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New chip offers way to make use of quantum system 'imperfections'

Quantum technologies promise powerful new kinds of computers, giving scientists new tools to mimic and explore nature at its tiniest scales. At those levels, everything in nature—from atoms and electrons to light itself—follows ...

Prototype sets record for optical quantum information technology

Chinese scientists have developed a programmable quantum computing prototype called Jiuzhang 4.0 that has set a new world record for optical quantum information technology, according to a study published May 13 in the journal ...

Sunlight-powered generation of correlated photon pairs

Pairs of correlated or entangled photons are a foundational resource in quantum optics. They are most commonly produced through spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC), a nonlinear optical process that typically relies ...

Seeing the invisible: The limits of two-photon vision

Near-infrared light is invisible to humans. And yet, under the right conditions, the human eye can perceive it. Researchers from Poland's International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) have now shown that the ...

Atoms vibrate on circular paths—with an unexpected twist

An international team of researchers, including scientists from HZDR and Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, for the first time directly observed how angular momentum is transferred and conserved within a crystal ...

Giving X-ray vision a sense of direction

Whether in tooth enamel or in nanomaterials made of silicon, the orientation of tiny internal structures often determines the properties of a material. A new X-ray method can even make this nano-order visible when the structures ...

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Condensed Matter
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Optics & Photonics
LED light unlocks 3D optical fingerprints inside materials without lasers
Optics & Photonics
Hologram technology where 'light becomes the key' enables hard-to-copy security
Optics & Photonics
Quantum geometry applied to light-based systems expands toolkit for topological photonics
Condensed Matter
Inexpensive material compresses light, paving the way for photonic microcircuits in the terahertz range
Optics & Photonics
Physicists have measured 'negative time' in the lab
Optics & Photonics
A longstanding quantum roadblock just fell, opening existing fiber networks to ultra-secure light signals
Optics & Photonics
Light unlocks full polarization control at ultrafast speeds, reshaping photonics
Optics & Photonics
XXP instrument back online, marking a key milestone in high-energy upgrade to SLAC's X-ray laser
Optics & Photonics
Tiny flexible lasers enable force sensing inside living cells
Optics & Photonics
Light-responsive hydrogels enable fast and precise control of soft materials
Optics & Photonics
A new era for ultrafast photonics: 2D mercury-acetylide frameworks for near-infrared nonlinear optics
Optics & Photonics
Light can now be shaped in empty space, and it could simplify sensing and boost data links
Optics & Photonics
Hidden stripe pattern lets microscopes auto-focus across 400 times deeper range
Condensed Matter
A mechanical blue LED: Stretching GaN shifts light from UV to blue without changing chemistry
Optics & Photonics
Team develops modulator for compact photonic integrated circuits
Optics & Photonics
This ultracold quantum device turns electricity into something far stranger that could unlock sound-based lasers

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Consistency check casts doubt on evolving dark energy
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Tritium-infused graphene could sharpen the hunt for neutrino mass
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MeerKAT discovers 15 new millisecond pulsars in a well known globular cluster
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Clearing the path for turbulence-free quantum communication

A University of Ottawa team has developed a new way to protect free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) from atmospheric turbulence, one of the main causes of distortion and errors when sending quantum information through ...

Hair-width LEDs could eventually replace lasers

LEDs no wider than a human hair could soon take on work traditionally handled by lasers, from moving data inside server racks to powering next-generation displays. New research co-authored by UC Santa Barbara doctoral student ...

Twisting optical fiber creates a robust new pathway for light

Light powers everything from communications to sensing, yet even tiny imperfections can scatter it and weaken signals. To address this, a team led by the University of Bath—working with the University of Cambridge and international ...

Phonon lasers unlock ultrabroadband acoustic frequency combs

Acoustic frequency combs organize sound or mechanical vibrations into a series of evenly spaced frequencies, much like the teeth on a comb. They are the acoustic counterparts of optical frequency combs, which consist of equally ...