Recent results published in Nature Communications, bring researchers closer to being technologically able to harvest some of the unique properties of systems falling in a hybrid quantum state of both light and matter. More specifically, as THz (terahertz) light can directly address and modify vibrations of the molecular nuclei, it can be utilized in order to steer physical and chemical properties of some molecules. By employing two-dimensional patterned mirrors, known as metasurfaces, the team of researchers have shown strong coupling of this light field to a thin layer of glucose molecules. Needless to say, as glucose is the most important source of energy in all organisms, its manipulation by light fields can find very interesting applications.
This effort has been led by PhD candidate Ahmed Jaber from the experimental group Ultrafast Terahertz Spectroscopy of Prof. Jean-Michel Ménard in University of Ottawa (Canada) in a collaboration with the theory group Cooperative Quantum Phenomena of Dr. Claudiu Genes, at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (Germany).
For more information, see their publication in Nature Communications:
Hybrid architectures for terahertz molecular polaritonics
Jaber, A., Reitz, M., Singh, A. et al.
Nature Communications 15, 4427 (2024)
(Picture by Alexandra Genes, Genes Design)
Recent results published in Nature Communications, bring researchers closer to being technologically able to harvest some of the unique properties of systems falling in a hybrid quantum state of both light and matter. More specifically, as THz (terahertz) light can directly address and modify vibrations of the molecular nuclei, it can be utilized in order to steer physical and chemical properties of some molecules. By employing two-dimensional patterned mirrors, known as metasurfaces, the team of researchers have shown strong coupling of this light field to a thin layer of glucose molecules. Needless to say, as glucose is the most important source of energy in all organisms, its manipulation by light fields can find very interesting applications.
This effort has been led by PhD candidate Ahmed Jaber from the experimental group Ultrafast Terahertz Spectroscopy of Prof. Jean-Michel Ménard in University of Ottawa (Canada) in a collaboration with the theory group Cooperative Quantum Phenomena of Dr. Claudiu Genes, at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (Germany).
For more information, see their publication in Nature Communications:
Hybrid architectures for terahertz molecular polaritonics
Jaber, A., Reitz, M., Singh, A. et al.
Nature Communications 15, 4427 (2024)
(Picture by Alexandra Genes, Genes Design)