Researchers at the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms have recently demonstrated a one-dimensional (1-D) magneto-optical trap (MOT) of polar free radical calcium monohydroxide (CaOH). This technique, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, was...
Metasurfaces are artificial materials designed at the nanoscale, which can control the scattering of light with exceptionally high precision. Over the past decade or so, these materials have been used to create a variety of technological tools ranging from sensors to...
In recent years, 3-D printing has opened up interesting new possibilities for the large-scale production of electronic components, as well as of a variety of other objects. To this end, research teams worldwide have been trying to create materials and structures that...
Light sources and detectors are key components of countless technological devices on the market today. For instance, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are often used as a source of light in displays and other technologies, while photodiodes are used to detect light in...
Our current, well-established understanding of phases of matter primarily relates to systems that are at or near thermal equilibrium. However, there is a rich world of systems that are not in a state of equilibrium, which could host new and fascinating phases of matter.
Laser technology confines light inside a resonator containing a gain medium, a material with quantum properties that can amplify light. As laser resonators are generally far larger than the wavelength of light, lasing inside their cavities can occur in a wide range of...
Neutral atoms and charged ions can be cooled down to extremely low temperatures (i.e., to microkelvins, 1 millionth of a degree above absolute zero) using laser techniques. At these low temperatures, the particles have often been found to behave in accordance with the...
Physics theory suggests that the universe is made up in great part by a type of matter that does not emit, absorb or reflect light, and hence cannot be observed using conventional detection methods. This type of matter, referred to as dark matter, has so far never...
The Jefferson Lab Hall A Collaboration, in an experiment led by researchers at Faculté des Sciences de Monastir in Tunisia, Institut de Physique Nucléaire d'Orsay in France and Old Dominion University in the United States, has recently gathered the first experimental...
Most theories of solid state and soft matter physics were developed independently; thus, a few physical concepts are applicable to both. Recent research, however, particularly a study by Elbio Dagotto, found that correlated electrons in solid-state physical systems...