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MPQ Scientist Awarded ERC Starting Grant for Study on Rydberg Dressed Quantum Many-Body Systems

Dr. Christian Groß, a young research scientist working in the Quantum Many-Body Systems Division of Professor Immanuel Bloch at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (Garching near Munich), has been selected by the European Research Council as one of the recipients of an ERC Starting Grant for the year 2015.

30 Nov 2015

Researchers Successfully ‘Pluck’ a Single Photon out of a Pulse of Light

At the Weizmann Institute of Science, researchers have managed to “pluck” a single photon – one particle of light – out of a pulse of light. The findings of this research, which appeared this week in Nature Photonics, bear both fundamental and practical significance: Light is the workhorse of today’s communication systems, and single photons are likely to be the backbone of future quantum communication systems. In addition, say the scientists, the apparatus they have devised will spur further research into the fundamental particle nature of light.

26 Nov 2015

3D Printer and Off-the-Shelf Parts Help Build Self-Aligning Mirror Mechanism for ITER

At the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the spirit of tinkering lives. This past summer a team of engineers invented a mechanical device designed to be installed on ITER, the multinational fusion machine being built in the south of France, using 3D printing and parts bought at Walmart.

25 Nov 2015

Radially Polarized Laser Beam Can Track Speeding Particles

It might be easier to track tiny particles in the future – even when they hurtle along with the speed of a rifle bullet. This is thanks to researchers working with Christoph Marquardt and Gerd Leuchs at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, who have discovered that these particles can be tracked with a radially polarized laser beam. In radially polarized light, the oscillation planes of the light waves arrange themselves like the spokes of a wheel. When the researchers cause a particle to fly through such a laser beam, they are able to determine its position several billion times per second by measuring the polarization of the beam.

24 Nov 2015

New Evidence to Support Development of Scalable, Secure High Rate Quantum Networks

Scientists at the University of York’s Centre for Quantum Technology have discovered new evidence to support the development of scalable and secure high rate quantum networks.

23 Nov 2015

Short-Duration X-Ray Flashes Could Be Compressed to a Fraction of a Femtosecond

Ultra-short x-ray pulses could shed new light on the fastest events in physics
If you've ever been captivated by slow-motion footage on a wildlife documentary, or you've shuddered when similar technology is used to replay highlights from a boxing match, you'll know how impressive advancements in ultra-fast science can be.

17 Nov 2015

Researchers Employ Optical Attenuators to Extend Range of Photon-Counting Detectors

Precise measurements of optical power enable activities from fiber-optic communications to laser manufacturing and biomedical imaging — anything requiring a reliable source of light. This situation calls for light-measuring (radiometric) standards that can operate over a wide range of power levels.

6 Nov 2015