Optical spectroscopy articles from across Nature Portfolio

Combining resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and photoluminescence spectroscopy, an elementary excitation in hexagonal-boron-nitride-based single-photon emitters has been demonstrated, giving rise to multiple regular harmonics that can explain the wide frequency range of these emitters.

This work studies luminescence from monocrystalline gold flakes down to 13 nm thick. It reveals this signal is photoluminescence, with signals reproduced by density functional theory, resolving a decade-old puzzle.

Research published in Nature shows that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy carried out with colloids can quantify a range of molecules down to concentrations at the femtomolar level.

Chiral recognition of amino acids with luminescence, despite its advantages, is usually slow and lacks generality. Here, the authors demonstrate that L-phenylalanine derived benzamide can manifest the structural difference between the natural, left-handed amino acid and its right-handed counterpart via the difference in room-temperature phosphorescence, irrespective of the specific chemical structure.

Brillouin light scattering anisotropy microscopy affords single-shot collection of angle-resolved phonon dispersion, enabling the mapping of mechanical anisotropies in living matter with a frequency resolution of 10 MHz and a spatial resolution of 2 µm.

JWST collects vast amounts of information about exoplanets light years away from Earth. Back home, the measured optical constants of laboratory aerosols are critically input parameters in models to interpret the observational results.

We developed a high-content profiling method named vibrational painting (VIBRANT) for single-cell drug response measurements, combining vibrational imaging, multiplexed vibrational probes and machine learning. VIBRANT showed high performance in predicting drug mechanisms of action, discovering novel compounds and assessing drug combinations, demonstrating great promise for phenotypic drug discovery.

Providing a stable and reliable supply of electrons is crucial for the future of quantum computing processors. Here, electron withdrawing groups are added to species which improve the flow of electrons.