Technique to see the ultrafast world of electrons wins 2023 physics Nobel

Attosecond bursts of laser light let researchers glimpse electron dynamics in matter

A photo of a green laser beam being sent through several pieces of glass.

The 2023 Nobel Prize in physics goes to researchers who used lasers to generate extremely short bursts of light.

WLADIMIR BULGAR/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES

Glimpses of the ultrafast world of electrons are changing scientists’ vision of the inner workings of atoms and molecules. The 2023 Nobel Prize in physics goes to three physicists who illuminated this realm with ultrashort pulses of light, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced October 3.