^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

Absolute zero is the temperature at which all physical dynamics come to a halt. The laws of physics however do not allow us to attain absolute zero. This fact unfolds from a fundamental feature of quantum mechanics according to which fluctuations are always occurring at the quantum level and the quantum particles always have enough energy to continue their dynamical motion unlike in a classical system. Such a system contains quantum mechanical energy even at absolute zero and this energy is technically called zero-point energy. However, physicists can achieve temperatures close to absolute zero in an advanced laboratory. Examples where working near absolute zero is common include quantum phenomena like Bose-Einstein condensation, superconductivity, superfluidity, etc.

Now in yet another situation, physicists from Japan and the US have succeeded in cooling atoms of Ytterbium (an element also used in making atomic...

^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

Among all the various particles that exist in nature, neutrinos are one of the most peculiar of all. Neutrinos are elementary particles that are essentially produced during radioactive decay and are named so because they do not carry any charge and hence are electrically neutral. It would be quite surprising to the reader that neutrinos are ever-present and are fluctuating around us all the time. They also penetrate the earth with little to no interaction.

Neutrinos essentially travel at the speed of light and are not deflected in presence of magnetic fields. All these properties make the detection of neutrinos a cumbersome process. In view of the fact that neutrino interactions are usually quite low, scientists have built a neutrino observatory at the South pole, called the IceCube Neutrino Observatory which consists of pure and stable ice having a thickness of a cubic kilometer, which substantially acts as the...

^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

A pair of quantum entities spatially separated in the network of spacetime displays a mysterious correlation when measured. This quantum correlation is commonly referred to as entanglement. In the current age, phenomena involving entanglement and its diverse applications are inevitable, however, it would be quite surprising to the reader at first that this quantum phenomenon was dismissed as an impossible spooky scenario by none other than Albert Einstein who is believed to be one of the founding fathers of quantum physics itself.

Entanglement, also popularly known as non-locality within scientific circles, has become a well-established topic over the decades. However, there is another quantum aspect that is equally interesting but probably most of us haven’t heard of it. This lesser-known phenomenon of quantum mechanics is termed contextuality. To put it simply, contextuality says that properties of...

^{Credit: Courtesy of Charles Kane}

^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

Topology is a branch of mathematics concerning the properties of geometric objects and their shapes. These properties are essentially invariant under continuous deformations such as stretching, twisting, etc. Entanglement on the other hand is purely a physical phenomenon wherein two particles can influence each other instantaneously irrespective of the spatial distance between them.

In new research published in the journal Physical Review X, Charles Kane, who is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Physics in U. Penn's School of Arts & Sciences established a conceptual duality between topology and entanglement along with his collaborators [1].

Consider a sphere and a donut. The difference between the two lies in the fact that a donut, which has a toroidal topology, is specified by a single hole whereas there are no holes in a sphere. In this sense, a coffee mug...

 ^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

A black hole is a solution to Einstein’s general relativistic field equations. Based on the property of angular momentum, black holes can be categorized into two types: non-rotating and rotating. The former is described by the Schwarzschild solution and the latter by the Kerr solution, originally named after its discoverers.

Perhaps all physical systems tend to move towards equilibrium irrespective of their initial conditions and similar is the case with black holes. A long-standing problem in black hole physics concerns the stability of these great astrophysical voids. The idea is to regain the original state of the black hole after the effect of an externally applied perturbation has faded away. This proves that the black hole is indeed stable. The case otherwise is an instability and would be quite a task in that it would compel us to modify Einstein’s theory.

Addressing this unsolved...

By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation

Light and matter are an amazing ensemble and laden with a lot of interesting physics. Scientists have always pondered upon new and exciting effects that could be created using light-matter interaction and one of the related curiosity-driven questions is whether light and matter can coexist as a single entity. New research conducted at TU Wien’s Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ) in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck shows the possibility that it might do after all [1].

Utilizing the high polarizing ability of a laser, atoms were configured in a way that measurements resembled, in an unprecedented scenario, a special state of light and matter, much like a light-matter molecule.

Generally, dynamic atoms are in a high energy state which makes it difficult for a measurement to reveal an inherent attractive force between them. In order to overcome this challenge, the researchers...

^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

Our universe is constantly undergoing an expansion phase which is accelerating in nature. There are several theories in the scientific literature that have been formulated to explain features of this accelerating expansion, one of which is cosmic inflation proposed by theoretical physicist Alan Guth in the late 1970s and later developed by Andrei Linde, Paul Steinhardt and others [1, 2, 3].

It is well suggested by the theory that the epoch of inflation lasted from 10⁻³⁶ seconds to sometime between 10⁻³³ and 10⁻³² seconds after the Big Bang. But in order to articulate the events following the Big Bang admirably, one needs to have a full-fledged quantum theory of gravity, which is still a substantial challenge for physicists.

Now our current picture of the universe is well approximated by the de Sitter framework, named after the Dutch astronomer Willem de Sitter. The de Sitter picture also...

^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

The quantum world essentially contains a myriad of intriguing phenomena and continues to add up to the imagination of science explorers. One such phenomenon concerns the oscillations at the level of atoms which forms the basis for the creation of quantum devices like atomic clocks and sensors. The elements that are used in modern day atomic clocks involve ytterbium, caesium among others. A significant part of the advances in contemporary atomic clocks research is mainly because of its usability in certain scenarios like dark matter and gravitational wave detections. 

Due to the subtle nature of these physical events, sometimes unwanted noise from the surrounding environment can cause distortions in the signal and negatively impact the results. In order to overcome this major challenge, physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come up with a viable proposition and that is to use a...

^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

Why do apples fall from the trees? This was one of the first questions that led to a revolution in our understandings of physics in general and the fundamental forces of nature in particular. The answer according to eminent physicist Isaac Newton is the gravitational force. But what determines the strength of the gravitational force or for that matter any fundamental force? There is a coupling constant that is uniquely associated with every force and which is also responsible for determining the strength of its interaction.

Several experiments have been conducted to determine the value of the constant associated with the gravitational force but none have been accurate enough to the satisfaction of the physics community. Although the experiments have continually tried to advance the precision aspect, the value of G is the least precise of all the four basic forces, the reason being simple, that it interacts very...

^{Credit: VENTRIS/Science Photo Library via Getty Images}

^{By Amal Pushp, Affiliate Physicist at the Resonance Science Foundation}

Quantum mechanics prohibits any quantum system from achieving a temperature that is equal to absolute zero.  However, using Laser cooling, which is a highly efficient spectroscopic technique, atomic samples could be cooled to near absolute zero thus bringing them to their lowest achievable quantum energy state. Scientists have been advancing this technique for decades now and an important question that arose recently is whether carbon molecules, which are an integral component of life on earth, could be laser-cooled.  

In order to cool down any atom or molecule using a laser the first step is to understand the mechanism behind the absorption and emission of light. Knowing this is important because the same process is responsible for reducing the kinetic energy of the atom/molecule and bringing it to the lowest possible energy state (look at the...