Physicists have observed a new state of matter inside a dodgy quantum gas wire.
The thin gas chains capable of linking giants look like objects worthy of a search in Grimms’ fairy tales. But versions of these materials are theoretically possible in physics, but unfortunately in practice they inevitably collapse when formed.
Researchers at Stanford University in the United States have found that they can create material stable enough to withstand collapse in a cloud, even with considerable force. In addition, they have identified a new state of matter in the work that had only been seen once, and never before in quantum gas.
It is important to note that the quantum properties of this gas could earn it a place in future generations of information technology.
The category of subject he works on even has a legendary title; a super Tonks-Girardeau gas. It consists of atoms cooled to the point that they begin to lose their sense of individual identity, forced to form a conga line controlled by their collective forces.
Ideally, the attraction between the particles within this extracted quantum gas wire could keep it in line even under duress. That’s why physicists describe him as “super”.
However, within a less than perfect laboratory equipment, even the most delicately tuned super Tonks-Girardeau gases do not remain stable for long, contracting into a ball in a short time.
Physicist Benjamin Lev wondered if the disproportionate element would be a more robust candidate. With one of the highest magnetic forces on the periodic table, it could hold up a little longer, with a little support.
“The magnetic interactions we were able to add were very weak compared to the attractive interactions already present in the gas. So our expectations were that it wouldn’t change much,” Lev says.
“Wow, we were wrong.”
It turns out that a tuned gas super Tonks-Girardeau based on dysprosis is what the hero ordered. No matter what the team did to him, he kept fit.
Even booting the quantum system to higher energy states failed to push the chain into a disordered fog of quantum-greased particles.
Probing the mechanics of the process, the team soon noticed the characteristics of a rather elusive phenomenon called the quantum scar of many bodies.
This strange state of matter lies between quantum chaos and the predictability of ancient classical physics and describes a world that at first glance seems counterintuitive.
A quarter of a century ago, it was discovered that in the buzz of a quantum system (where particles are everywhere and nowhere at the same time and individual atoms lose their sense of self), predictable states may appear.
These scars resemble paths that are used across a football field. While players chase the ball freely across the field, it seems that some directions are preferred over others.
The bewildering thing about quantum healing is how they fit in with thermodynamics. Raise the temperature in a group of particles and they will simply bounce more, redistributing the heat energy until all the bodies have a roughly equal proportion.
Quantum scars on many bodies go against this equilibrium rule, maintaining a preference for some states no matter how much excitement grows around them.
The phenomenon has been seen once before in a tail of rubidium atoms, but never in a quantum gas. Therefore, finding signs of the state in a refrigerated chain of dysprose atoms has the potential to reveal much about how the bodies of a quantum system share energy.
Given that we are destined for a future full of quantum technologies, we need to know as much as possible about how to remove heat from tomorrow’s computers.
But quantum scars could be useful for storing quantum information by themselves or serve as a kind of simulator in the laboratory to study quantum systems.
Aside from speculation about practical uses, Lev sees the fundamental work in understanding the quantum landscape. Applications can be submitted later.
“If you compare quantum science to where we were when we discovered what we needed to know to build chemical plants, let’s say, it’s like we’re doing late 19th century work right now,” Lev says.
A gas thread with quantum scars is just the beginning of a search for some really amazing destinations.
This research was published in Science.