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News for the Department of Physics

  • Utilizing X-rays to understand catalysis 2023-04-05 The conversion of carbon dioxide back into fuels via electrochemistry is a very attractive alternative. - In my studies, I am developing the essential understanding of these reactions by following time-resolved transformation at the atomic and molecular level, says Sergey Koroidov.
  • Fig. 2 Estimated charge distribution changes on the APTS photoacid and conjugate photobase forms, showing major changes in Mulliken charges and in the electric dipole moment upon electronic excitation. An ultrafast X-ray glance into photoacid electronic structure 2022-03-30 Photoacids are molecules that release a proton upon electronic excitation, thus enhancing the acidity of a liquid. Pioneering work by Theodor Förster has shown the direct relationship between the wavelength position of optical absorption and acidity properties with which the increase in acidity in the first electronic excited state can be quantified.
  • Successful experiments with stored ions in DESIREE 2022-03-25 In November 2021, Michael Gatchell's experiment showed that fragments from collisions in the interstellar medium can help form new, larger molecules. Here, DESIREE Director Henning Schmidt reports on some recent successes.
  • At the center of the SIBELIUS simulation, we find the Milky Way galaxy and our nearest massive neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy (M31). The left panel shows the dark matter distribution in a 50x50x50 Mpc region centered on the Milky Way, colored by projected density and the velocity dispersion of simulated particles. Our two most massive neighbors, the Virgo cluster and the Fornax/Eridanus groups are highlighted. The middle and right panels zoom into a 15x15x15 Mpc and 5x5x5 Mpc region, respectively. The right panel highlights the Milky Way and Andromeda (M31). The SIBELIUS simulation provides a highly detailed reproduction of our cosmic environment, permitting detailed studies of its gravitational formation. Credit: Stuart McAlpine. New simulation recreates the entire evolution of the Near Universe 2022-03-25 An international research team, including a researcher of Stockholm University, has carried out the most extensive simulation of the Near Universe, covering distances of up to 600 million lightyears from Earth.
  • Potential energy surfaces of electronic states of interest displayed along selected Fe-C coordinates. Photoexcitation of the ironpentacarbonyl complex from the electronic ground state (GS) into a metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) state triggers Fe-CO oscillations, which after electronic rearrangement into a metal-centered state (MC) lead to periodic bursts of carbonmonooxide (CO). Photodissociation of ironpentacarbonyl acts as a carbonmonoxide geyser 2022-03-25 Transition metal complexes are efficiently acting as catalysts and are used for energy conversion in photochemical processes because of easily accessible close-lying electronic states.
  • Photo: Ingmarie Andersson Courses in physics open for late application 2021-12-14 From the 15th of December our courses at the Department of Physics, starting in spring 2022, are open for late application.
  • How to reduce our carbon dioxid emission from travels? 2021-12-01 That was the question we asked at a seminar for Fysikum employees 16 November 2021. Twenty four participated in the Zoom meeting. More than half of our emissions come from transports and travels and we focused on how to reduce flight travels that is the major part of the emissions.
  • Coronene molecules contribute to complex chemistry in space 2021-11-26 Carbon forms the basis of all organic chemistry and thus the building blocks of life. There is increasing evidence that amino acids and other complex organic molecules can be formed in space and spread to planets through, e.g., comet impacts. Large carbon-based molecule such as coronene could play an important role in how such organic molecules are produced in astronomical environments. Michael Gatchell has been interested in understanding the universe for as long as he can remember. Here he tells us about his research at Atomic Physics division of Fysikum and new results can change how we imagine molecules such as coronene contribute to chemistry in space.
  • Ultrafast light control of magnetism via the magnetoelastic effect 2021-09-02 "One of the most exciting and least understood properties of materials is the so-called magnetoelasticity." Researcher Stefano Bonetti from the Department of Physics reports on experiments carried out in collaboration with universities in Germany, France, Japan and Italy.
  • Welcome to Fysikum - The Department of Physics! 2021-09-01 During last week, we welcomed many new students to programs and courses at the Department of Physics. This year, the introductory meetings were given both on campus and remotely via zoom.
  • Suvasthika Indrajith works in experimental physics with atomic and molecular ions at DESIREE 2021-08-24 - I started here in January as a post-doc and I won the thesis prize this year from the Chemistry-Physics Division of the French Chemical Society (SCF) and the French Society of Physic (SFP).
  • Suvasthika Indrajith works in experimental physics with atomic and molecular ions at DESIREE 2021-08-23 - I started here in January as a post-doc and I won the thesis prize this year from the Chemistry-Physics Division of the French Chemical Society (SCF) and the French Society of Physic (SFP).
