Zero-index metamaterials offer new insights into the foundations of quantum mechanicsIn physics, as

Zero-index metamaterials offer new insights into the foundations of quantum mechanics

In physics, as in life, it’s always good to look at things from different perspectives.
Since the beginning of quantum physics, how light moves and interacts with matter around it has mostly been described and understood mathematically through the lens of its energy. In 1900, Max Planck used energy to explain how light is emitted by heated objects, a seminal study in the foundation of quantum mechanics. In 1905, Albert Einstein used energy when he introduced the concept of photon.
But light has another equally important quality, known as momentum. And as it turns out, when you take momentum away, light starts behaving in really interesting ways.
An international team of physicists led by Michaël Lobet, a research associate at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and Eric Mazur, the Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at SEAS, are re-examining the foundations of quantum physics from the perspective of momentum and exploring what happens when the momentum of light is reduced to zero.
The research is published in Nature Light: Science & Applications.