Electrons slowing down at critical moments

In a new study, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have determined that electrons in some oxides can experience an "unconventional slowing down" of their response to a light ...

Ultracold atoms and ultrafast lasers

Two separate research fields have been united in Hamburg for the very first time. Ultrashort laser pulses enable us to observe and manipulate matter on very short time scales, whereas ultracold atoms permit experiments with ...

Detecting the birth and death of a phonon

Phonons are discrete units of vibrational energy predicted by quantum mechanics that correspond to collective oscillations of atoms inside a molecule or a crystal. When such vibrations are produced by light interacting with ...

Secrets of solar flares can now be studied on Earth

Solar flares, cosmic radiation, and the northern lights are well known phenomena. But exactly how their enormous energy arises is not as well understood. Now, physicists at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have ...

From insulator to conductor in a flash

In recent decades, computers have become faster and hard disks and storage chips have reached enormous capacities. But this trend cannot continue forever. Physical limits are preventing silicon-based computer technology from ...

Hard X-ray flash breaks speed record

Reactions in solar panels, catalytic converters, and other devices are governed by the quick motion of electrons. To capture the movement of these electrons, scientists use pulses of extremely high energy x-rays. The challenge ...

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