Browse Physics

Shuang Zhang, Xiang Zhang, Physics 2, 91 (2009) – Published November 2, 2009

Optics Particles & Fields Metamaterials

Čerenkov radiation with the emission cone reversed has been observed in a metamaterial with negative refractive index.

Mattias Marklund, Lennart Stenflo, Physics 2, 86 (2009) – Published October 19, 2009

Optics Fluid Dynamics

How freak or rogue waves form in the ocean is not well understood, but new investigations suggest a mechanism for these waves that may also allow formation of high-intensity pulses in optical fibers.

Robert F. Klie, Physics 2, 85 (2009) – Published October 12, 2009

Optics Nanophysics

A new approach to reduce spherical and chromatic aberration in electron microscopy allows for low-energy imaging of single-layer boron nitride, a novel 2D nanostructure that is analogous to graphene.

Alexander Lvovsky, Physics 2, 83 (2009) – Published October 5, 2009

Quantum Information Optics

An entangled state of six photons could potentially carry quantum information over large distances and between different reference frames.

Riccardo Hertel, Physics 2, 73 (2009) – Published September 8, 2009

Optics Magnetism

Magnetic switching is typically a continuous process, where a field pulse rotates a magnet from up to down, but it is now possible to do this faster — and with all-optical methods — by first quenching the magnetization to zero and then repolarizing it in the opposite direction.

Marc J. J. Vrakking, Physics 2, 72 (2009) – Published August 31, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics Optics

Calculations show that with new short pulse x-ray light sources, it should be possible to use photoelectron emission to make movies of changes in molecular structure.

Julien Laurat, Physics 2, 62 (2009) – Published July 20, 2009

Quantum Information Optics

This design of atomic quantum memory tells us when a pulse of light has been successfully stored and then proceeds to retrieve it without significantly affecting its polarization. The exquisite operation provides a new capability for quantum information networks.

Thomas Weinacht, Physics 2, 51 (2009) – Published June 22, 2009

Optics Chemical Physics

Different molecules with nearly identical absorption spectra can be distinguished with the help of shaped laser pulses and adaptive algorithms.

Petr M. Anisimov, Jonathan P. Dowling, Physics 2, 52 (2009) – Published June 22, 2009

Quantum Information Optics

A proposal for obtaining optical resolution better than the classical limit by means of spatially entangled quantum states of light opens a new frontier in the fields of quantum optical imaging, metrology, and sensing.

F. Javier García de Abajo, Physics 2, 47 (2009) – Published June 8, 2009

Optics Metamaterials

Materials with unusual optical properties may allow the construction of sensors surrounded by a cloaking shell that makes the detectors undetectable.

Jürgen Appel, Physics 2, 45 (2009) – Published June 1, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics Optics

Dispersive probing of an atomic transition decreases the “dead time” of optical atomic clocks, potentially enabling more stable time reference standards.

Andrew M. C. Dawes, Physics 2, 41 (2009) – Published May 18, 2009

Atomic & Molecular Physics Quantum Information Optics

Loading cold atoms into a hollow-core optical fiber enables all-optical switching with just several hundred photons.

Sandu Popescu, Physics 2, 32 (2009) – Published April 27, 2009

Optics Quantum Mechanics

In the weird world of quantum mechanics, looking at time flowing backwards allows us to look forward to precision measurements.

David A. Reis, Physics 2, 33 (2009) – Published April 27, 2009

Optics

The observation of squeezed phonons by x-ray diffraction allows researchers to study the interactions between ultrafast lasers and matter in a whole new light.

Thomas Philbin, Physics 2, 17 (2009) – Published March 2, 2009

Optics

A proposal for a new type of cloaking device suggests a way to hide both a distant object and the cloak itself.

Irina Novikova, Physics 2, 7 (2009) – Published January 26, 2009

Optics

The blurring effects of diffraction pose an obstacle to transmitting an image with all-optical technology. A method to reduce diffraction that takes advantage of the thermal motion of atoms could prove a way to keep images sharp.

Martin Wegener, Stefan Linden, Physics 2, 3 (2009) – Published January 12, 2009

Optics

Metamaterials can be designed to rotate light as it passes through them. If the effect is strong enough, it can lead to the material having a negative index of refraction and light bouncing around very differently than expected.

Alexandre Blais, Jay M. Gambetta, Physics 1, 39 (2008) – Published December 8, 2008

Quantum Information Optics

Preparing a harmonic oscillator in a state with a well-defined energy is a tricky business. With the new tools provided by cavity and circuit quantum electrodynamics it is now possible to make these pure quantum states and watch how they evolve in time.

Jeremy L. O’Brien, Physics 1, 23 (2008) – Published September 22, 2008

Quantum Information Optics

Laser beams made up of millions of sharply defined and coherently locked optical frequencies, called optical frequency combs, may provide a way to implement a powerful quantum computer.

John Pendry, Physics 1, 20 (2008) – Published September 15, 2008

Optics

Thick layers of disordered materials, such as milk or snow, scatter light so that very little of it gets through. Theorists say that a properly designed combination of incident light waves would be almost completely transmitted and we now have experimental proof of this remarkable result.