Browse Physics

A small crystal distortion can dramatically translate the path of an x-ray beam, an effect that could be useful in the development of x-ray optics.

The caveat that a carpet cloak must be made of an anisotropic material should not be ignored.

In the domain of unusual optical properties, layered superconductors could be viable materials with a negative index of refraction.

At high pressure, the simple metal sodium shows complex behavior, including directional transparency.

Simulations address whether magnetic ordering is achievable with cold atoms in optical lattices.

A time-tested photon interferometry technique is used to study the statistics of photons emitted by current fluctuations in a quantum conductor.

Researchers propose a new scheme for laser cooling in the strong-coupling regime that is orders of magnitude faster than methods limited by the trap frequency.

Electromagnetically induced transparency produced by dark states in an artificial atom might find use as a switchable microwave mirror.

Making simple modifications to laser-scanning microscopes—like those found in many laboratories—can beat the classical diffraction limit by a factor of $2$.

Vibrations of the atoms in a molecule are used to implement a Fourier transform orders of magnitude faster than possible with devices based on conventional electronics.

Simulations suggest that a set of cells in the eye can act like optical fibers to guide light through obscuring layers to the cells that detect light.

A network of light-guiding filaments could form a new and more flexible type of synthetic material for controlling light waves in advanced devices, according to simulations.

Researchers have found a way to naturally double the frequency of laser light with an optical microresonator made from lithium niobate that supports “whispering gallery” modes.

A trick for modulating optical frequency combs will enable more flexible control over trapped-ion qubits.

Signal amplification in an optical interferometer may push the sensitivity of measurements beyond the standard quantum limit.

Simulations reveal how laser-excited persistent currents in ring-shaped aromatic molecules couple to vibrational modes.

A method called quantum smoothing has been experimentally shown to provide a mean-square measurement error that is a factor of 2 smaller than the quantum limit.

In groundbreaking low-noise laser experiments, the linewidth limit of quantum cascade lasers is confirmed to be much lower than predicted by standard laser models.

A well-known model in condensed matter physics has now been applied to ultracold atoms in an optical lattice.

A device based on photonic crystals exhibits strong optomechanical coupling.