Browse Physics

Networks of photonic devices with broken time-reversal symmetry may provide a way to create a quantum simulator to study strongly correlated systems.

An optical fiber facilitates the transfer of energy from one laser beam to another in a nonlinear process that suppresses higher-order scattering.

Symmetry arguments reveal the necessary conditions for building a device that can act as both a perfect emitter and a perfect absorber.

A model of laser amplification that accounts for beam focusing may allow more effective optimization of output power.

Two research teams used a ring-like probe to directly characterize the magnetic field of infrared light in a small cavity.

Structurally engineered electromagnetic materials have now been made from active elements, expanding the range of possible optical effects in such so-called “metamaterials.”

Transmission of light through an atomic vapor offers a way of replacing a conventional compass with an all-optical device.

Theoretical analysis now explains how whispering-gallery-mode resonators can be used to effectively generate broad optical frequency combs.

An alternative to a needle for penetrating cells may be found in the precise and forceful fluid jet created by two bubbles expanding and collapsing in tandem.

The answer to why the wings of certain butterflies diffract light in a reverse rainbow spectrum is found in the structure of the wing scales.

Light from an ultraviolet frequency comb allows researchers to push the boundaries in precision spectroscopy, experimental tests of quantum electrodynamics, and atomic clocks.

A property of light called orbital angular momentum can be directly measured by sending the beam through a triangular aperture and counting the spots that appear in the diffraction pattern.

Just as a laser can emit coherent light from an amplifying medium, an absorbing medium can perfectly capture incoming radiation under the right conditions.

The first semiconducting laser was built in 1962. Its direct descendants made DVD players and a wide variety of other devices possible.

The power enhancement from compressing an entangled photon pair opens applications in quantum information processing based on optics.

Photonic band gap structures combined with silicon nanocrystals may allow integration of optical circuits with current microchip technology.

A little-known and subtle optical effect in combination with state-of-the-art pulsed laser techniques holds considerable promise as a sensitive way to study physical properties (including spin phenomena) in nanometer scale structures.

In a new regime for atomic clocks, strong interactions between atoms dramatically increase the clock’s coherence time.

Early results from the Linac Coherent Light Source expose the inner dynamics of molecules during ionization with ultrashort x-ray pulses.

Forces on an atom from a fiber less than an optical wavelength in diameter may provide answers in quantum optics.