Optical Physics

Ewan Wright, professor of optical sciences, is co-author of a recent publication in Nature Physics, "Energy transport in diffusive waveguides." The article introduces a novel "waveguiding" mechanism for controlling light through scattering materials. Inspired by the way sunlight scatters through clouds, this method uses a low-scattering core encased in a highly scattering material to guide light with exceptional precision, offering transformative applications in medical imaging, thermal management, and nuclear technologies. Co-author Daniele Faccio, professor of physics & astronomy at the University of Glasgow and adjunct professor of optical sciences at the Wyant College offers more opportunities this new method offers.

Researchers working with Jason Jones, John Paul Schaefer endowed chair in optical sciences and professor, have developed a breakthrough approach for optical atomic clocks. The new work significantly reduces the complexity of traditional designs while maintaining high accuracy and stability. By utilizing a single frequency comb laser, this new clock design eliminates the need for multiple complex laser systems, making it more practical for real-world applications.

Kanu Sinha, PI of the Quantum Optics and Open Quantum Systems Group has received a single-PI National Science Foundation Grant for "Engineering Quantum Fluctuation Phenomena in Nanoscale Quantum Systems." Nanoscale quantum optical systems enhance the efficacy of light-matter interactions by confining light in small regions, enabling various emerging quantum technological applications: from building single-photon devices to facilitating precision tests of fundamental physics. The research will address a critical challenge in nanoscale quantum systems posed by quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. Click to read more.

Clemens Jakubec, Research Technician at the Wyant College of Optical Sciences; along with co-authors Pablo Solano; Uroš Delić; and Kanu Sinha, Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences, have developed a generalized scattering theory to describe radiative forces between dielectric nanospheres influenced by external quantum fields in various states. Their work shows that an external squeezed vacuum state can generate optical potentials similar to those of a laser, despite having zero average intensity. Additionally, Schrödinger cat states can enhance or suppress these potentials depending on their parity. By examining the interparticle potential under different experimental conditions, they demonstrate the possibility of creating mutual bound states of nanospheres with significant potential depths. This research is crucial for advancing experiments with trapped nanospheres in the macroscopic quantum regime, offering new avenues for engineering interactions in macroscopic quantum systems.

Ewan Wright's work on the paper "All-optical sub-Kelvin sympathetic cooling of a levitated microsphere in vacuum," published by Optica, with research partners Arita, Bruce, Simpson, Zemánek, and Dholakia has garnered media attention from Phys.org and Mirage News. According to the paper's abstract, "We demonstrate all-optical sympathetic cooling of a laser-trapped microsphere to sub-Kelvin temperatures, mediated by optical binding to a feedback-cooled adjacent particle. Our study opens prospects for multi-particle quantum entanglement and sensing in levitated optomechanics.