Scientist use superconducting detectors (MKIDs) to capture single photons coming from exoplanets. MKIDs constantly monitor their own kinetic inductance, which changes proportionally to the energy of an incoming photon. SRON researchers have now more than doubled their spectral resolution by re-trapping most of the leaked energy. Publication in Physical Review Applied.
Month: September 2021
SRON and Nikhef receive ENW-M grant for development LISA photoreceivers
SRON and Nikhef receive an ENW-M grant (€500,000) from NWO for the development of the photoreceivers for the gravitational wave detector LISA. It enables them to further develop the existing prototype towards a final version that meets the strict accuracy requirements. They work together with the Dutch companies BRIGHT Photonics and SMART Photonics to produce a photodiode that is large and noiseless enough to pick up LISA’s laser beams of only one nanoWatt.
Lack of massive black holes in telescope data is caused by bias
Our telescopes have never detected a black hole more massive than twenty times the mass of the Sun. Nevertheless, we now know of their existence as dozens of those black holes have recently been “heard” to merge via gravitational wave radiation. A team of astronomers led by Peter Jonker (SRON/Radboud) has now discovered that these seemingly disparate results can be explained by biases against massive black holes in conventional telescope observations.
Australian ‘Black Summer’ wildfires produced almost twice as much CO2 as all Australians in a year
The Australian summer of 2019-2020, also known as the ‘Black Summer’, was characterized by a series of devastating wildfires. Researchers from VU Amsterdam, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research and KNMI have determined the amount of CO2 released by these fires using satellite data. The wildfires produced nearly twice as much CO2 as Australia’s annual fossil fuel consumption. Publication in Nature.
