Manuscripts

Abstract. Prof. Jim-Al-Khalili explains the emerging field of quantum biology and discusses how this new discipline has developed from its inception in the 1920s until fruition in the late 1990s with the discovery of quantum effects in magnetoreception, olfaction, enzyme catalysis, and photosynthesis.

Abstract. Nobel Prize Laureate Didier Queloz talks about realistic ways to explore Proxima Centauri b and other potentially habitable planetary systems such as TRAPPIST-1 using technologies that are currently available. He also discusses his interdisciplinary research activities on abiogenesis and the search for life on other planets.

Abstract. Professor Didier Queloz talks about his challenging journey from the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star in 1995 to the acknowledgement of his discovery by the scientific community. He explores his experience in reporting a paradigm-changing finding and how this triggered hard scepticism from the publishing industry and fellow scientists, which lasted about 3 years. He and Michel Mayor were eventually acknowledged as the founders of the new field of exoplanets and were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2019.

Abstract. Didier Queloz is Professor of Physics at the Cavendish Laboratory (University of Cambridge) and Geneva University. He was jointly awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics for “the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star”. In the first part of his conversation with Mejd Alsari he discusses the impact of his 1995 discovery on the theory of planetary systems formation.

Abstract. Time-Domain terahertz spectroscopy (THz TDS) has attracted attention from many scientific disciplines as it enables accessing the gap between electronic and optical techniques. One application is to probe spintronic dynamics in sub-picosecond time scale. Here, we discuss principles and technical aspects of a typical THz TDS setup. We also show an example of terahertz time-domain data obtained from a Co/Pt thin film calibrant, which is a well-studied spintronic structure emitting strong THz radiation. This work is available at https://youtu.be/X7vrvQcmy8c.