We investigate the interaction of intense light with matter: extreme conditions within a medium lead to the generation of remarkable bursts of rainbow light. Intense light can also induce an effective flow in the medium that can be used to create artificial event horizons and study spacetime geometries inspired by general relativity. Answering these questions leads to discoveries at the overlap between laser physics, quantum field theory, general relativity and photonic technologies.
On October 7, 1885, Danish physicist and Nobel Laureate Niels Bohr was born. Bohr made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.
On August 8, 1902, English theoretical physicist Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac was born. Dirac is best known for his fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics.
On May 16, 1960, American physicist Theodore Maiman presents the world's first operating laser at Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, California. Today, lasers are present everywhere, ranging from common consumer devices such as DVD players, laser printers, and barcode scanners to professional laser devices for surgery and various other skin treatments, or in industry for cutting and welding materials. Actually, it was Albert Einstein, who has laid the theoretical foundations for the laser in his 1917 paper Zur Quantentheorie der Strahlung (On the Quantum Theory of Radiation).