  • Measuring the chemical and physical properties of molecules 2021-06-08 - I am a PhD student in Chemical Physics with a background in materials chemistry. My current research is on x-ray spectroscopy of thermal catalysts for CO and CO2 hydrogenation reactions. In short: me and my colleagues have built a new instrument (the technical term would be a "synchrotron endstation for high-pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy") capable of measuring the chemical and physical properties of molecules involved in the reaction under more realistic reaction conditions, says David Degerman.
  • The top part of the figure illustrates the system where pyrrole embedded inside an optical cavity. The bottom part represents the ground and excited state potential energy surfaces of pyrrole along NH dissociation. Optical nano cavities: a control knob for tuning photo-chemical reactions on a quantum level 2021-02-12 Researchers at Fysikum have theoretically investigated the light activated hydrogen abstraction reaction of pyrrole in an optical nano cavity. The electronic excitation of pyrrole with UV light triggers the hydrogen detachment reaction along the NH bond. Their latest paper investigates how strong light-matter coupling of a tightly confined electromagnetic mode can be used to steer this reaction. The results suggest that the cavity can hugely influence the reaction efficiency and open up alternative reaction pathways.
  • Monitoring coherent light-matter interaction in the strong-coupling limit 2021-01-29 In a recently published article in Optics Communications, Themis Mavrogordatos, Fysikum, and Cristóbal Lledó, University College London (UCL), address the coherence of side-scattering in the driven dissipative Jaynes–Cummings (JC) model. They link atomic fluorescence to the multi-photon resonance operation of the JC oscillator and point to the differences from the scattered field of ordinary resonance fluorescence. They show that fluorescence uncovers the details of the cascaded process organizing multi-photon blockade.
  • Hiranya Peiris1, professor at Stockholms universitet, and director of the Oskar Klein Centre Hiranya Peiris awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society 2021-01-12 Hiranya Peiris, professor of cosmoparticle physics at the Department of Physics and director of the Oskar Klein Center, Stockholm University, has been awarded with the Eddington Medal 2021 by the Royal Astronomical Society for her ground-breaking exploration of the origins of the Universe.
  • Hiranya Peiris - Foto: Niklas Björling Hiranya Peiris is awarded the Max Born Medal and Prize 2021 2021-01-12 Hiranya Peiris receives the award for her outstanding contribution in cosmology, where she has created new interdisciplinary connections between cosmology and high-energy physics.
  • Top 10 breakthrough of the year - research from Stockholm University noticed by Physics World 2020-12-17 The article "Tracking the dynamics of an ideal quantum measurement" has among 550 new research papers been selected as a top 10 breakthrough of the year by Physics World. 
  • Filming a quantum measurement 2020-12-17 Does a quantum state collapse instantly during measurement? And if not, how much time does the measurement process take and what is the quantum state of the system at any intermediate step?
  • The impact of alkali metal cations on the OER activity. Activity descriptors of nickel-iron oxygen evolution electrocatalysts in the presence of cations 2020-12-10 The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a key process that enables the storage of renewable energies in the form of chemical fuels. Electrolyte alkali metal cations have been shown to modify the activity and reaction intermediates in OER; however, the exact mechanism was not understood – until recently.
  • Figure illustrates a glass containing two water liquids that have different densities surrounded in a cold environment. Two liquids of water exist 2020-12-01 Using x-ray lasers, researchers at Stockholm University have been able to follow the transformation between two distinct different liquid states of water at around -63 Centigrade, both being made of H2O molecules. Even though the two liquids can only be studied under extreme conditions, their existence strongly influences many of waters unique properties in our daily life. Their findings are published in the journal Science.
  • Image credit: C. Lledó Exploring the collective and individual channels of light-matter interaction 2020-11-12 In two reports published this month, we investigate atomic emission and light-matter correlations in absorptive optical bistability. From a linearized treatment of quantum fluctuations we show a visible departure from classical behavior and propose an experimental setup to extract the otherwise hidden collective degree of freedom coupled to the intracavity field.
  • Doktoranderna och medförfattarna till artikeln Hugo Laurell och David Busto förbereder ett experiment i attosekundlaboratoriet. Electron–spin dynamics studied on its natural time-scale 2020-10-09 By using extremely short light pulses and coincidence technology, researchers from several Swedish universities have managed to follow the dynamic process when the electron's spin - its rotation around its own axis - controls how an atom absorbs light.
  • Rotation, precession, and nutation in obliquity of a planet Spin nutation in magnetic materials observed for the first time 2020-09-29 For the first time, spin nutation in magnetic materials has been observed. The discovery could impact the way digital information is saved and lead to a faster, more compact and more energy-efficient technology.
