient temperature while maximizing the net cooling power.…
Rocky planets with temperate conditions provide the best chance for discovering habitable worlds and life outside the Solar System. In the last decades, new instrumental facilities and large observational campaigns have been driven by the…
Several Earth system components are at a high risk of undergoing rapid and irreversible qualitative changes or `tipping', due to increasing climate warming. Potential tipping elements include Arctic sea-ice, Atlantic meridional overturning…
We analyzed the thermodynamics of hypothetical exoplanets at very low Keplerian circular orbits in close vicinity of rapidly spinning supermassive black holes. Such black hole exoplanets are heated by strongly blueshifted and focused flux…
Massive planetary cores embedded in protoplanetary discs are believed to accrete extended atmospheres, providing a pathway to forming gas giants and gas-rich super-Earths. The properties of these atmospheres strongly depend on the nature of…
Epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) materials have shown significant potential for nonlinear optical applications due to their ultrafast hot carriers and consequent optical nonlinearity enhancement. Modified poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)…