Dark spots within lightwaves may appear to break the speed of light, according to new research from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology scientists, confirming a half-century-old theoretical prediction.
What the team refers to as “dark points” are actually vortices—very small holes in light’s wave structure—that, as revealed in the new paper published in Nature, can move faster than light. These vortices are familiar to us on a large scale, appearing in phenomena such as ocean waves or the swirling motion in a stirred drink.
Beyond the Speed of Light
In the 1970s, theoretical physicists proposed a novel idea based on random wave interference: that vortices might move faster than the wave in which they form. In practical terms, this would be similar to a vortex moving faster than the flow of the river in which it formed. The concept applies broadly to many types of waves, including liquids, sound, light, and even superconductors. For decades, however, this idea remained purely theoretical—until now, with its first experimental confirmation.
Reconciling this faster-than-light motion with Theory of Relativity—which holds that nothing can exceed the speed of light—is less problematic than it might seem. The key distinction is that these vortices are not physical objects. The speed-of-light limit applies to matter, energy, and information. Vortices, by contrast, carry none of these, allowing them to move faster than light without violating fundamental physical laws.
The Zero Points of Light
The team describes these vortices as “nulls” or “zero points” within a light wave—regions where the light’s amplitude drops to zero. Measuring these points in the physical world has long been a challenge. Using a specialized ultrafast microscopy system developed at Technion’s Electron Microscopy Center, researchers were finally able to track the motion of these vortices relative to the waves they inhabit.
To achieve the necessary resolution, the team integrated an opto-mechanical laser system into an electron microscope, enabling extremely brief, high-precision measurements.
A specially prepared material—hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)—also played a crucial role. This material converts light waves into hybrid light-sound waves known as polaritons. These polaritons exist between pure light waves and sound waves, moving significantly slower than light. Within these slowed-down wave systems, researchers observed vortices that appeared to leap ahead at superluminal speeds.
Implications for Breaking the Speed of Light
“Our discovery reveals universal laws of nature shared by all types of waves, from sound waves and fluid flows to complex systems such as superconductors,” said co-author Professor Ido Kaminer, “This breakthrough provides us with a powerful technological tool: the ability to map the motion of delicate nanoscale phenomena in materials, revealed through a new method (electron interferometry) that enhances image sharpness.”
“We believe these innovative microscopy techniques will enable the study of hidden processes in physics, chemistry, and biology, revealing for the first time how nature behaves in its fastest and most elusive moments,” Kaminer added.
The researchers say their work is not limited to being a laboratory curiosity; it has potential applications in some of the most sought-after emerging technologies today. They say their work may provide a new avenue for pursuing quantum information encoding, superconductivity, nanoscale-based optics, and microscopy.
The paper, “Superluminal Correlations in Ensembles of Optical Phase Singularities,” appeared in Nature on March 25, 2026.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.