Paul Mabey

Scientists have built an electronic circuit that is able to mimic a subtle symmetry normally only found in particle physics A conceptual visualisation of the memristive Su–Schrieffer–Heeger circuit (Credit: W. Li) Physics ideas often travel far from their origins, but few make the leap from the Standard Model of particle physics to a circuit board.

New research explains how light can behave like a quantum fluid in semiconductors, opening up possibilities for new kinds of practical quantum light sources Photon condensation in semiconductor microcavities is a transformative technique for engineering quantum states of light (Credit: iStock/Piranka) Light normally spreads out and escapes from optical devices, so it is not obvious how photons can ever behave like the atoms in a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC).

By extending attosecond interferometry into the quantum domain, researchers have revealed how ultrafast laser–matter interactions encode detailed quantum optical information Attosecond photon pulses are used to investigate dynamical processes in matter with unprecedented temporal resolution (Credit: iStock/7io). Experimental attosecond science is built around the ability to generate and control light flashes lasting billionths of a billionth of a second.