What the vacuum has to do with freak waves

Experimental research in our labs in the past centered on development of quantum light sources that amplify quantum fluctuations to a macroscopic level. We explored the consequences of those strong quantum fluctuations and realized that phenomena we observe have a close link to others found in fields such as economics, geology, and biology, and which are known as power laws and Pareto principle. Currently, we explore the origins of those analogies — in particular the relationship to so-called rogue waves — and try to understand to what extent we can simulate those phenomena in our lab.