Recent Articles

Optics

Synopsis: Controlling a Laser’s Phase

A compact scheme can directly modulate the phase of a laser without a bulky external modulator. Read More »

Nuclear Physics

Viewpoint: Uncovering a Quantum Phase Transition in Nuclei

Simulations predict that the ground states of certain light nuclei lie near a quantum phase transition between a liquid-like phase and a phase involving clusters of alpha particles. Read More »

Optics

Focus: Chip Changes Photon Color While Preserving Quantumness

A new device that can potentially be scaled up for quantum computing converts visible light to infrared light suitable for fiber-optic transmission without destroying the light’s quantum state. Read More »

Quantum Physics

Synopsis: Twisting in Thin Air

Researchers characterize the rotational jiggling of an optically levitated nanoparticle, showing how this motion could be cooled to its quantum ground state. Read More »

Particles and Fields

Synopsis: Spotting Dark Matter with Supermaterials

Superconducting aluminum or superfluid helium could be used to detect superlight dark matter particles. Read More »

Graphene

Synopsis: Jiggling Graphene

The random quivering of graphene membranes could be exploited to generate electricity. Read More »

Quantum Physics

Viewpoint: Mapping Out the State of a Quantum System

Researchers have developed a new technique to measure the density matrix—a more general way of characterizing the state of a quantum system than that provided by the wave function. Read More »

Optics

Focus: Smoke Rings in Light

A newly discovered optical vortex forms a ring around many intense laser pulses but was never noticed before. Read More »

Particles and Fields

Synopsis: Strange Mesonic Atoms Detected

The DIRAC collaboration at CERN reports the first statistically significant observation of an atom formed from a $𝜋$ meson and a K meson. Read More »