It’s time for an update.
Most of us know the three most common states of matter, solid, liquid, and gaseous, in addition to the unusual fourth: plasma. But ongoing research with a new exotic state called “supersolid,” which occurred a few years ago, has reached a stalemate: scientists have created it in a new two-dimensional shape for the first time, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature.
And this opens up a whole new spectrum of quantum strangeness.
Upgrade to two-dimensional supersolids
Note: Supersolids are not an activated version of solids. Essentially, they are solids whose atoms are arranged in a rigid, crystalline structure, similar to typical solids. But, strangely, supersolids can also flow with zero viscosity, similar to a superfluid, which has two paradoxical qualities to possess. Scientists had speculated that this could be possible since the 1960s, and in 2017, the material was confirmed experimentally. The (more) recent study saw a collection of research teams pool their resources to create supersolids with the help of another state other than matter, known as Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC ). These are composed of a cloud of low-density gases of atoms cooled to temperatures approaching absolute zero. When they pass this cold unconsciously, they present puzzling quantum quantums that are not normally observed on these comparatively macro scales.
In these deep-frozen cases, all BEC atoms exist at all points in the cloud, simultaneously, in a condition called delocalization. In previous experiments, scientists created supersolids that only existed in one dimension, which meant they could only flow in a mediocre direction. But the Innsbruck University research team has provided the new state of affairs with an extra dimension to play with, which is like exchanging a string for a dollar bill. This multidimensional BEC was created from dysprose atoms, with magnetic interactions between the atoms leading to an autonomous arrangement in droplets, which also self-organized into a grid. “Normally, one would think that each atom would be in a specific droplet, with no way to get between them,” the study’s author, Matthew Norcia, told New Atlas report.
Two-dimensional supersolids open up a new range of quantum strangeness
“However, in the supersolid state, each particle is relocated through all existing droplets simultaneously in each droplet,” Norcia added in the report. “Basically, you have a system with a series of high-density regions (the droplets) that share all the same delocalized atoms.” The research team also added that this advance could allow physicists to examine a completely new spectrum of quantum strangeness that we might not expect to see in the behavior of a one-dimensional supersolid. “For example, in a two-dimensional supersolid system, one can study how vortices form in the hole between several adjacent drops.”
“These vortices described in theory have not yet been demonstrated, but they represent an important consequence of superfluity,” Norcia added. MIT researchers achieved the initial discovery of supersolids by combining features of solid matter with those of superfluids. And, that only four years passed between the creation of a new state of matter and its updating to its new two-dimensional splendor, it speaks of the richness of scientific discovery waiting for those who want to explore the quantum possibilities available with this realization.