Press releases
Our view inside the atomic nucleus just got a whole lot clearer
2015-09-09
How can we know what is going on inside atomic nuclei? One important source of information comes from mesons, particles emitted during nuclear collisions. But until now it was not clear which mesons are actually carrying reliable information about a nucleus, and which ones were only interfering. Warsaw University physicists have published a careful analysis of data gathered by the international FOPI collaboration, which makes our ability to peer inside the atomic nucleus much more transparent. | More...
Small, inexpensive, and incredibly resilient: a new femtosecond laser for industry
2015-08-19
A team at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Physics has created a laser capable of generating ultrashort pulses of light even under extremely difficult external conditions. This unique combination of precision and resilience is due to the fact that the whole process of generating femtosecond laser pulses takes place within a specially-selected optical fiber. | More...
Quantum ‘paparazzi’ film photons in the act of pairing up
2015-04-22
In the quantum world of light, being distinguishable means staying lonely. Only those photons that are indistinguishable can wind up in a pair, through what is called Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. This subtle quantum effect has been successfully imaged for the first time by two doctoral students from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw.
Top-precision optical atomic clock starts ticking
2015-02-25
A state-of-the-art optical atomic clock, collaboratively developed by scientists from the University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, and Nicolaus Copernicus University, is now “ticking away” at the National Laboratory of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics in Toruń, Poland. As the first of its kind in Poland and one of just a handful of clocks of this caliber in the world, the new clock will keep track of the passage of time with extraordinary precision.
Getting a grip on exotic atomic nuclei
2015-02-18
A new model describing atomic nuclei, proposed by a physicist from the University of Warsaw Faculty of Physics, more accurately predicts the properties of various exotic isotopes that are created in supernova explosions or inside nuclear reactors.
Only the Lonely… (Reveal the Secrets of Atomic Nuclei)
2015-01-21
Individual protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei turn out not to behave according to the predictions made by existing theoretical models. This surprising conclusion, reached by an international team of physicists including staff members from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw (UW), forces us to reconsider how we have been describing large atomic nuclei for the past several decades.
Global Quantum Communications – No Longer the Stuff of Fiction?
2014-11-26
Neither quantum computers nor quantum cryptography will become prevalent technologies without memory systems able to manipulate quantum information easily and effectively. The Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw has recently made inroads into popularizing quantum information technologies by creating an atomic memory with outstanding parameters and an extremely simple construction.
Can material rivaling graphene be mined out of rocks? Yes, if…
2014-03-12
Will one-atom-thick layers of molybdenum disulfide, a compound that occurs naturally in rocks, prove to be better than graphene for electronic applications? There are many signs that might prove to be the case. But physicists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw have shown that the nature of the phenomena occurring in layered materials are still ill-understood and require further research.
Solotronics: New quantum dots herald a new era of electronics operating on a single-atom level
2014-01-27
New types of solotronic structures, including the world’s first quantum dots containing single cobalt ions, have been created and studied at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw. The materials and elements used to form these structures allow us forecast new trends in solotronics – a field of experimental electronics and spintronics of the future, based on operations occurring on a single-atom level.
Squeeze and you shall measure – squeezed coherent states shown to be optimal for gravitational wave detection
2013-11-13
Extremely precise measurements of distances are key in all techniques used to detect gravitational waves. To increase this precision, physicists have started using quantum effects linked with photons. A paper published in "Physical Review A" by Polish and German physicists shows that it is not necessary to use quantum light states more refined than the squeezed coherent states available currently.