Physics

May 1st, 2024 - A study published in Opto-Electronic Science discusses high-intensity spatial-mode steerable frequency up-converter toward on-chip integration. Integrated photonic devices consisting of micro-lasers, amplifiers, optical waveguides , frequency converters, and modulators on a single chip , enabling control over photon's spatial modes, frequencies, angular momenta, and phases, are essential for preparing high-dimensional quantum entangled states, high-capacity photon information processing, ... [Read More]

May 1st, 2024 - For the first time, lasers have successfully excited the "thorium transition," a process long pursued by researchers. This breakthrough sets the stage for groundbreaking advancements in high-precision technologies, such as nuclear clocks. Physicists have eagerly anticipated this breakthrough: scientists globally have spent years searching for a specific state of thorium atomic nuclei that could lead to groundbreaking technological advancements. It could be used, for example, to build an nuclear ... [Read More]

May 1st, 2024 - Gravity is part of our everyday life. Still, the gravitational force remains mysterious: to this day we do not understand whether its ultimate nature is geometrical, as Einstein envisaged, or governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Until now, all experimental proposals to answer this question have relied on creating the quantum phenomenon of entanglement between heavy, macroscopic masses. But the heavier an object is, the more it tends to shed its quantum features and become "classical," ... [Read More]

May 1st, 2024 - Researchers have developed a new way to control and manipulate optical signals by embedding a liquid crystal layer into waveguides created with direct laser writing. The new devices enable electro-optical control of polarization, which could open new possibilities for chip-based devices and complex photonic circuits based on femtosecond-written waveguides. "Laser writing of waveguides and electro-optical modulation via liquid crystals has not been combined in this way before," said Alessandro ... [Read More]

May 1st, 2024 - Imagine a future where computers can learn and make decisions in ways that mimic human thinking, but at a speed and efficiency that are orders of magnitude greater than the current capability of computers. A research team at the University of Wyoming has created an innovative method to control tiny magnetic states within ultrathin, two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnets—a process akin to how flipping a light switch controls a bulb. "Our discovery could lead to advanced memory devices ... [Read More]

May 1st, 2024 - After many years of preparations, CERN has approved a new experiment: the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP). Physicist Alexey Boyarsky was involved from the start. "We know there is physics that's missing and we aim to find it." "Ultimately, we try to capture the whole universe in a single theory," says Boyarsky, who is professor of theoretical physics at the Leiden Institute of Physics. "The Standard Model seemed to be just that but there was always something missing. With the discovery of ... [Read More]

May 1st, 2024 - Scientists have adapted a device called a microwave circulator for use in quantum computers, allowing them for the first time to precisely tune the exact degree of nonreciprocity between a qubit, the fundamental unit of quantum computing, and a microwave-resonant cavity. The ability to precisely tune the degree of nonreciprocity is an important tool to have in quantum information processing. In doing so, the team derived a general and widely applicable theory that simplifies and expands upon ... [Read More]

Apr 30th, 2024 - Researchers have successfully used 40-year-old mathematics to explain quantum tunneling, providing a unified approach to diverse quantum phenomena. Quantum mechanical effects such as radioactive decay, or more generally: 'tunneling', display intriguing mathematical patterns. Two researchers at the University of Amsterdam now show that a 40-year-old mathematical discovery can be used to fully encode and understand this structure. Quantum Physics – Easy and Hard In the quantum world, ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - A new study uncovers a switchable, atomically-thin metal-organic material that could be used in future low-energy electronic technologies. The study shows that electron interactions in this material create an unusual electrically-insulating phase in which electrons are 'frozen'. By reducing the population of electrons, the authors are able to unfreeze the remaining electrons, allowing for controlled transitions between insulating and electrically-conductive phases: the key to the on-off binary ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Quantum computers that are more powerful than the fastest supercomputers could be closer than experts have predicted, researchers from startup Nord Quantique argue.  That's because the company has built an individual error-correcting physical qubit that could dramatically cut the number of qubits needed to achieve quantum advantage (which is where quantum computers are genuinely useful).  Eventually, this could lead to a machine that achieves quantum supremacy — where a quantum ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Traditional semiconductors such as Si, GaAs, and HgCdTe seem unable to meet the development trend of electronic devices that feature ultra-small volume, lightweight, and low power consumption. These limitations of traditional semiconductors mainly stem from complex growth conditions and low-temperature working environments. In recent years, novel 2-dimensional (2D) materials have provided decent opportunities to develop room-temperature, high-speed, ultra-sensitive, and broadband photodetectors ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Finding new ways to slow fleeting waves of light or even stop them in their tracks could lead to more advanced photonic devices, such as lasers, LED displays, fiber-optics, and sensors. In a cunning trap made from a silicon crystal tweaked to behave as if it's deformed, scientists have found a flexible new way to make light waves stand absolutely still. Light can be brought to a halt in a few different ways, such as by cooling clouds of atoms or even braiding light waves together . This new ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Ultrafast laser spectroscopy allows the ascertainment of dynamics over extremely short time scales, making it a very useful tool in many scientific and industrial applications. A major disadvantage is the considerable measuring time this technique usually requires, which often leads to lengthy acquisition times spanning minutes to hours. Researchers have now developed a technique to speed up spectroscopic analysis. Ultrafast laser spectroscopy allows the ascertainment of dynamics over extremely ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Researchers at EPFL have created the first detailed model explaining the quantum-mechanical effects that cause photoluminescence in thin gold films, a breakthrough that could advance the development of solar fuels and batteries. Luminescence, the process where substances emit photons when exposed to light, has long been observed in semiconductor materials like silicon. This phenomenon involves electrons at the nanoscale absorbing light and subsequently re-emitting it. Such behavior provides ... [Read More]

Apr 29th, 2024 - Some materials are transparent to light of a certain frequency. When such light is shone on them, electrical currents can still be generated, contrary to previous assumptions. Scientists have managed to prove this. Some materials are transparent to light of a certain frequency. When such light is shone on them, electrical currents can still be generated, contrary to previous assumptions. Scientists from Leipzig University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have managed to prove ... [Read More]

Apr 27th, 2024 - Electrons within solid materials are restricted to specific energy levels, known as "bands." The space between these bands, the forbidden energies, are known as "band gaps." Both of them together constitute the "band structure" of the material, which is a unique characteristic of each specific material. When physicists plot the band structure, they usually see that the resulting curves resemble mountains and valleys. In fact, the technical term for a local energy maximum or minimum in the bands ... [Read More]