A team led by a physicist from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) recently developed a new quantum theory that explains the "light-induced phase" of matter and predicts its novel functionalities. The new theory has the potential to revolutionize the field of quantum photonics and quantum control at room temperature. It also opens the door to a variety of next-generation light-based applications, such as optical communications, quantum computing and light-harvesting technologies.
  • cyd@vlemmy.net
    4·
    1 year ago

    This is part of a genre of science writing whereby a university’s press release officer struggles to figure out what a professor is talking about, and translate it into hype. So the text oscillates wildly between impenetrable (the material offered by the professor) and eye-rolling (the stuff by the press release guy).

    From what I can figure out, the “light-induced matter” here refers to polaritons, a phenomenon whereby the quantum states of light and atom mix, which has been known about for decades. Basically, these guys figured out a slightly nicer way to simulate these things on a computer.