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Physicists have observed a new state of matter at work inside an elusive thread of quantum gas.
The ultra-thin gas chains capable of binding giants look like quest-worthy objects in Grimms’ fairy tales. But versions of these materials are theoretically possible in physics – unfortunately, in practice, they inevitably collapse during training.
Researchers at Stanford University in the United States have now found that they can create such a material that is stable enough to withstand collapse in a cloud, even under considerable force. In addition, they identified a new state of matter at work that has only been seen once before – and never before in quantum gas.
Above all, the quantum properties of this gas could earn it a place in future generations of information technology.
The subject matter at work category even has a legendary title; a great Tonks-Girardeau gas. It is made up of atoms cooled to the point where they begin to lose their sense of individual identity, forced to form a conga-line held in check by their collective forces.
Under ideal conditions, the attraction between particles inside this stretched quantum gas wire could keep it in line even under stress. This is why physicists describe it as “super”.
Yet inside far-from-perfect lab equipment, even the most delicately tuned Super Tonks-Girardeau gases fail to stay stable for very long, contracting in no time.
Physicist Benjamin Lev wondered if the dysprosium element would make a more robust candidate. With one of the highest magnetic forces on the periodic table, it could hold out a little longer, with a little support.
“The magnetic interactions that we were able to add were very weak compared to the attractive interactions already present in the gas. So we expected not much to change, ”says Lev.
“Wow, we were wrong.”
It turns out that a tuned Dysprosium-based Tonks-Girardeau super gas is exactly what the hero ordered. No matter what the team did, it kept shape.
Even launching the quantum system into higher energy states failed to push the string through a messy fog of quantum smeared particles.
By probing the mechanics of the process, the team quickly noticed the hallmarks of a rather elusive phenomenon called quantum multibody healing.
This bizarre state of matter sits somewhere between quantum chaos and the predictability of old-school classical physics, and describes a world that seems counterintuitive at first glance.
A quarter of a century ago, it was discovered that in the hum of a quantum system – where particles are everywhere and nowhere at the same time and where individual atoms lose their sense of self – it is possible that predictable states emerging.
These scars look like tracks worn on a football field. As players chase the ball freely across the pitch, some directions seem to be preferred over others.
The puzzling thing about quantum scars is how they fit into thermodynamics. Raise the temperature of a group of particles and they’ll just bounce back more, redistributing heat energy until all bodies have a roughly equal share.
Quantum multi-body healing goes against this rule of balance, maintaining a preference for certain states no matter how much excitement builds around them.
The phenomenon has been seen once before in a queue of rubidium atoms, but never in a quantum gas. So, finding signs of condition in a chilled chain of dysprosium atoms has the potential to reveal a lot about how bodies in a quantum system share energy.
Since we are destined for a future filled with quantum technologies, we’re going to need to know as much as possible about how to remove heat from the computers of tomorrow.
But quantum scars could potentially be useful for fully-fledged quantum information storage, or serve as a sort of laboratory simulator for studying quantum systems.
Practical uses aside, Lev sees work as fundamental to understanding the quantum landscape. Nominations can come later.
“If you compare quantum science to where we were when we found out what we needed to know to build chemical factories, say, it’s like we’re doing the work of the late 19th century right now. Says Lev.
A strand of gas scarred by quantum scars is just the start of a quest to truly incredible destinations.
This research was published in Science.
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