Browse Physics

Shifts in atomic energy levels caused by electron interaction with virtual photons can also occur in an ensemble of atoms acting cooperatively.

The Daya Bay Collaboration in China has discovered an unexpectedly large neutrino oscillation.

A spherically symmetric interaction force between particles can cause them to self-assemble into a surprisingly asymmetric (chiral) pattern in two dimensions, according to simulations.

The sloshing of light between optical waveguides replicates the quantum-mechanical exchange between an atom and an electromagnetic mode.

A new method of imaging with second harmonic light allows more general studies of molecules with different orientations.

Nanowires made from indium-antimonide offer the best chance for detecting Majorana fermions that may ultimately perform as robust qubits.

The next generation of ultrahigh energy lasers will be able to produce extremely dense electron-positron plasmas and intense bursts of gamma rays, according to simulations, and both will lead to new types of experiments.

Mathematical solutions to Maxwell’s equations suggest that it is possible for shape-preserving optical beams to bend along a circular path.

The electronic properties of graphene allow a population inversion to be established within the duration of a 35-femtosecond light pulse.

A semiconductor chip that generates entangled photon pairs is friendlier to integration with other chip-based quantum components than any previous device.

A careful reassessment of zinc oxide nanolasers finds that the electrons and holes in the material are not bound together as others have suggested.

Two experimental collaborations at Fermilab report a new measurement of the W boson mass that leads to a better prediction of the mass of the Higgs boson.

Plasmas can be made transparent to electromagnetic waves with the application of external magnetic fields.

A waveguide’s dielectric properties could result in an effective gauge field for photons even though they have no charge.

Optically switched magnetic domains are easier to control if the light source is circularly polarized.

A study of ancient and modern papers reveals how cellulose reacts with light to discolor documents and art over time.

White noise in a nanoscale junction tells us how nonelectronic factors affect conduction.

Hard spheres may favor one structural arrangement over others that are less mechanically stable during assembly.

The scale invariance that has been seen in flocks of birds is showing up in clusters of bacteria.

Experimental models of astrophysical and planetary dynamos have been studied in the laboratory and generate magnetic fields with new geometries.