  • First result from DESIREE using merged-beams 2020-09-16 The DESIREE facility, with its unique design of two storage rings with a common straight section was constructed in order to study reactions between pairs of oppositely charged atomic or molecular ions. The results of the first such experiment have recently been published.
  • The schematic of the experiment used to capture the alignment of water molecules by the laser light. By using X-ray lasers, scientists have seen that the water molecules can be aligned for a very short time, forming a liquid crystal. Water molecules that are in a low-density liquid (LDL – blue regions) are easier to align that those in a high density liquid (HDL – yellow regions). X-rays indicate that water can behave like a liquid crystal 2020-08-11 Scientists at Stockholm University have discovered that water can exhibit a similar behavior like a liquid crystal when illuminated with laser light. This effect originates by the alignment of water molecules, which exhibit a mixture of low- and high-density domains that are more or less prone to alignment. Can this discovery have future technological applications?
  • Photo XENON collaboration Excess Events observed in Dark Matter Experiment 2020-06-18 Scientists from the international XENON collaboration announced today that data from their XENON1T, the world's most sensitive dark matter experiment, show a surprising excess of events.
  • Flore Kunst - Photo: Serena Nobili /Stockholm university Flore Kunst receives the Oseen medal 2020-06-03 Flore Kunst defended her PhD thesis at the Department of Physics last year. She has now been awarded the Oseen medal for her promising thesis.
  • Kinesin walking - Image : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kinesin_walking.gif Inferring entropy production from short time series 2020-04-28 Recent research at Fysikum, published in Physical Review Letters, discovers a simple method to quantify dissipation in microscopic non-equilibrium systems by analysing short time series data.
  • ”trapped ions (Azote)”: Dualiteten hos fångad jon- och Rydbergatom-kvantteknologi. Fångade Rydbergjoner kombinerar styrkorna hos två mycket olika kvantprocessorer: fångad jon (ovan) och Rydbergatom (nedan) i en och samma teknik. Tekniken har potential att öka hastigheten hos fångade jonkvantdatorer. Illustration: Elsa Wikande /Azote. Speeding-up quantum computing using giant atomic ions 2020-04-15 Trapped Rydberg ions can be the next step towards scaling up quantum computers to sizes where they can be practically usable, a new study in Nature shows.
  • Hiranya Peiris - Foto: Niklas Björling Hiranya Peiris is awarded the Göran Gustafsson Prize 2020-03-03 The Göran Gustafsson Prize in Physics is awarded to Hiranya Peiris, "for her innovative research on the dynamics of the early universe, which links cosmological observations to basic physics".
  • ALPHA Experiment at Cern - Photo © CERN Mapping out the properties of antimatter 2020-02-21 Why does anything exist? That is really the fundamental question we try to answer through high-precision studies of antimatter. All matter that builds up the universe we see should really have been annihilated through contact with it mirror image – antimatter. Clearly, this has not happened, which is one of the great still unsolved mysteries of Physics.
  • Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. SU researcher receives funding for new artificial photosynthsis project 2020-02-07 Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which energy is converted to light energy. This is a natural phenomenon and it is most common in deep sea living creatures.
  • Maddelena Bin Interview with Maddalena Bin 2020-01-20 Fysikum has several partner universities in Europe and about thirty exchange students are coming to us every year. We asked one of our exchange students why they choosed Stockholm and Fysikum.
  • Image courtesy of The Branco Weiss Fellowship Interview with Igor Pikovski 2019-10-11 Igor Pikovski recently joined Stockholm University as assistant professor in the Department of Physics. He is a theoretical physicist in the field of quantum optics and quantum information theory. His main interest is the interface between quantum physics at low energies and gravity, especially in a regime that can be accessed in laboratory experiments.
  • Corner States of Light 2019-10-07 Researchers at Stockholm University have managed to create a new kind of light wave whose unique properties may become important e.g. in future communication technology. In a recently published article in Nature Photonics, they have shown how ideas from theoretical quantum and materials physics can be realised in a completely different context, namely in optical waveguides.
  • Ana Predojevic and Markus Hennrich will be coordinating two of the projectes funded by QuantERA ERA-NET Two prestigious Quantum Technology grants for Fysikum 2019-10-07 Fysikum has been very successful in the highly competitive QuantERA ERA-NET Confund call in Quantum Technologies. Two proposals coordinated by Ana Predojevic and Markus Hennrich, at Fysikum, Stockholm University, have been selected for funding.
  • European grant for novel sustainable energy supply and storage awarded to Fysikum 2019-08-22 An European wide network, involving Markus Kowalewski and Michel Odelius from the Division of Chemical Physics at Fysikum, has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC). The project, which includes partners from 8 different countries, will investigate charge carrier dynamics in materials relevant for novel energy supply and storage.
