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Unifying Huygens' Legacy: Bridging Wave Optics and Mechanics Across 350 Years

07/18 2024 Seminar
  • Title Unifying Huygens' Legacy: Bridging Wave Optics and Mechanics Across 350 Years
  • Speaker Xiaofeng Qian (Stevens Institute of Technology)
  • Date 15:00 Jul. 18, 2024
  • Venue 6520
    • Abstract
    Christiaan Huygens stands among history's preeminent scientists, leaving an enduring mark on the advancement of science, notably in the domains of optics and mechanics. His groundbreaking wave theory of light served as the cornerstone for modern optics, laying the foundation for concepts like wave-particle duality and quantum wave mechanics. Simultaneously, as the inventor of the world's first pendulum clock, Huygens made seminal contributions to the study of rigid body motions. Remarkably, these two seemingly distinct contributions are interconnected in ways previously unrecognized. In this talk, I will present our recent establishment of an unexpected quantitative link between these two theories, drawing from wave optical principles such as polarization and entanglement, as well as mechanical concepts like the center of mass and moment of inertia. Our findings introduce a novel avenue for comprehending both coherence optics and classical mechanics. Anticipation lingers for further discoveries connecting these two fields, with the potential for extension to quantum mechanics and for practical applications. Our results were recognized as one of the 10 most popular physics stories of 2023 by Physics World (IOP publishing, UK).

    [1] Xiao-Feng Qian and Misagh Izadi “Bridging coherence optics and classical mechanics: A generic light polarization-entanglement complementary relation”, Phys. Rev. Research 5, 033110 (2023).
    [2] See news report by Physics World at https://physicsworld.com/a/in-case-you-missed-it-the-10-most-popular-physics-stories-of-2023/

    Biography
    Dr. Xiaofeng Qian received his B.S. degree in Physics from Nankai University and his Ph.D. in Quantum Optics from the University of Rochester. Following his doctoral studies, he served as a Research Associate at The Institute of Optics. In 2019, Dr. Qian joined the Physics Faculty at Stevens Institute of Technology. His research encompasses both theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum physics and coherence optics. Dr. Qian has made significant contributions to the emerging field of quantum-inspired coherence optics, garnering attention from professional organizations, industry magazines, and science news websites. Notably, his work on wave-particle duality was honored as one of the top 10 breakthroughs in physics of 2021 by Physics World (IOP publishing, UK). Additionally, his research on the unexpected optics-mechanics connection was recognized among the 10 most popular physics stories of 2023 by Physics World.

    Inviter
    Tao Shi