Broken symmetry is central to understanding the properties and behaviour of many solid-state systems, but the speed with which they occur makes them difficult to study. Using a state-of-the-art ultrafast pump–probe technique, a new study reveals in unprecedented detail the rich variety of phenomena that arise during a symmetry breaking transition.
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Averitt, R. Dynamics of broken symmetry. Nature Phys 6, 639–640 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1768
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1768