  • Meet former Medical Physics student Apostolos Raptis 2019-08-20 Apostolos Raptis began his studies at the Department of Physics, Stockholm University, in the autumn 2015, as a master student from Greece. He enrolled in the 3rd year of the Medical Physics program and graduated in June 2018. Since December 2018 Apostolos works at the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm.
  • Research without flying - is it possible? 2019-06-13 We all know how it works. To be a successful researcher you should be mobile and internationally visible, and this often means flying all over the world. But how are you supposed to do all this and still reduce your emissions of greenhouse gases to the 1-2 tons per person and year that it takes to be in line with the Paris agreement?
  • Hiranya Peiris - Foto: Niklas Björling Successful physicist making research accessible 2019-06-05 In an era when both experts and logical thinking are under attack, it is even more important to make research accessible– and astronomy might be a gateway. Professor Hiranya Peiris is a successful researcher with a strong urge to facilitate public understanding of science.
  • Figure 1: A colloidal particle in an optical trap (shown as a red ball), in the presence of thermal noise, can be made to work as a microscopic machine or heat engine. Its fluctuations have some typical features, some of which are shown here. Ref: Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 140601 Efficiency fluctuations in microscopic machines 2019-04-15 Results of a recent study by physicists from Stockholm University in collaboration with researchers at Nordita and the University of Bielefeld, provide a general understanding of the efficiency fluctuations in microscopic machines.
  • Photo Markus Marcetic © Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse Kungl. Vetenskapsakademien Classic double-slit experiment in a new light 2019-01-21 An international research group develops new X-ray spectroscopy method based on the classical double-slit experiment to gain new insights into the physical properties of solids
  • A schematic showing the band spectrum for a non-Hermitian Chern insulator, which is insulating in the bulk but supports chiral, electronic states on its edges. The gray spectrum corresponds to the eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian with periodic boundary conditions, while the blue corresponds to the eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian on a cylinder. The red corresponds to the chiral, edge state. Strikingly, the spectrum of the system with periodic boundary conditions is vastly different from the spectrum with open boundary conditions. Using the biorthogonal properties of the open system, however, the new theory can accurately predict when it attaches to the bulk spectrum, indicated by the orange and green dashed lines. Topology of non-Hermitian systems unraveled 2018-10-02 The study of topological materials has been an important task in condensed matter physics over the past few decades and was the subject of the 2016 Nobel prize in physics. Recent experiments and theoretical works have shown that unexpected phenomena occur in many open, non-equilibrium and complex systems that can be described using non-Hermitian physics.
  • XENON1T installation in the underground hall of Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The three story building houses various auxiliary systems. The cryostat containing the LXeTPC is located inside the large water tank next to the building. Photo by Roberto Corrieri and Patrick De Perio.” The world's largest dark matter detector, XENON1T, reaches a new level of sensitivity 2018-09-14 The international collaboration, XENON, which includes members of Stockholm University has built the world's most sensitive detector for dark matter. After one year of data collection, the experiment has reached a greater sensitivity than ever before.
  • A schematic of the approach used to capture water dynamics on the ultrafast timescale. If one were able to photograph the molecules in real space with different exposure times, the image would become gradually blurry because of the motion of the molecules. This is done with x-ray scattering in the so-called reciprocal space, where the diffraction pattern is gradually smoother for longer pulse durations. (Image credits: Fivos Perakis/Stockholm University) The Ultrafast Dance of Liquid Water 2018-05-15 It is normally considered that water molecules in the liquid state move randomly on ultrafast timescales due to thermal fluctuations. Researchers at Stockholm University have now discovered an unexpected correlated motion in water dynamics on a sub-100 femtoseconds timescale.

Addresses

Postal address in Swedish:
AlbaNova Universitetscentrum
Stockholms universitet
Fysikum
SE – 106 91 Stockholm

Postal address in English:
AlbaNova University Center
Stockholm University
Department of Physics
SE - 106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Visiting address:
Roslagstullsbacken 21

Billing address:
Stockholms universitet
Box 50741
SE-202 70 Malmö
Sweden
Reference: 402

(Please observe that according to new directives from August 2018, the reference should consist of the department number only, that is 402 for the Department of Physics.)

Telephone:
+46 8 5537 8000

Fax:
+46 8 5537 8601

Medical Radiation Physics:
Box 260
SE-171 76 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46 (0)8 5177 4359