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Porous yet densely packed carbon electrodes with high ion-accessible surface area and low ion transport resistance are crucial to the realization of high-density electrochemical capacitive energy storage but have proved to be very challenging to produce. Taking advantage of chemically converted graphene's intrinsic microcorrugated two-dimensional configuration and self-assembly behavior, we show that such materials can be readily formed by capillary compression of adaptive graphene gel films in the presence of a nonvolatile liquid electrolyte. This simple soft approach enables subnanometer scale integration of graphene sheets with electrolytes to form highly compact carbon electrodes with a continuous ion transport network. Electrochemical capacitors based on the resulting films can obtain volumetric energy densities approaching 60 watt-hours per liter.

The AGN Black Hole Mass Database is a compilation of all published spectroscopic reverberation-mapping studies of active galaxies. We have created a public Web interface where users may get the most up-to-date black hole masses from reverberation mapping for any particular active galactic nucleus (AGN), as well as obtain the individual measurements upon which the masses are based and the appropriate references. While the database currently focuses on the measurements necessary for black hole mass determinations, we also plan to expand it in the future to include additional useful information, such as host-galaxy characteristics. New reverberation mapping results will also be incorporated into the database as they are published in peer-refereed journals.

Because of their extremely high densities, massive neutron stars can be used to test gravity. Based on spectroscopy of its white dwarf companion, Antoniadis et al. (p. 448 ) identified a millisecond pulsar as a neutron star twice as heavy as the Sun. The observed binary's orbital decay is consistent with that predicted by general relativity, ruling out previously untested strong-field phenomena predicted by alternative theories. The binary system has a peculiar combination of properties and poses a challenge to our understanding of stellar evolution. Observations of a pulsar confirm general relativity in the strong-field regime and reveal a perplexing stellar binary. Many physically motivated extensions to general relativity (GR) predict substantial deviations in the properties of spacetime surrounding massive neutron stars. We report the measurement of a 2.01 ± 0.04 solar mass ( M ☉ ) pulsar in a 2.46-hour orbit with a 0.172 ± 0.003 M ☉ white dwarf. The high pulsar mass and the compact orbit make this system a sensitive laboratory of a previously untested strong-field gravity regime. Thus far, the observed orbital decay agrees with GR, supporting its validity even for the extreme conditions present in the system. The resulting constraints on deviations support the use of GR-based templates for ground-based gravitational wave detectors. Additionally, the system strengthens recent constraints on the properties of dense matter and provides insight to binary stellar astrophysics and pulsar recycling.

Significance We illustrate the similarity and difference in particulate matter (PM) formation between Beijing and other world regions. The periodic cycle of PM events in Beijing is regulated by meteorological conditions. While the particle chemical compositions in Beijing are similar to those commonly measured worldwide, efficient nucleation and growth over an extended period in Beijing are distinctive from the aerosol formation typically observed in other global areas. Gaseous emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides from urban transportation and sulfur dioxide from regional industry are responsible for large secondary PM formation, while primary emissions and regional transport of PM are insignificant. Reductions in emissions of the aerosol precursor gases from transportation and industry are essential to mediate severe haze pollution in China. As the world’s second largest economy, China has experienced severe haze pollution, with fine particulate matter (PM) recently reaching unprecedentedly high levels across many cities, and an understanding of the PM formation mechanism is critical in the development of efficient mediation policies to minimize its regional to global impacts. We demonstrate a periodic cycle of PM episodes in Beijing that is governed by meteorological conditions and characterized by two distinct aerosol formation processes of nucleation and growth, but with a small contribution from primary emissions and regional transport of particles. Nucleation consistently precedes a polluted period, producing a high number concentration of nano-sized particles under clean conditions. Accumulation of the particle mass concentration exceeding several hundred micrograms per cubic meter is accompanied by a continuous size growth from the nucleation-mode particles over multiple days to yield numerous larger particles, distinctive from the aerosol formation typically observed in other regions worldwide. The particle compositions in Beijing, on the other hand, exhibit a similarity to those commonly measured in many global areas, consistent with the chemical constituents dominated by secondary aerosol formation. Our results highlight that regulatory controls of gaseous emissions for volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides from local transportation and sulfur dioxide from regional industrial sources represent the key steps to reduce the urban PM level in China.

