Light-matter interactions

This month, we're pushing the limits of ideal models. A recent study in Nature Communications shows how the physics of 1D systems deviates from the model in unexpected ways when the temperature is raised. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Ruwan Senaratne (Rice University, USA) and Bishwanath Gaire (Nature Communications).Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Cavazos-Cavazos, D., Senaratne, R., Kafle, A. et al. Thermal disruption of a Luttinger liquid. Nat Commun 14, 3154 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38767-0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we're looking into the impressive white colour of the Pacific Cleaner shrimp. A recent study in Nature Photonics reveals how birefringence enables the the shrimp to overcome optical crowding. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Benjamin Palmer and Tali Lemcof (Ben-Gurion University, Israel) and Giampaolo Pitruzzello (Nature Photonics).Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Lemcoff, T., Alus, L., Haataja, J.S. et al. Brilliant whiteness in shrimp from ultra-thin layers of birefringent nanospheres. Nat. Photon. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01182-4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we're going back to a classic quantum experiment - done with a twist. A recent study in Nature Physics does Young's double-slit experiment, but in time rather than in space. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Riccardo Sapienza (Imperial College London, UK) and Nina Meinzer (Nature Physics)Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Tirole, R., Vezzoli, S., Galiffi, E. et al. Double-slit time diffraction at optical frequencies. Nat. Phys. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-01993-w Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Season 2! This month, we're finding out how to solve equations with light. A recent study in Nature Nanotechnology uses ultrathin optical metagratings to solve integral equations in free space. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Andrea Cordaro (AMOLF, The Netherlands) and Alberto Moscatelli (Nature Nanotechnology)Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Cordaro, A., Edwards, B., Nikkhah, V. et al. Solving integral equations in free space with inverse-designed ultrathin optical metagratings. Nat. Nanotechnol. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-022-01297-9 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A special live show brought to you from the Berlin Science Week 2022. A recent study in Communications Engineering presents a photonic setup to create a neural network. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Charis Mesaritakis (University of the Aegean) and Miranda Vinay (Communications Engineering)Hosted by Cristiano Matricardi (Nature Communications)Ref: Sozos, K., Bogris, A., Bienstman, P. et al. High-speed photonic neuromorphic computing using recurrent optical spectrum slicing neural networks. Commun Eng 1, 24 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-022-00024-5 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we're looking inside the atom. A recent study uses a combination of techniques to probe the shapes that the orbitals of a nucleus can take, and finds some fascinating results. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Janne Pakarinen (University of Jyväskylä, Finland) and Grigory Rogachev (Texas A&M University, USA and Editorial Board Member of Communications Physics)Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Ojala, J., Pakarinen, J., Papadakis, P. et al. Reassigning the shapes of the 0+ states in the 186Pb nucleus. Commun Phys 5, 213 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-022-00990-4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we take a look inside cells. A recent study uses a new Raman scattering technique to probe liquid-liquid phase separation in cells. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Samrat Mukhopadhyay (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) and Adriana Savastano (Nature Communications)Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Avni, A., Joshi, A., Walimbe, A. et al. Single-droplet surface-enhanced Raman scattering decodes the molecular determinants of liquid-liquid phase separation. Nat Commun 13, 4378 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32143-0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we take a look at amorphous solids. A recent study finds that the "boson peak" - a universal feature of amorphous solids, originates from dynamical defects. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Yuan-Chao Hu (Yale University) and Bart Verberck (Nature Physics)Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Hu, YC., Tanaka, H. Origin of the boson peak in amorphous solids. Nat. Phys. 18, 669–677 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01628-6 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we take a look at optical singularities. A recent experiment finds that light-matter interactions can be used to create and control phase singularities in organic thin films. Tune in to find out more...Featuring Philip Thomas (University of Exeter) Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Thomas, P.A., Menghrajani, K.S. & Barnes, W.L. All-optical control of phase singularities using strong light-matter coupling. Nat Commun 13, 1809 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29399-x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we chat about antimatter. A recent experiment probing antiprotonic helium (a helium atom where one of the electrons is replaced by an antiproton) found an unexpected result. Rather than spectral lines broadening as the temperature of the system was lowered, the spectral lines got sharper! Tune in to find out more...Featuring Masaki Hori (Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics) and Federico Levi (Nature)Hosted by Ankita Anirban (Nature Reviews Physics) and Cristiano Matricardi (Nature communications)Ref: Sótér, A., Aghai-Khozani, H., Barna, D. et al. High-resolution laser resonances of antiprotonic helium in superfluid 4He. Nature 603, 411–415 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04440-7 ] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.