The seemingly physics-defying properties of quasiparticles could be harnessed for applications ranging from non-destructive imaging to computer-chip manufacturing.
An international team of scientists is rethinking the basic principles of radiation physics with the aim of creating super-bright light sources. In a published in Nature Photonics, researchers from the Instituto Superior T茅cnico (IST) in Portugal, the , the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Applied Optics Laboratory in France proposed ways to use quasiparticles to create light sources as powerful as the most advanced ones in existence today, but much smaller.
Quasiparticles are formed by many electrons moving in sync. They can travel at any speed糖心传媒攅ven faster than light糖心传媒攁nd withstand intense forces, like those near a black hole.
糖心传媒淭he most fascinating aspect of quasiparticles is their ability to move in ways that would be disallowed by the laws of physics governing individual particles,糖心传媒� says , a senior scientist at the , an assistant professor in the , and an associate professor at the .
Palastro and his colleagues studied the unique properties of quasiparticles in plasmas by running advanced computer simulations on supercomputers available through the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking. They see promising applications for quasiparticle-based light sources including non-destructive imaging to scan for viruses, understanding biological processes like photosynthesis, manufacturing computer chips, and exploring the behavior of matter in planets and stars.
“The flexibility is enormous,糖心传媒� says Bernardo Malaca, a doctoral student at IST and the study糖心传媒檚 primary author. 糖心传媒淓ven though each electron is performing relatively simple movements, the total radiation from all the electrons can mimic that of a particle moving faster than light or an oscillating particle, even though there isn糖心传媒檛 a single electron locally that糖心传媒檚 faster than light or an oscillating electron.糖心传媒�
Quasiparticle-based light sources could have a distinct advantage over existing forms, like free electron lasers, which are scarce and massive, making them impractical for most laboratories, hospitals, and businesses. With the theory proposed in the study, quasiparticles could produce incredibly bright light with just a tiny distance to travel, potentially sparking widespread scientific and technological advances in labs across the globe.
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