PRL 114, 120001 (2015)
PHYSICAL
REVIEW
LETTERS
week ending 27 MARCH 2015
Editorial: Lighting Up Research
In recognition of the importance of light science and its applications in many areas of life, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2015 the International Year of Light and LightBased Technologies. This designation gives us, the global physics community, an opportunity to celebrate our past successes and look to new horizons within our own research. The study of light spans centuries, but progress in the last century has been particularly remarkable: Advances range from the development of the quantum theory of light, to the invention of the laser, optical fibers, and LEDs, to the theory of relativity, which describes the fundamental place of light in the space and time of the Universe. Optical technologies have revolutionized communication through the infrastructure of the Internet, improved manufac turing through advanced material processing, and driven efforts to develop sustainable energy solutions through solar technologies. The pace of advance shows no sign of slowing. Many of these pioneering developments were published in APS journals. As part of its support of the International Year of Light, the Physical Review journals have made a selection of papers from its archive freely available to all during 2015 (http://joumals.aps.org/prl/ intemational-year-of-light). The papers chosen were pioneering at their time of publication, and stimulated new areas of research that are still developing and active. Reading these great papers reminds us of how important light and optics are throughout physics, and leads us to think about future breakthroughs: For example, controlling the speed of light [1,2], changing the spatial properties of light using controlled orbital angular momentum [3,4], or seeking ways to make the temporal structure of a light field “invisible” [5]. On the technological side, silicon photonics for optical processing [6], the use of novel fibers to enable guided, gas-based nonlinear optics [7,8], and coherent all-optical approaches to increase communication capacity [9], are all taking big steps forward. Next-generation, highpower, ultrashort pulsed lasers are opening up new frontiers in strong-field physics [10], enabling attosecond pulses of extreme ultraviolet and soft-x-ray light [11], which could potentially lead to the replacement of collider-based technologies used in accelerator physics [12-14], An International Year designation gives us an important opportunity to highlight the wide benefits of scientific research to the public and to policy makers. Light science in particular allows us to show how today’s technologies, such as smartphones, owe their existence to fundamental physics research performed decades ago. In the words of the late Charles Townes: “What industrialist, looking for new cutting and welding devices, or what doctor, wanting a new surgical tool as the laser has turned out to be, would have urged the study of microwave spectroscopy? The field of quantum electronics is a perfect example of a broadly applicable technology growing unexpectedly out of basic research” [15], Now is the time to communicate these important messages and help ensure continued investment in basic science research. It is in reaching out to the public and to policy makers, and promoting the importance of a long-term support in basic science that the International Year may have its greatest impact. John M. Dudley Institut FEMTO-ST, UMR 6174 CNRS-Universite de Franche-Comte, 25030 Besan5on, France Published 26 March 2015 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.l 14.120001 PACS numbers: 01.30.Ww
0031-9007/15/114(12)/120001(2)
120001-1
©2015 American Physical Society
PRL 114 , 120001 (2015)
PHYSICAL
REVIEW
[1] M. S. Bigelow, N. N. Lepeshkin, and R. W. Boyd, Obser vation of Ultra-Slow Light Propagation in a Ruby Crystal at Room Temperature, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 113903 (2003). [2] Y. Okawachi, M. S. Bigelow, J. E. Sharping, Z. Zhu, A. Schweinsberg, D. J. Gauthier, R. W. Boyd, and A. L. Gaeta, Tunable All-Optical Delays via Brillouin Slow Light in an Optical Fiber, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 153902 (2005). [3] K. Dholakia, N. B. Simpson, M .J. Padgett, and L. Allen, Second-harmonic generation and the orbital angular momentum of light, Phys. Rev. A 54, R3742 (1996). [4] M. J. Padgett, J. Courtial, and L. Allen, Light’s orbital angular momentum, Phys. Today 57, No. 5, 35 (2004). [5] M. Fridman, A. Farsi, Y. Okawachi, and A. L. Gaeta, Demonstration of temporal cloaking, Nature (London) 481, 62 (2012). [6] J. Leuthold. C. Koos. and W. Freude, Nonlinear silicon photonics, Nat. Photonics 4 , 535 (2010). [7] F. Tani, J. C. Travers, and P. St. J. Russell, PHz-Wide Supercontinua of Nondispersing Subcycle Pulses Generated by Extreme Modulational Instability, Phys. Rev. Lett. Ill, 033902 (2013).
LETTERS
week ending
27 MARCH 2015
[8] P. St. J. Russell, P. Holzer, W. Chang, A. Abdolvand, and J. C. Travers, Hollow-core photonic crystal fibres for gas-based nonlinear optics, Nat. Photonics 8, 278 (2014). [9] G. Li, Recent advances in coherent optical communication, Adv. Opt. Photonics 1, 279 (2009). [10] J. L. Krause, K. J. Schafer, and K. C. Kulander, HighOrder Harmonic Generation from Atoms and Ions in the High Intensity Regime, Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 3535 (1992). [11] F. Krausz and M. Ivanov, Attosecond physics, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 163 (2009). [12] T. Tajima and J. M. Dawson, Laser Electron Accelerator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 267 (1979). [13] E. Esarey, C. B. Schroeder, and W. P. Leemans, Physics of laser-driven plasma-based electron accelerators, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1229 (2009). [14] S. M. Hooker, Developments in laser-driven plasma accel erators, Nat. Photonics 7, 775 (2013). [15] C. H. Townes, How the Laser Happened: Adventures o f a Scientist (Oxford University Press, New York, 1999).
