Under certain conditions special domains get created among ultracold atoms. So far, we only observed them on accident but now we have a recipe to create them on purpose.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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The quantum realm is full of mysterious phenomena that never cease to amaze us. And when we manage to make such phenomena on purpose it is certainly worth a celebration. One such celebration was recently held at the University of Chicago where quantum scientists, for the first time ever, build quantum domain walls.
Kai-Xuan Yao and his colleagues were researching the behavior of quantum systems. In one such experiment, they noticed strange behavior among extremely cold atoms. More precisely, about 40,000 cesium-133 atoms were laid on a laser optical matrix. Under the proper conditions, these atoms create domains between which domain walls appear. And it’s not just some informal border. These domain walls behave like independent quantum objects.
Domain walls are emergent phenomena. They are created as a result of the collective behavior of many particles while having new and specific properties. Yao compares it to sand dunes. Dunes move through the desert and behave like independent objects and the large object’s behavior doesn’t correspond to the behavior of independent grains of sand.
Quantum domain walls themselves aren’t exactly a new thing. Scientists observed them in the past when studying quantum materials. But until now they weren’t capable of making them on purpose and analyzing them. The team from the University of Chicago showed that it is possible. And right away, they managed to observe the unusual behavior of the domain walls. As Cheng Chin – the laboratory lead – says, he and his colleagues are good at manipulating atoms. And they know that when you push on an atom to go right it goes right. But when you push on a domain wall to go right it goes left.
The research of quantum phenomena such as domain walls is important for future quantum technologies. Domain walls might help us develop a programmable quantum material or maybe even better quantum processors. On top of that, they are interesting for astrophysicists. There is a chance that quantum domain walls played an important role in the extreme conditions of the newly born Universe holding the first particles together.
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