Optical & microwave phenomena as a research area investigates the generation, propagation, interaction, and detection of electromagnetic radiation spanning the optical (visible, ultraviolet, infrared) and microwave spectral ranges, with emphasis on their underlying physical mechanisms and cross-regime analogies. It encompasses coherent and incoherent light–matter interactions, waveguiding, scattering, nonlinear effects, resonances, and quantum electrodynamical aspects, as well as microwave cavity dynamics, dispersion, and near-field behavior. The field supports development of advanced spectroscopies, imaging modalities, communication and sensing technologies, and enables engineered materials and structures (e.g., photonic and microwave metamaterials) that tailor electromagnetic response across these frequency bands.
Astronomers may have just confirmed one of the quirkiest aspects of quantum mechanics: that seemingly empty space can alter the behavior of light. This phenomenon, called "vacuum birefringence," was first predicted nearly ...
Astronomy
Aug 6, 2026
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161
Researchers at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering have developed a new approach to nanoscale 3D printing that improves both speed and fidelity, overcoming a challenge that has limited the technology's ...
Nanophysics
Aug 3, 2026
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19
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) driven by artificial intelligence (AI) are generating data at an unprecedented rate. Every internet search, AI-generated image, recommendation, scientific simulation and large ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 31, 2026
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48
Topological photonics can force propagating light to travel in a single direction—allowing researchers to route optical signals around corners and past defects without any of it scattering backward. So far, however, this ...
Large-scale quantum communication networks require both reliable quantum memories and coherent single-photon sources that can exchange quantum information efficiently. A coherent source of single photons with narrow linewidth, ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 30, 2026
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59
A shape that captured worldwide attention for solving a decades-old mathematical puzzle has returned to the spotlight. While the shape's properties allowed it to solve previous puzzles, little is known about its other associated ...
General Physics
Jul 29, 2026
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Light typically interacts with a material the same way whether it enters through the front or the back—like polarized sunglasses that work the same from either side. Cornell researchers have demonstrated a simple route to ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 27, 2026
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30
Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a device that enables them to control the flow of electrons through a semiconductor using only laser light—no electrical power source required. The device was built to ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 21, 2026
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173
Researchers at RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau have achieved a key experimental breakthrough: For the first time, the spontaneous macroscopic coherence of magnons—the quantized excitations of magnetic materials—has ...
Quantum Physics
Jul 14, 2026
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54
Future quantum computing will require correlations between distant modules—a feature known as distributed entanglement. Traditionally, such entanglement has relied on active control and repeated measurements. Now, physicists ...
Quantum Physics
Jul 14, 2026
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