It has been observed in other systems, but studying how this scenario might play out in a light field is somewhat trickier. Much work has been done in physics labs to study it, but observations of optical vortices have been limited by the technology's inability to keep up with the speed at which vortex formation, motion, and collision unfold.

To overcome these limitations, researchers recorded the behavior of optical vortices in a two-dimensional material called hexagonal boron nitride.

This material supports unusual light waves called phonon polaritons – hybrids of light and atomic vibrations – that move much more slowly than light alone and can be tightly confined. This creates intricate interference patterns filled with many vortices, allowing the researchers to track their motion in detail.
The second, crucial part was capturing those dynamics in real time. The team deployed a specialized high-speed electron microscope with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, which recorded events unfolding over just 3 quadrillionths of a second.
They ran the experiment many times, each time recording at a slight delay compared to the previous run. By stacking together the hundreds of images generated this way, the researchers created a timelapse of the vortices as they hurtled towards and annihilated each other, their velocities very briefly reaching superluminal speeds in the process.

The experiment took place in a two-dimensional context. The next step, the researchers say, is to try to extend their work into higher dimensions to observe more complicated behavior. They also say the techniques they developed could help address some of the current limitations of electron microscopy.

"We believe these innovative microscopy techniques will enable the study of hidden processes in physics, chemistry, and biology," the researchers say, "revealing for the first time how nature behaves in its fastest and most elusive moments."

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10209-z

Part 2

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India’s air combat strategy during Operation Sindoor is drawing global attention, and now a former US combat pilot has called it a “genius move.” The focus is on how Indian Rafale jets used advanced decoy systems to confuse enemy radars and missiles. Instead of relying only on speed and firepower, Indian pilots deployed towed decoys and dropped fuel tanks at the right moment, creating multiple false targets in the sky. This made it difficult for enemy systems to identify the real aircraft. The result? Missiles were likely tracking expendable objects instead of actual jets. The tactic also created confusion on the battlefield, making it harder for the opponent to assess damage accurately. This is modern warfare, where technology, deception, and timing matter as much as weapons. Operation Sindoor has now become a case study in how India is adapting to next-generation air combat with precision and planning.

Ghostly particles: Dark radiation may have masqueraded as neutrinos
New research suggests that neutrinos in the early universe may have transformed into a previously unknown form of radiation. The study offers a new way to explain certain puzzling observations about how the universe evolved.
Neutrinos are among the most abundant particles in the universe. Often described as ghostlike because they interact so weakly with matter, neutrinos play an important role in shaping how cosmic structures form and evolve.

Recent analyses of cosmological data suggest that neutrinos may interact with one another more strongly than predicted by the standard model of particle physics, although laboratory experiments place strict limits on such interactions.

The new study offers a possible explanation for this apparent mismatch. According to the researchers, the cosmological signals interpreted as evidence for strongly interacting neutrinos could instead be produced by an additional component of radiation in the early universe.

Because cosmological observations mainly measure the total amount of fast-moving radiation, they cannot easily distinguish neutrinos from other lightweight particles that behave similarly.
They propose that some fraction of neutrinos converted into a different type of light, fast-moving radiation known as dark radiation, during the universe's earliest moments.
The transformation must have taken place after Big Bang nucleosynthesis, but before the formation of the cosmic microwave background.

In this scenario, dark radiation could mimic the cosmological effects attributed to interacting neutrinos while avoiding the experimental constraints that apply to neutrinos themselves.
If this dark radiation mechanism occurred, it could also influence several ongoing puzzles in cosmology. These include uncertainties in neutrino masses and the long-standing Hubble tension, which is the discrepancy between different measurements of how quickly the universe is expanding.
Future observations may help test the idea.

Anirban Das et al, Impostor among Neutrinos: Dark Radiation Masquerading as Self-Interacting Neutrinos, Physical Review Letters (2026). DOI: 10.1103/jprg-jll6. On arXiv: DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2506.08085

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