Call for papers: special issue on correlations in light−matter interactions

The interaction of electromagnetic radiation and matter is of central importance in nature and of wide interest for both basic and applied research. Especially the fundamental understanding of light-driven many-body quantum dynamics and the underlying correlations remains a key fundamental challenge in physics and promises vast future applications in natural sciences and engineering. In fact, the question for correlation effects in light–matter interactions connects many scientific areas, including

• strong-field physics of atoms, molecules, and clusters
• ultrafast control of light–matter interactions
• correlation effects in semiconductors
• dynamics of molecular nanostructures
• physics of dense plasmas
• quantum optics

Novel detection techniques and light sources have opened up routes to prepare, probe, and trace ultrafast correlated processes and quantum effects in the light–matter interactions with unprecedented detail. Free electron lasers, waveform-controlled femtosecond laser fields, and non-classical light sources as well as advances in many-particle theory enable the realization of new insightful experiments and simulations undreamed of 20 years ago.

The conference series Correlation Effects in Radiation Fields, organized by the Collaborative Research Center 652 at the University of Rostock, has been devoted to foster the scientific exchange of corresponding advances in the above areas.

With the Special Issue on 'Correlations in light–matter interactions' in Journal of Physics B it is thought to comprehensively collect original state-of-the-art work on this subject and to synergistically connect the understanding of correlations in light–matter interactions across the boundaries of the above scientific fields. We hope that this collection will be a resource for the rapidly expanding scientific community interested in the physics of light–matter interactions.

Submissions to this issue are now open until 31 July 2017. Please use our electronic submission platform https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/jphysb-iop to submit your article.

Submissions received after this date will be considered for the journal, but may not be included in the special issue, therefore please contact the journal's team (email: jphysb@iop.org) to see if a deadline extension is possible.

Articles will be refereed according to the journal's high standards and papers will be published in regular journal issues and online as accepted.

The guest editors