All articles tagged with #phonon polaritons
Researchers used ultrafast electron microscopy to observe empty voids, or singularities, in phonon-polariton waves inside a boron nitride flake moving faster than light; because these singularities contain no information or energy, they do not violate relativity, illustrating universal laws of wave dynamics and offering new tools to study ultrafast processes in physics and beyond.
Physicists using ultrafast electron microscopy observed empty voids (singularities) in phonon-polariton waves inside a thin boron nitride sample that move faster than light. Because these voids contain no information, their superluminal motion does not violate special relativity, and the work reveals universal laws of wave dynamics with potential to advance ultrafast studies across physics and materials science.
Researchers at Rice University have made a breakthrough in terahertz technology by leveraging the unique properties of strontium titanate, an oxide of strontium and titanium. By utilizing the strong interaction between terahertz light and the atomic structures of strontium titanate, the researchers were able to create phonon-polaritons, which are confined to the surface of the material and not lost inside it. This discovery opens up possibilities for studying and developing quantum materials for quantum electronics and sensing functional groups in biomolecules for medical diagnosis. The research could lead to the development of photonic devices in the 3-19 terahertz range.