Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Photonic crystal structures enable the controlled creation of long-range atomic interactions and may be a powerful tool for quantum simulation when combined with laser-cooled atoms.
Novel trapping mechanisms for ultracold atoms in specially engineered two-dimensional photonic crystals are proposed. The photonic crystal waveguides provide versatile means for creating strongly long-range atom–atom interactions mediated by photons.
Researchers propose that a cold atom in a one-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide can form a cavity. This system should allow interaction with other atoms within the effective cavity length.
A photoacoustic imaging scheme that uses genetically altered cells that express an absorbing pigment can monitor in vivo growth of cells and tumour development.
Natural hyperbolic materials hold the key to unlocking the full potential of hyperbolic media in nanophotonics. Until now no such materials were available for visible light but recent work finally brings down this roadblock.
Using an electro-optic effect, submicrometre-sized beams have been shown to exhibit non-paraxial propagation over 1,000 Rayleigh lengths. The discovery does not require inhomogeneous or lossy media like plasmon waveguiding.
Are true theorists a dying breed? Does more need to be done to support and encourage young scientists to devote themselves to inventing new theoretical concepts and models?
The capabilities of continuous variable (CV) quantum technology — homodyne detection and characterization of Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen entangled light — are demonstrated by sending CV light at 860 nm to optical circuits on a chip.
A quantum memory based on a Raman scheme is implemented for photonic qubits encoded in the path and polarization of single photons. The performance is quantified before and after storage in cold atomic ensembles and the storage bandwidth is ∼140 MHz.
Researchers exploit the strong dependence of gap-plasmon phase velocity on gap width to make a compact phase-modulator. An electromechanically variable gap size enables a 23-μm-long non-resonant modulator with moderate losses.
