The demonstration in the laboratory of the dynamical Casimir effect, through which virtual particles are transformed into real photons that can then be detected, was selected as one of the "Top Ten Breakthroughs 2011" by Physics World, a magazine of the Institute of Physics (IOP). Franco Nori, Team Leader of the RIKEN ASI Digital Materials Team, participated in the collaboration along with Christopher Wilson and colleagues from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The research was published in Nature on November 17.

Article in Physics World:
"Physics World reveals its top 10 breakthroughs for 2011"

References:
"How to turn darkness into light", November 17, 2011

Nature News Readers' choice
http://www.nature.com/news/news-readers-choice-1.9643