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Optics & Photonics news
Physicists turn classical light into a quantum machine for information processing
Quantum computers promise to tackle problems that are extraordinarily difficult for today's computers. But there is a major obstacle: quantum systems are notoriously fragile. Noise, loss and even tiny disturbances can destroy ...
Optics & Photonics
22 minutes ago
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Tightly guided atoms could enable low-power quantum navigation when GPS fails
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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Bringing hidden optical imperfections to light
Tiny manufacturing imperfections in optical components normally go unnoticed. Yet they can alter light in surprisingly significant ways. An international research team led by TU Darmstadt has shown that such imperfections ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 10, 2026
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Helium-3 lifts new quantum computing concept with faster tunneling rates
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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Reversible electric control unlocks persistent chiral phonon states
Atoms in a material are rarely still. They jiggle back and forth in collective lattice vibrations known as phonons. Their motion can also carry a rotational element: In 2023, scientists at PSI experimentally proved the existence ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 7, 2026
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A new type of LED light could bring significant efficiency gains
Researchers at Lund University have developed a new type of light-emitting diode based on thin, branched nanowires that could offer significantly higher efficiency and lower production costs than current technology. By controlling ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 4, 2026
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Ultrafast electrons and lasers reveal unexpectedly strong radiation signals in common semiconductors
Detecting radiation is key to technologies ranging from particle accelerators and scientific instruments to medical imaging and security screening. But current detectors must often make trade-offs, providing signals that ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 4, 2026
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Quantum-optical spin glass could improve how AI remembers and learns
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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Trapped light generates nanoscale magnetization
Using an engineered metasurface that traps light, Cornell researchers have demonstrated a new way to generate strong static magnetic fields without using external magnets or magnetic materials—an approach that could advance ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 2, 2026
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Sorry, this neutrino laser won't work, physicists say
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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New research could improve detection of chiral molecules in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
Ohio University Distinguished Professor Alexander Govorov of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute (NQPI) in the College of Arts and Sciences has co-authored a new study ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 2, 2026
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Ten-channel photonic interface links neutral-atom qubits in parallel
A research group in Japan has demonstrated a world-record 10-channel multiplexed quantum photonic interface based on an integrated waveguide array, a key technology for optically interconnecting multiple quantum computers. ...
Optics & Photonics
Sep 1, 2026
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Ultrafast snapshots reveal the first moments on the way from light to electricity
Physicists at the University of Graz (Austria), in collaboration with colleagues from Marburg University and Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany), have achieved a scientific breakthrough. For the first time, the generation ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 1, 2026
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Physicists finally put Feynman's path integral to the test
For nearly 80 years, physicists have relied on a thought experiment created by Richard Feynman to predict how quantum particles behave. For the first time, researchers in China have tested this trick directly in the lab.
Hollow-core fiber platform could help different quantum technologies connect
Quantum technologies promise secure communication networks, powerful forms of computing and new sensing tools. One of the major challenges, however, is that different quantum systems often operate at different wavelengths ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 30, 2026
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Diamond clock combines two signals to cut temperature-driven drift
Despite all the advertisements for engagement rings and necklace gifts, natural diamonds are imperfect. Their carbon atoms are arranged in a cubic lattice, but they nonetheless contain several types of crystallographic defects ...
Light reveals internal motion in electron crystals and can trigger their melting
Electrons, particles that carry a negative electric charge, typically move through materials. At low densities and temperatures, however, the electrical repulsion between them can overpower their tendency to move, prompting ...
First observation of optical Magnus effect could sharpen quantum computer control
Table tennis professionals are true masters at redirecting fast-moving projectiles. Putting a targeted spin on a serve can make the little white ball fly straight toward the edge of the table but then, at the last moment, ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 27, 2026
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Light particles reveal critical scaling in a two-dimensional photon gas
A team of researchers from the University of Bonn, Heidelberg University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico has studied the critical behavior of light particles (photons) close to a phase transition. This critical ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 27, 2026
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Observing the vibrations of neighboring atoms with an atomic-scale double slit
Efficiently controlling heat generation has become a major challenge as the semiconductors used in smartphones, computers and similar devices have become higher-performing and more miniaturized. The way heat is transmitted ...
Condensed Matter
Aug 26, 2026
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More news
New quantum computing method broadens spectroscopy of hard-to-model matter
Bright ideas accelerate the hunt for quantum emitters
Supersized quantum sensors make faint photons easier to catch
Laser-cut aluminum foil could replace costly terahertz polarizers
Intense light bent out of shape—ultrafast lenses made from gas
Illuminating the limits of the international unit of light, the candela
Physicists entangle quantum memories across a record-breaking 420 km
Laser stability method advances precision control of electrons with light
Three photons at once beat the standard photon test
Other news
New genome study rewrites the early history of grasses, the world's most important plant family
Unusual bonds reorganize structure and magnetism in vanadium material
Bound gravitational waves inspired by photonic systems
Controlling the rotation direction of light without complex new materials
New optical method reveals internal dynamics of elusive Wigner crystals
X-rays: Beyond the Nobel Prize limit
'Lying mirror' uses structured surfaces to conceal optical information
Sunlight-powered setup generates quantum entanglement
Electrical pulses convert PFAS waste into valuable silver fluoride
