Comment

Large language models (LLMs) are a new and powerful tool for solving specific physics problems. Here, the authors explore their capabilities in solving three problems of increasing complexity in quantum optics, finding that with appropriate prompts and careful feedback, a well-trained LLM can be used as an effective scientific collaborator.

Data show that the presence of women in quantum science is affected by several detriments, especially for higher positions. This Manifesto outlines the values and goals of Women for Quantum—a group of female physics professors working in AMO physics, quantum many-body physics and quantum information - to foster an inclusive scientific community.

Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC), a remarkable manifestation of quantum mechanics in systems with many particles, has over the past century reshaped our understanding of the fundamental phases of matter. The author explores its historical development, with emphasis on the diverse physical systems exhibiting BEC, and the broader implications to fundamental science and quantum technologies.

Three decades have passed since the first demonstration of Ghost Imaging by Pittman and collaborators. This comment reflects on the initial intellectual challenges that emerged at the time of the experiment, and discusses how such challenges fuelled the development of three decades of imaging technologies.

Traditional academic training of early career researchers is often limited by the resources of the research group and the managerial strategy of the group PIs. Complexity72h is a workshop format where early-stage researchers can acquire writing, collaborative and leading skills in just 72 h.

The 30-years development of quantum cascade lasers has established them as a go-to source of coherent radiation in the Mid-IR and THz ranges. In this comment, the authors guide the reader through the landmark achievements of this technology, from a lab curiosity to a mature technology adopted by research groups and companies.

The long term and persistent challenges faced by women and other minorities in science requires dedicated strategies. Here the authors share the example of “Parité sciences”, game changer initiative deployed in Québec to address gender disparity.

While gender disparities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines are widely noted, the citation gap is still understudied and awareness remains low. Here, we address citation inequity in physics and describe individual and collective mitigation initiatives, including the citation diversity statement.

All human activity generates a carbon footprint and scientific research is no exception; however, given the diversity in research activity, developing a standard approach to monitor environmental impact is complex. In this comment, the authors propose a framework for scientists to self-report emissions of research-related emissions in their papers as a means to gradually build an overview of the potential carbon footprint of scientific activity.

In order for terahertz devices to reach technological maturity, robust characterization methods and reliable metrics for comparison between studies must be defined. In this comment, the authors describe the challenges faced in obtaining robust power measurements in the terahertz regime, and summarize recent efforts to establish standards for this field.

Science diplomacy has become an important dimension of international relations. Here’s a take on the past, present and future of fusion science diplomacy and the role such big collaborative endeavours play in shaping the future of this field in the international political sphere.

Global events in the past year has made prescient a long-standing debate on the definition and suitability of impact and novelty as criteria for publication in selective journals. Reflecting on this issue, Prof Andrea Armani and Prof Jerry Lee argue that rigour and reproducibility is, in fact, more crucial.

Emergency action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the removal of financial and regulatory barriers to developing medical technologies. But, as Andrea Armani and Eric Diebold explain, a broader cultural shift in academia can expedite their translation from laboratory benches to real-world use.

Göttingen is home to the Third Infinity conference, a biennial event organized by Ph.D. candidates that aims, beyond discussing complex systems physics, at providing a platform to discuss themes central to doctoral life and education. As part of the organizing committee of Third Infinity 2020, in this comment we would like to raise attention on the main issues faced by today’s European interdisciplinary Ph.D. students as we learnt them from direct experience during the organization process, as well as from discussion with our peers during the event.

Executable papers take transparency and openness in research communication one step further. In this comment, an early career researcher reports her experience of creating an executable paper as a journey through Open Science.

What is the path towards a physical theory of complex networked systems? With an eye to the historical maths-physics duality, and an outlook towards the future, this commentary discusses promises and challenges accompanying the convergence of formal graph theory and data-inspired network science.

The anapole, a non-radiating charge-current configuration, was recently observed in a variety of artificial materials and nanostructures. We provide a brief overview of this rapidly developing field and discuss implications for spectroscopy, energy materials, electromagnetics, as well as quantum and nonlinear optics.

The concept of non-Hermitian parity-time reversal symmetry in optics has given rise to a vast amount of research aimed at exploring some of the exotic features displayed by photonics systems. The authors present a brief account of the state-of-the-art on non-Hermitian photonics and provide their perspective on the topic.