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tout est quantique

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Pump-probe
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Pump-probe technique

The pump-probe technique enables us to measure ultrafast phenomena inside matter such as the movement of atoms or electron excitations, thanks to very short laser pulses.

Metal
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Metals and insulators : the quantum difference !

In matter, electrons behave like quantum waves trapped in a box.

duality
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Wave-particle duality

Every quantum object is both a particle, like a tennis ball, and some sort of wave, like a wave in the ocean.

tunnel effect
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the tunnel effect

Sometimes quantum particles can go through walls, as if an invisible tunnel opened up before them!

Graphene
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graphene

Graphene is an artificial carbon material with extraordinary properties, and it is made of only one layer of atoms.

Laser
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The laser technology

Invented by physicists, the laser technology uses the quantum properties of atoms to emit a light of a special kind.

STATE SUPERPOSITION
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STATE SUPERPOSITION AND DECOHERENCE

Some quantum systems, such as atoms, photons, or spins, can be in two simultaneous different states. We call these “Schrödinger’s cats”.

Bose-Einstein condensate
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Bose-Einstein condensate

Some gases, when cooled to ultra-low temperatures, collectively achieve a new quantum state, the Bose-Einstein condensate.

Crystallography
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Crystallography and reciprocal lattice

Crystallography techniques enable us to measure the arrangement of atoms inside matter.

Atoms
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The atom, a box for electrons

The matter around us is made up of atoms.

Photoemission
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Photoemission and metals

Angle-resolved photoemission enables us to measure the energy and momentum of electrons inside matter.

spin
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The spin, a quantum magnet

Not only is the electron both a particle and a quantum wave, but it also carries a kind of mini magnet called spin.

Quantization
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Quantization : a discontinuous universe

In the quantum world, particles can only assume certain energies. Imagine a car that could only run at certain specific speeds and would directly accelerate from 30 to 50 mph! Why?

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
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Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)

NMR makes it possible to measure very accurately the magnetic fields which reign around a nucleus. The nucleus is therefore used as a probe of its immediate environment, on a very local scale.

Muon spin resonance (MuSR)
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Muon spin resonance (MuSR)

MuSR is a technique that relies on the implantation of muons in matter. It can probe the magnetic fields created at the muon site and the organization of the surrounding spins, ordered or disordered.

POLARIZING MICROSCOPE
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Polarizing microscope

A polarizing microscope allows to image and characterize birefringent samples.

SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE SEM
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SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE (SEM)

The Scanning Electron Microscope allows to get strongly magnified images of the surface of thick samples and to analyze their composition.

ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPE AFM
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ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPE AFM

The atomic force microscope allows to measure the topography of various materials down to atomic resolution.

SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE STM
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SCANNING TUNNELING MICROSCOPE (STM)

The Scanning Tunneling Microscope allows to measure the topography of metals, the position of their atoms, and the electron characteristics in the metal.

DARK FIELD AND PHASE CONTRAST
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Dark field and phase contrast microscopes

Dark field and phase contrast microscopes allow to observe transparent samples.

Magnetic Orders
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Magnetic Orders

In magnets, the spins of atoms line up in a so-called ferromagnetic state. But other more subtle states can also be realized in magnetic materials and are being studied by physicists.

TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE TEM
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Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

The Transmission Electron Microscope allows to get magnified images of very thin samples and to analyze their composition.

Frustrated magnets
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Frustrated magnets

In magnetic materials, by sufficiently lowering the temperature, the spins end up freezing in a configuration imposed by the magnetic interactions between atoms.

Paramagnetism and ferromagnetism
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Paramagnetism and ferromagnetism

We use magnets every day. Their magnetism actually has a quantum origin. It arises from the arrangement of the spins of atoms which form an ordered state.

FLUORESCENT AND CONFOCAL
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Fluorescent and confocal microscopies

The fluorescence microscope allows to detect the presence and localization of fluorescent molecules in the sample. The confocal microscope is a specific fluorescent microscope that allows obtaining 3D images of the sample with good resolution.

Inelastic neutron scattering
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Inelastic neutron scattering

Inelastic neutron scattering can be used to measure both the movement of atoms and spins in matter in order to better understand the physical properties of new materials.