Atomic, Molecular, Optical, and Plasma (AMOP) Physics fundamentally studies light, matter, and interactions at atomic and molecular levels. It deals with protons, electrons, ions, and their collective behavior in response to electric and magnetic fields. AMOP encompasses a broad area including but not limited to the following disciplines:

• Generation of light-source, ultrafast laser, and applications
• Light-induced emergent behavior in quantum materials
• Non-linear optics, biomedical optics and nano-optics
• Plasma physics – laboratory, space, and astrophysical
• The behavior of atoms in an ultracold, ground, and excited state
• Terahertz physics, metamaterials, and nanophotonic structures
• Precision measurement, quantum information, and sensing
• Plasma–matter interaction and applications
• Ultrafast Spectroscopy

The AMOP division was established from the outset of the first ANPA conference, aiming to bring together students and researchers – both from academia and industry to present and discuss their research, innovation, and technology related to AMOP physics, fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration within the community and across the globe. We cordially invite researchers, scientists, and experts from various disciplines for abstract submission and look forward to seeing your exciting science during the conference.

Symmetry breakings are ubiquitous in nature and can lead to the formation of various topological states and excitations, such as those in ferromagnetism, molecular chirality, optical activity, and vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM). In the first part of my talk, I will show how a new coherent diffractive imaging technique, called vector ptychographic tomography, which uses coherent extreme UV or soft x-ray beams, can probe chemically resolved nanostructures in semiconductor materials¹ and spin textures in magnetic materials. This lensless computational imaging method provides 2D/3D vector imaging with a resolution of 5-10 nm², leading to our direct observation of topological magnetic monopoles and their interactions³. Next, I will introduce topological states of light carrying OAM, which can be static, attosecond-to-femtosecond dynamic⁴, spin-orbit coupled⁵, or spatiotemporally coupled^6,7 (a subset of space-time optics family⁸). OAM of light can span the infrared to extreme UV spectra when up-converted and controlled through a laser-driven high-order harmonic generation process^4,5 (the process recognized by the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics). OAM of light and the new space-time optics promise novel and under-exploited applications in communications, sensing, imaging, and controlling topological spin textures in the near future.

References:

[1] Science Advances 7, 9667 (2021)

[2] Science Advances 5, eaax3009 (2019)

[3] Nature Nanotechnology 18, 227 (2023)

[4] Science 364, eaaw9486 (2019)

[5] Nature Photonics 13, 123 (2018)

[6] Nature Photonics 15, 608 (2021)

[7] ACS Photonics 9, 2802 (2022)

[8] Journal of Optics 25, 093001 (2023)