This review addresses the state of research that employs astronomical (remote sensing) observations of solids (\"dust\") in young circumstellar disks to learn about planet formation. The intention is for it to serve as an accessible, introductory, pedagogical resource for junior scientists interested in the subject. After some historical background and a basic observational primer, the focus is shifted to the three fundamental topics that broadly define the field: (1) demographics-the relationships between disk properties and the characteristics of their environments and hosts; (2) structure-the spatial distribution of disk material and its associated physical conditions and composition; and (3) evolution-the signposts of key changes in disk properties, including the growth and migration of solids and the impact of dynamical interactions with young planetary systems. Based on the state-of-the-art results in these areas, suggestions are made for potentially fruitful lines of work in the near future.

The Kepler mission was designed to determine the frequency of Earth-sized planets in and near the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. The habitable zone is the region where planetary temperatures are suitable for water to exist on a planet's surface. During the first 6 weeks of observations, Kepler monitored 156,000 stars, and five new exoplanets with sizes between 0.37 and 1.6 Jupiter radii and orbital periods from 3.2 to 4.9 days were discovered. The density of the Neptune-sized Kepler-4b is similar to that of Neptune and GJ 436b, even though the irradiation level is 800,000 times higher. Kepler-7b is one of the lowest-density planets (approximately 0.17 gram per cubic centimeter) yet detected. Kepler-5b, -6b, and -8b confirm the existence of planets with densities lower than those predicted for gas giant planets.

Neutron stars and quark stars are not only characterized by their mass and radius but also by how fast they spin, through their moment of inertia, and how much they can be deformed, through their Love number and quadrupole moment. These depend sensitively on the star's internal structure and thus on unknown nuclear physics. We find universal relations between the moment of inertia, the Love number, and the quadrupole moment that are independent of the neutron and quark star's internal structure. These can be used to learn about neutron star deformability through observations of the moment of inertia, break degeneracies in gravitational wave detection to measure spin in binary inspirals, distinguish neutron stars from quark stars, and test general relativity in a nuclear structure—independent fashion.

Himalayan gladers are a focus of public and scientific debate. Prevailing uncertainties are of major concern because some projections of their future have serious implications for water resources. Most Himalayan glaciers are losing mass at rates similar to glaciers elsewhere, except for emerging indications of stability or mass gain in the Karakoram. A poor understanding of the processes affecting them, combined with the diversity of climatic conditions and the extremes of topographical relief within the region, makes projections speculative. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that dramatic changes in total runoff will occur soon, although continuing shrinkage outside the Karakoram will increase the seasonally of runoff, affect irrigation and hydropower, and alter hazards.

An acoustic cloak is a compact region enclosing an object, such that sound incident from all directions passes through and around the cloak as though the object was not present. A theory of acoustic cloaking is developed using the transformation or change-of-variables method for mapping the cloaked region to a point with vanishing scattering strength. We show that the acoustical parameters in the cloak must be anisotropic: either the mass density or the mechanical stiffness or both. If the stiffness is isotropic, corresponding to a fluid with a single bulk modulus, then the inertial density must be infinite at the inner surface of the cloak. This requires an infinitely massive cloak. We show that perfect cloaking can be achieved with finite mass through the use of anisotropic stiffness. The generic class of anisotropic material required is known as a pentamode material (PM). If the transformation deformation gradient is symmetric then the PM parameters are explicit, otherwise its properties depend on a stress-like tensor that satisfies a static equilibrium equation. For a given transformation mapping, the material composition of the cloak is not uniquely defined, but the phase speed and wave velocity of the pseudo-acoustic waves in the cloak are unique. Examples are given from two and three dimensions.

Extension of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to nanoscale samples has been a longstanding challenge because of the insensitivity of conventional detection methods. We demonstrated the use of an individual, near-surface nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond as a sensor to detect proton NMR in an organic sample located external to the diamond. Using a combination of electron spin echoes and proton spin manipulation, we showed that the NV center senses the nanotesla field fluctuations from the protons, enabling both time-domain and spectroscopic NMR measurements on the nanometer scale.