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Nature 461, 1171 (29 October 2009) | doi:10.1038/72681171a; Published online 28 October 2009

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Making the paper: Ulli Eichmann

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Physicists push excited neutral atoms to ultrafast speeds.

In working to resolve a twenty-year-old debate about what fate holds for neutral atoms blasted by a powerful laser, researchers have revealed a surprising twist. A four-strong team led by Ulli Eichmann at Berlin's Max Born Institute used lasers to accelerate neutral atoms to one of the fastest rates known in the Universe — without tearing the atoms apart.