---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '21798'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Phase singularities—points carrying quantized topological charge—are universal
    features found across diverse wave systems from superfluids and superconductors
    to acoustic and optical fields1,2,3,4. Ensembles of these singularities exhibit
    distance correlations resembling particles in liquids5,6,7,8, extensively studied
    for their role in exotic material phases9,10,11. By contrast, the full correlations
    in phase space that govern the system evolution have remained unexplored and experimentally
    inaccessible. Here we directly measure the ultrafast dynamics of optical singularity
    ensembles, capturing their full phase-space correlations, presenting the joint
    distance–velocity distribution. Our observations show a breakdown of the particle-singularity
    analogy12: phase singularities accelerate towards formally divergent velocities
    in the moment before annihilation7,13,14, indicated by measurements of velocities
    exceeding the speed of light. These apparent superluminal velocities are paradoxically
    amplified by the slow group velocity of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in our material
    platform, hexagonal boron nitride membranes15,16,17,18,19. We demonstrate these
    phenomena using combined hardware and algorithmic advances in ultrafast electron
    microscopy18,20,21,22,23,24,25, achieving spatial and temporal resolutions, each
    an order of magnitude below the polaritonic wavelength and cycle period. Our findings
    deepen our understanding of phase singularities and their universality, enabling
    to probe topological defect dynamics at previously unattainable timescales.'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: T.
  full_name: Bucher, T.
  last_name: Bucher
- first_name: A.
  full_name: Gorlach, A.
  last_name: Gorlach
- first_name: A.
  full_name: Niedermayr, A.
  last_name: Niedermayr
- first_name: Q.
  full_name: Yan, Q.
  last_name: Yan
- first_name: H.
  full_name: Nahari, H.
  last_name: Nahari
- first_name: K.
  full_name: Wang, K.
  last_name: Wang
- first_name: R.
  full_name: Ruimy, R.
  last_name: Ruimy
- first_name: Y.
  full_name: Adiv, Y.
  last_name: Adiv
- first_name: M.
  full_name: Yannai, M.
  last_name: Yannai
- first_name: T. L.
  full_name: Abudi, T. L.
  last_name: Abudi
- first_name: E.
  full_name: Janzen, E.
  last_name: Janzen
- first_name: C.
  full_name: Spaegele, C.
  last_name: Spaegele
- first_name: Charles
  full_name: Roques-Carmes, Charles
  id: e2e68fc9-6505-11ef-a541-eb4e72cc3e82
  last_name: Roques-Carmes
- first_name: J. H.
  full_name: Edgar, J. H.
  last_name: Edgar
- first_name: F. H. L.
  full_name: Koppens, F. H. L.
  last_name: Koppens
- first_name: G. M.
  full_name: Vanacore, G. M.
  last_name: Vanacore
- first_name: H.
  full_name: H. Sheinfux, H.
  last_name: H. Sheinfux
- first_name: S.
  full_name: Tsesses, S.
  last_name: Tsesses
- first_name: I.
  full_name: Kaminer, I.
  last_name: Kaminer
citation:
  ama: Bucher T, Gorlach A, Niedermayr A, et al. Superluminal correlations in ensembles
    of optical phase singularities. <i>Nature</i>. 2026;651(8107):920-926. doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z">10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z</a>
  apa: Bucher, T., Gorlach, A., Niedermayr, A., Yan, Q., Nahari, H., Wang, K., … Kaminer,
    I. (2026). Superluminal correlations in ensembles of optical phase singularities.
    <i>Nature</i>. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z</a>
  chicago: Bucher, T., A. Gorlach, A. Niedermayr, Q. Yan, H. Nahari, K. Wang, R. Ruimy,
    et al. “Superluminal Correlations in Ensembles of Optical Phase Singularities.”
    <i>Nature</i>. Springer Nature, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z</a>.
  ieee: T. Bucher <i>et al.</i>, “Superluminal correlations in ensembles of optical
    phase singularities,” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 651, no. 8107. Springer Nature, pp.
    920–926, 2026.
  ista: Bucher T, Gorlach A, Niedermayr A, Yan Q, Nahari H, Wang K, Ruimy R, Adiv
    Y, Yannai M, Abudi TL, Janzen E, Spaegele C, Roques-Carmes C, Edgar JH, Koppens
    FHL, Vanacore GM, H. Sheinfux H, Tsesses S, Kaminer I. 2026. Superluminal correlations
    in ensembles of optical phase singularities. Nature. 651(8107), 920–926.
  mla: Bucher, T., et al. “Superluminal Correlations in Ensembles of Optical Phase
    Singularities.” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 651, no. 8107, Springer Nature, 2026, pp.
    920–26, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z">10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z</a>.
  short: T. Bucher, A. Gorlach, A. Niedermayr, Q. Yan, H. Nahari, K. Wang, R. Ruimy,
    Y. Adiv, M. Yannai, T.L. Abudi, E. Janzen, C. Spaegele, C. Roques-Carmes, J.H.
    Edgar, F.H.L. Koppens, G.M. Vanacore, H. H. Sheinfux, S. Tsesses, I. Kaminer,
    Nature 651 (2026) 920–926.
date_created: 2026-05-05T11:05:31Z
date_published: 2026-03-25T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-05-05T11:10:07Z
day: '25'
doi: 10.1038/s41586-026-10209-z
extern: '1'
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2509.17675'
intvolume: '       651'
issue: '8107'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2509.17675
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
page: 920-926
publication: Nature
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1476-4687
  issn:
  - 0028-0836
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Superluminal correlations in ensembles of optical phase singularities
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 651
year: '2026'
...