120001-2
Copyright of Physical Review Letters is the property of American Physical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
PHYSICAL
REVIEW
LETTERS
week ending 27 MARCH 2015
Editorial: Lighting Up Research
In recognition of the importance of light science and its applications in many areas of life, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2015 the International Year of Light and LightBased Technologies. This designation gives us, the global physics community, an opportunity to celebrate our past successes and look to new horizons within our own research. The study of light spans centuries, but progress in the last century has been particularly remarkable: Advances range from the development of the quantum theory of light, to the invention of the laser, optical fibers, and LEDs, to the theory of relativity, which describes the fundamental place of light in the space and time of the Universe. Optical technologies have revolutionized communication through the infrastructure of the Internet, improved manufac turing through advanced material processing, and driven efforts to develop sustainable energy solutions through solar technologies. The pace of advance shows no sign of slowing. Many of these pioneering developments were published in APS journals. As part of its support of the International Year of Light, the Physical Review journals have made a selection of papers from its archive freely available to all during 2015 (http://joumals.aps.org/prl/ intemational-year-of-light). The papers chosen were pioneering at their time of publication, and stimulated new areas of research that are still developing and active. Reading these great papers reminds us of how important light and optics are throughout physics, and leads us to think about future breakthroughs: For example, controlling the speed of light [1,2], changing the spatial properties of light using controlled orbital angular momentum [3,4], or seeking ways to make the temporal structure of a light field “invisible” [5]. On the technological side, silicon photonics for optical processing [6], the use of novel fibers to enable guided, gas-based nonlinear optics [7,8], and coherent all-optical approaches to increase communication capacity [9], are all taking big steps forward. Next-generation, highpower, ultrashort pulsed lasers are opening up new frontiers in strong-field physics [10], enabling attosecond pulses of extreme ultraviolet and soft-x-ray light [11], which could potentially lead to the replacement of collider-based technologies used in accelerator physics [12-14], An International Year designation gives us an important opportunity to highlight the wide benefits of scientific research to the public and to policy makers. Light science in particular allows us to show how today’s technologies, such as smartphones, owe their existence to fundamental physics research performed decades ago. In the words of the late Charles Townes: “What industrialist, looking for new cutting and welding devices, or what doctor, wanting a new surgical tool as the laser has turned out to be, would have urged the study of microwave spectroscopy? The field of quantum electronics is a perfect example of a broadly applicable technology growing unexpectedly out of basic research” [15], Now is the time to communicate these important messages and help ensure continued investment in basic science research. It is in reaching out to the public and to policy makers, and promoting the importance of a long-term support in basic science that the International Year may have its greatest impact. John M. Dudley Institut FEMTO-ST, UMR 6174 CNRS-Universite de Franche-Comte, 25030 Besan5on, France Published 26 March 2015 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.l 14.120001 PACS numbers: 01.30.Ww
0031-9007/15/114(12)/120001(2)
120001-1
©2015 American Physical Society
PRL 114 , 120001 (2015)
PHYSICAL
REVIEW
[1] M. S. Bigelow, N. N. Lepeshkin, and R. W. Boyd, Obser vation of Ultra-Slow Light Propagation in a Ruby Crystal at Room Temperature, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 113903 (2003). [2] Y. Okawachi, M. S. Bigelow, J. E. Sharping, Z. Zhu, A. Schweinsberg, D. J. Gauthier, R. W. Boyd, and A. L. Gaeta, Tunable All-Optical Delays via Brillouin Slow Light in an Optical Fiber, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 153902 (2005). [3] K. Dholakia, N. B. Simpson, M .J. Padgett, and L. Allen, Second-harmonic generation and the orbital angular momentum of light, Phys. Rev. A 54, R3742 (1996). [4] M. J. Padgett, J. Courtial, and L. Allen, Light’s orbital angular momentum, Phys. Today 57, No. 5, 35 (2004). [5] M. Fridman, A. Farsi, Y. Okawachi, and A. L. Gaeta, Demonstration of temporal cloaking, Nature (London) 481, 62 (2012). [6] J. Leuthold. C. Koos. and W. Freude, Nonlinear silicon photonics, Nat. Photonics 4 , 535 (2010). [7] F. Tani, J. C. Travers, and P. St. J. Russell, PHz-Wide Supercontinua of Nondispersing Subcycle Pulses Generated by Extreme Modulational Instability, Phys. Rev. Lett. Ill, 033902 (2013).
LETTERS
week ending
27 MARCH 2015
[8] P. St. J. Russell, P. Holzer, W. Chang, A. Abdolvand, and J. C. Travers, Hollow-core photonic crystal fibres for gas-based nonlinear optics, Nat. Photonics 8, 278 (2014). [9] G. Li, Recent advances in coherent optical communication, Adv. Opt. Photonics 1, 279 (2009). [10] J. L. Krause, K. J. Schafer, and K. C. Kulander, HighOrder Harmonic Generation from Atoms and Ions in the High Intensity Regime, Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 3535 (1992). [11] F. Krausz and M. Ivanov, Attosecond physics, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 163 (2009). [12] T. Tajima and J. M. Dawson, Laser Electron Accelerator, Phys. Rev. Lett. 43, 267 (1979). [13] E. Esarey, C. B. Schroeder, and W. P. Leemans, Physics of laser-driven plasma-based electron accelerators, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1229 (2009). [14] S. M. Hooker, Developments in laser-driven plasma accel erators, Nat. Photonics 7, 775 (2013). [15] C. H. Townes, How the Laser Happened: Adventures o f a Scientist (Oxford University Press, New York, 1999).
120001-2
Copyright of Physical Review Letters is the property of American Physical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
