When light meets an atom
When light hits matter, the interactions depend primarily on the material and the intensity of the light source – a flashlight merely illuminates a stone, while a high-powered laser can burn a hole in it. Such interactions are well known and well described. However, a precise scientific description of the interaction has not yet been achieved for many systems in which light hits nanostructures or atomically thin layers or when the light intensity is extremely high. Since 2019, the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1375 “NOA – Nonlinear Optics down to Atomic Scales” at the University of Jena, Germany has been working on the development of such theories and their practical implementation. The CRC has met with success, as evidenced by the continued funding of the large-scale research project by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The research funding organization has now approved around eleven million euros to support research on light-matter interactions in Jena and at partner institutions for a further four years beginning 1 July, 2023.
