Researchers from the Department of Physical Chemistry at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Institute of Radiation Physics at Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf have developed a novel experimental platform to measure the electric fields of light trapped between two mirrors with a sub-cycle precision. These electro-optic Fabry-Pérot resonators will allow for precise control and observation of light-matter interactions, particularly in the terahertz (THz) spectral range. By developing a tunable hybrid-cavity design, and measuring and modeling its complex sets of allowed modes, the physicists can switch between nodes and maxima of the light waves exactly at the location of interest. The study opens new avenues for exploring quantum electrodynamics and ultrafast control of material properties.

For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that negative refraction can be achieved using atomic arrays - without the need for artificially manufactured metamaterials.

Scientists have long sought to control light in ways that appear to defy the laws of Nature.

Negative refraction - a phenomenon where light bends in the opposite direction to its usual behaviour - has captivated researchers for its potential to revolutionise optics, enabling transformative technologies such as superlenses and cloaking devices.

Now, carefully arranged arrays of atoms have brought these possibilities a step closer, achieving negative refraction without the need for artificially manufactured metamaterials.        

When world-leading teams join forces, new findings are bound to be made. This is what happened when quantum physicists from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics (MPIK) in Heidelberg combined atomic and nuclear physics with unprecedented accuracy using two different methods of measurement. Together with new calculations of the structure of atomic nuclei, theoretical physicists from the Technical University of Darmstadt and Leibniz University Hannover were able to show that measurements on the electron shell of an atom can provide information about the deformation of the atomic nucleus. At the same time, the precision measurements have set new limits regarding the strength of a potential dark force between neutrons and electrons. The results have been published in the current issue of the scientific journal Physical Review Letters.

A new study has revealed the clearest-ever picture of the surface chemistry of worm species that provides groundbreaking insights into how animals interact with their environment and each other. These discoveries could pave the way for strategies to deepen our understanding of evolutionary adaptations, refine behavioural research, and ultimately overcome parasitic infections.