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Scientists from Lancaster University and Japan's NTT Basic Research have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to achieve negative distortion of light using ordered atomic lattices. The discovery could revolutionise optics, bringing superlenses and invisibility devices closer to being created.
Negative refraction is an unusual phenomenon in which light bends in the opposite direction to its usual behavior. For a long time, scientists have tried to achieve this effect using artificially created metamaterials, but have faced problems of manufacturing imperfections and energy loss. The new approach, developed by an international team of researchers led by Professor Janne Ruostekoski, is based on the use of atomic lattices - ordered arrays of atoms that are held in certain positions by standing light waves. The scientists conducted detailed simulations of the propagation of light through atomic structures.
The key point was the discovery of the collective response of atoms to light. Unlike conventional materials, where atoms interact with light independently of each other, a coherent behavior emerges in atomic lattices. This leads to the emergence of new optical properties, including negative distortion, that cannot be predicted by studying individual atoms.
Professor Ruostekoski explained: “In such cases, atoms interact with each other through the light field, reacting collectively rather than independently. This means that the response of a single atom no longer provides a simple representation of the behavior of the entire ensemble.” Using atomic lattices has several advantages over artificial metamaterials. Atomic systems are a clean environment without manufacturing defects. Light interacts with atoms in a controlled and targeted manner, without absorption losses that usually convert light into heat.
Dr. Lewis Rooks from NTT Laboratory noted: "Precisely positioned atomic crystals allow researchers to control the interaction between atoms and light with extreme precision, opening the way to new technologies based on negative refraction."
The discovery could lead to the creation of "perfect" lenses that can focus and form images beyond the diffraction limit, as well as invisibility devices that make objects invisible. These possibilities, which previously seemed like science fiction, are now one step closer to reality. Source
