Physicists have observed a new state of matter in an elusive wire quantum gas.
The gossamer-thin strings of gas that can bind giants sound like items that are a quest in Grimms’ fairy tales. But versions of these materials are theoretically possible in physics – but in practice they inevitably coincide with formation.
Researchers from Stanford University in the US have now found that they can create such a material that is stable enough to withstand falling into a cloud, even under considerable force. What’s more, they have identified a new state of affairs at work that has only been seen once before – and never in quantum gas.
What is important is that the quantum properties of this gas could make it a place in future generations of information technology.
The category of matter at work even has a legendary title; a super Tonks-Girardeau gas. It consists of atoms that cool down to the point where they begin to lose their sense of individual identity, forced to form a conglomerate held in check by their collective powers.
Under ideal conditions, attraction between the particles within this elongated wire of quantum gas can keep it in line even under duress. That is why physicists describe it as ‘super’.
But within the less than perfect laboratory equipment, even the finest Tonks-Girardeau gases remain very stable, pulling them quickly into a ball.
Physicist Benjamin Lev wondered if the element dysprosium would offer a more robust candidate. With one of the highest magnetic strengths on the periodic table, it can last a little longer, with a little support.
“The magnetic interactions we were able to add were very weak compared to the attractive interactions already occurring in the gas. So our expectations were that not much would change,” says Lev.
“Wow, we were wrong.”
It turns out that the super Tonks-Girardeau gas based on dysprosium is exactly what the hero ordered. No matter what the team did to it, it was preserved.
Even to abandon the quantum system in higher energy conditions, the rope could not press into a messy haze of quantum-contaminated particles.
The team investigated the mechanics of the process and mentioned the characteristics of a rather elusive phenomenon called quantum body formation.
This strange state of matter sits somewhere between quantum chaos and the predictability of ancient classical physics, and describes a world that seems counter-intuitive at first glance.
A quarter of a century ago it was discovered that in the rumble of a quantum system – where particles are everywhere and nowhere at the same time and individual atoms lose their sense of self – it is possible for predictable conditions to emerge.
These scars look like roads carried across a football field. While players chase the ball freely through the entire field, it seems that some directions are preferred over others.
The confusing thing about quantum formation is how it fits into thermodynamics. Raise the temperature on a group of particles and they will simply bounce around more and redistribute the heat energy until all bodies have about the same part.
Quantum-shaped polygonal scars are in conflict with this equilibrium rule, and are preferred by some states, no matter how much excitement grows around them.
The phenomenon has been seen once before in a string of rubidium atoms, but never in a quantum gas. Thus, finding signs of the state in a cooled string of dysprosium atoms can reveal much about how bodies in a quantum system share energy.
Since we are destined for a future filled with quantum technologies, we will need to know as much as possible about how to remove heat from tomorrow’s computers.
But quantum lits can potentially be useful for storing quantum information in their own right, or as a kind of simulator in the laboratory to study quantum systems.
Speculation about practical uses sets aside Lev’s work as fundamental to the understanding of the quantum landscape. Applications may come later.
“If you compare quantum science to where we were when we discovered what we needed to know to build chemical plants, then say, it’s like we’re doing the late 19th century job now,” Lev says.
A quantum screwed gas wire is just the beginning of a search for amazing destinations.
This research was published in Science.