Cold atoms and matter waves is a research area focused on the quantum behavior of dilute atomic gases cooled to microkelvin or nanokelvin temperatures, where their de Broglie wavelengths become comparable to interparticle spacing and wave-like properties dominate. It encompasses the production and manipulation of Bose–Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases, coherent control of atomic matter waves using optical and magnetic potentials, and exploration of many-body quantum phenomena in engineered lattices and traps. The field underpins precision metrology, quantum simulation, and interferometry by exploiting long coherence times, tunable interactions, and highly controllable external degrees of freedom of ultracold atomic ensembles.
The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has remeasured a key transition frequency of the strontium (Sr) atom for the first time in 88 years, since 1938, using a photonic grating chip. It has established ...
Optics & Photonics
Oct 19, 2026
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18
Molecular gases are a new form of artificial quantum matter. However, when these molecules collide, they are often lost extremely rapidly. Researchers from Radboud University and Columbia University have been able to suppress ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 18, 2026
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Does gravity act equally on all particles in the universe, or are there differences between ordinary and exotic matter? Physics professor Anna Soter and her team at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen ...
General Physics
Sep 15, 2026
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In 1931, physicist Hans Bethe predicted that, in certain one-dimensional quantum systems, particles can bind together to form multi-particle states known as Bethe strings. Unlike ordinary molecules, which are held together ...
Quantum Physics
Sep 14, 2026
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230
Within tiny halos of light clinging to a vanishingly thin wisp of optical fiber, scientist Jongmin Lee guides atoms like marbles through a narrow pipe. Rock the fiber and the atoms shift side by side; they just don't fall ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 10, 2026
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37
Helium—the lightest atom that can be laser-cooled and controlled—powers a new design for high-powered, stable quantum computers.
Optics & Photonics
Sep 8, 2026
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82
A new study has demonstrated that it is possible to make a network of atoms and photons that could improve how artificial intelligence stores and recalls memories. This network, called a quantum-optical spin glass, works ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 3, 2026
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57
An international team including Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Sir Roger Penrose has observed a long-predicted effect of gravity on a falling quantum object for the first time. The result shows that a fundamental ...
General Physics
Sep 2, 2026
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Neutrinos are pervasive yet intangible particles that permeate the universe, streaming through whole planets, stars and our bodies by the trillions each second. The elementary particles are often described as "ghostly" for ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 2, 2026
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74
The weak equivalence principle (WEP) is central to Einstein's general relativity. It posits that gravity must accelerate everything equally, regardless of what it is made from. For the first time, a team led by Ming-Sheng ...
