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Light and its interactions with matter

In recent decades, research in the field of physics has made significant progress in the field of light-matter interaction. So-called “extreme” lasers have opened up new prospects for science and technology.

Première lumière en laboratoire, pour le spectrographe cryogénique de l'instrument SPIRou

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Among extreme lasers – powerful, ultra-short duration and perfectly calibrated frequency, high power ones have been developed for applications such as inertial nuclear fusion. They also offer the opportunity to replace traditional accelerators with laser-plasma accelerators. The latter exploit the interaction between an intense laser and plasma to accelerate particles to high energies over short distances.

In addition to the race for power, research focuses on ultra-short pulse lasers, which make it possible to explore physics on the attosecond scale (10^-18 seconds) and thus access the dynamics of electrons.

High-precision optics has also made remarkable progress at the same time. Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) uses lasers to precisely measure distances and the characteristics of objects, and is used in environmental monitoring.

Spectroscopic techniques make it possible to analyse the light emitted or absorbed by objects, providing valuable information about their composition, structure and properties. In astronomy, spectroscopy allows the light spectra coming from distant objects to be observed, in order to probe their chemical composition and their evolution. In biology, it allows the identification and analysis of specific molecules, leading to advances in medical diagnosis.

Discover through images how light and light-matter interaction are studied in CNRS laboratories.

Keywords: light, photon, particle, radiation, matter, spectra, atoms, radiation, spectroscopy, lasers, attosecond, lidars

The frescoes of the chapel Notre-Dame-des-Fontaines de la Brigue, in the Alpes-Maritimes, are the subject of studies as part of the project Fiat Lux.

At the Cité internationale de la tapisserie d'Aubusson, scientists are studying works composed of silk and wool yarns, coloured by natural substances several hundred years ago.

On the GALAXIES beamline, operando observation allows to observe materials on a smaller scale and in real time, to understand their behavior at the nanometric level.

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