Related papers: Light under a matter field microscope
Most theoretical studies for correlated light-matter systems are performed within the long-wavelength limit, i.e., the electromagnetic field is assumed to be spatially uniform. In this limit the so-called length-gauge transformation for a…
We provide an introduction to complex photonic media, that is, composite materials with spatial inhomogeneities that are distributed over length scales comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of light. This blossoming field is firmly…
Theoretical limits and physical bounds across many areas of science, mathematics, and technology -- including Shannon's information-capacity limits, Bennett and Landauer's thermodynamic limits on computation, and G\"odel's incompleteness…
Progress in observational cosmology over the past five years has established that the Universe is dominated dynamically by dark matter and dark energy. Both these new and apparently independent forms of matter-energy have properties that…
Diffraction limits the behaviour of light in optical systems and sets the smallest achievable line width at half the wavelength. With a novel subwavelength plasmonic lens to reduce the diffraction via an asymmetry and to generate and…
Light is extensively used to steer the motion of atoms in free space, enabling cooling and trapping of matter waves through ponderomotive forces and Doppler-mediated photon scattering. Likewise, light interaction with free electrons has…
We derive the full linear-response theory for non-relativistic quantum electrodynamics in the long wavelength limit, show quantum modifications of the well-known Maxwell's equation in matter and provide a practical framework to solve the…
The optical medium analogy of a radiation field generated by either an exact gravitational plane wave or an exact electromagnetic wave in the framework of general relativity is developed. The equivalent medium of the associated background…
Interactions between dark matter and ordinary matter will transfer momentum, and therefore give rise to a force on ordinary matter due to the dark matter `wind.' We show that this force can be maximal in a realistic model of dark matter,…
We introduce a simple theoretical model that describes the interaction of light with optical metamaterials in terms of interfering optical plane waves. In this model, a metamaterial is considered to consist of planar arrays of densely…
Searches for dispersive effects in the propagation of light at cosmological distances have been touted as sensitive probes of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) and of theories of quantum gravity. Frequency-dependent time lags between…
The analysis of symmetries is extremely useful across science. In Physics, symmetries are used to derive conservation laws and selection rules for transitions in interacting systems. In the early days of nonlinear optics (NLO), symmetries…
Light-matter interaction processes are significantly affected by surrounding electromagnetic environment. Dielectric materials are usually introduced into an interaction picture via their classical properties, e.g. permittivity, appearing…
Energy-dependent speeds of light have been considered an observable signature of quantum gravity effects. The two simplest dispersion relationships produce either linear or quadratic corrections, in particle energy, to the photon speed. The…
Controlling chemical and material properties through strong light-matter coupling in optical cavities has gained considerable attention over the past decade. However, the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently understood, and a…
Ultralight particles, with a mass below the electronvolt scale, exhibit wave-like behavior and have arisen as a compelling dark matter candidate. A particularly intriguing subclass is scalar dark matter, which induces variations in…
Matter-wave optics is often viewed as a linear analogue of photonics, where noninteracting particles are coherently split, diffracted, and recombined, and interference arises from single-particle coherence. In ultracold quantum gases,…
Metamaterials are beginning to transform optics and microwave technology thanks to their versatile properties that, in many cases, can be tailored according to practical needs and desires. Although metamaterials are surely not the answer to…
Information about quantum phase transitions in conventional condensed matter systems, must be sought by probing the matter system itself. By contrast, we show that mixed matter-light systems offer a distinct advantage in that the photon…
We firstly revisit the importance, naturalness and limitations of the so-called optical metrics for describing the propagation of light rays in the limit of geometric optics. We then exemplify their flexibility and nontriviality in some…