Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Phase Transitions

Phase Transitions

Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...

The Wave Nature of Light

The Wave Nature of Light

The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.

Phase Diagrams

Phase Diagrams

A phase diagram combines plots of pressure versus temperature for the liquid-gas, solid-liquid, and solid-gas phase-transition equilibria of a substance. These diagrams indicate the physical states that exist under specific conditions of pressure and temperature and also provide the pressure dependence of the phase-transition temperatures (melting points, sublimation points, boiling points). Regions or areas labeled solid, liquid, and gas represent single phases, while lines or curves represent...

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

Phase-Contrast Microscopes
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase...

Phase Diagram

Phase Diagram

The phase of a given substance depends on the pressure and temperature. Thus, plots of pressure versus temperature showing the phase in each region provide considerable insights into the thermal properties of substances. Such plots are known as phase diagrams. For instance, in the phase diagram for water (Figure 1), the solid curve boundaries between the phases indicate phase transitions (i.e., temperatures and pressures at which the phases coexist).

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Clinical outcomes of tebentafusp in metastatic uveal melanoma: a systematic review and single-arm meta-analysis.

Frontiers in medicine·2026

Same author

Single-shot wide-field biochemical imaging at 1 kHz frame rate.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Efficacy of adjunctive antibiotics compared to non-antibiotic therapies following mechanical debridement for peri-implantitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

PloS one·2026

Same author

AI usage and employee creativity: the mediating role of work engagement and the moderating role of technology acceptance.

Frontiers in psychology·2026

Same author

Fertility outcomes and ovarian function recovery after anti-NMDAR encephalitis: A retrospective cohort study.

Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica·2026

Same author

The relationship between learning organization system on innovation performance: testing moderated mediation role of organizational cultural identification.

Frontiers in psychology·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators

Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators

Published on: May 30, 2014

Topological phases of quantized light.

Han Cai¹, Da-Wei Wang¹

¹Interdisciplinary Center for Quantum Information and State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Technology and Device and Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.

National Science Review

|October 25, 2021

Summary

This study reveals quantum topological phases in light, distinct from classical optics. It introduces a novel platform for exploring higher-dimensional topological physics using Fock states and engineered couplings.

Keywords:

Haldane model Jaynes-Cummings model Su-Schriefer-Heeger model strain-induced magnetic field topological phases

More Related Videos

Quasi-light Storage for Optical Data Packets

Quasi-light Storage for Optical Data Packets

Published on: February 6, 2014

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators

Quantum State Engineering of Light with Continuous-wave Optical Parametric Oscillators

Published on: May 30, 2014

Quasi-light Storage for Optical Data Packets

Quasi-light Storage for Optical Data Packets

Published on: February 6, 2014

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

Area of Science:

Quantum optics
Topological physics
Condensed matter theory

Background:

Topological photonics traditionally studies classical light.
Quantum nature of light offers new avenues for topological phenomena.
Fock states and coupling strengths are key quantum properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To reveal topological phases intrinsic to the quantum nature of light.
To establish a novel platform for studying higher-dimensional topological physics.
To differentiate quantum topological phases from classical ones.

Main Methods:

Utilizing quantized Fock states and inhomogeneous coupling strengths.
Modeling coupled cavities with a two-level atom as a Su-Schriefer-Heeger model.
Extending Fock-state lattices to 2D honeycomb and higher dimensions.

Main Results:

Demonstrated intrinsic topological phases solely from quantum properties.
Induced Lifshitz topological phase transitions via engineered strain.
Observed Landau level quantization and valley Hall effect in the semimetallic phase.
Constructed an inhomogeneous Fock-state Haldane model.

Conclusions:

Quantum and classical topological optics exhibit fundamental distinctions.
The developed platform enables exploration of topological physics beyond three dimensions.
This work opens new frontiers in quantum topological phenomena.