Browse Physics

A unified framework can describe light-matter interactions in a broad range of optomechanical systems, from single laser-cooled atoms to micromechanical mirrors.

Simulations of optical speckle reveal topological scaling laws that apply to a wide range of physical systems.

A laser beam in a squeezed state may be an effective source for cooling a macroscopic resonator.

Lasers can make an opaque material transparent, but to determine how long this state survives, you have to shut off the lights.

The optical equivalent of electron oscillations in periodic lattices has now been described by a fully quantum mechanical theory.

Successive and rapid measurements of a quantum system can prevent it from evolving in time. This quantum Zeno effect has now been demonstrated for light inside a cavity.

Spatial maps of the photon energy emitted by plasmons on a metal surface reveal standing wave patterns caused by electron confinement.

Coupled semiconductor lasers can be used to generate controllable soliton emission patterns.

Researchers in Japan have identified spin excitations in multiferroics that can be driven by electric fields.

Squeezed states can enhance the sensitivity of a detector and the storage capability of quantum memory devices. Because these features improve with an increase in system size, researchers are exploring ways to produce squeezed states in large ensembles of atoms.

The response of nanostructured metal strips to an electromagnetic field may turn out to be similar to that of atomic gases. Periodic arrays of these artificial metal “molecules” could in principle form a metamaterial that slows light pulses and is easily integrated into optical circuits.

Single photon emission is normally only observed in systems, such as atoms, that are quantum confined in all directions. Now, scientists have shown that carbon nanotubes, which are quasi-one-dimensional materials, can also act as single photon emitters.