Physicists are expanding atoms to hundreds of times their normal size and creating incredible exotic materials once thought impossible.
The strange matter phase, known as a time crystal, was created by shining a laser on rubidium atoms, causing them to expand into an excited state.
The researchers say that in doing so, they have opened up new avenues of investigation into the properties of mysterious crystals that cycle between two states seemingly without end, moving forever and never losing energy.
The new technology was published in the journal Nature on July 2nd. Natural PhysicsIt could also help scientists build better quantum computers.
“Here we have created a new system that provides a powerful platform for improving our understanding of time crystal phenomena in a way that is very close to Frank Wilczek’s original idea,” said the co-authors. Thomas PaulPhysicist at the University of Vienna It said in a statement.
First proposed by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Wilczek in 2012, time crystals are collections of particles that repeat in time, just as other crystals (such as table salt or diamonds) repeat in space.
Related: Physicists link two time crystals in seemingly impossible experiment
This is interesting to physicists because usually the laws of physics are symmetric across space andIn most cases) creates the same result regardless of time, space and time orientation.
However, crystals break this symmetry and arrange themselves in preferred spatial directions, meaning that even though the laws of physics are symmetric, they will produce different results depending on the direction in which they are acted upon.
Just as crystals break the symmetry of space, time crystals break the symmetry of time: they exist at the lowest energy allowed by quantum mechanics, oscillating between two states without slowing down.
Due to these amazing properties, many have argued that time crystals are perpetual motion machines that violate the second law of thermodynamics. it’s notLaser-driven crystals don’t lose or gain energy, they just go through a series of two-step shuffles when hit by laser light, which means that, like many systems containing just a handful of atoms, the second law doesn’t apply.
Since Wilczek’s proposal, numerous time crystals have been created, each offering a unique window into this strange phase of matter. To create the time crystals, the researchers behind the new study looked at rubidium atoms excited into what is known as the Rydberg state.
Physicists shone a laser beam at a glass container full of rubidium atoms, pumping a huge amount of excess energy into the gas. The laser light excited the electrons in the atoms, causing the space between the nucleus and the outer shell of electrons to expand to hundreds of times its normal size. This caused something very interesting to happen.
“When atoms in a glass container are prepared in these Rydberg states and their diameter becomes enormous, the forces between these atoms also become very large,” Pohl says, “and that in turn changes the way the atoms interact with the laser. If we choose the laser light such that we can excite two different Rydberg states in each atom at the same time, we create a feedback loop that leads to spontaneous oscillations between the two atomic states. This in turn also leads to oscillating light absorption.”
In other words, a time crystal appeared inside the glass box.
“This is actually a static experiment, where no particular rhythm is imposed on the system,” Paul added. “The interaction of light with atoms is always the same, the intensity of the laser beam is constant. But surprisingly, we found that the intensity reaching the other side of the glass cell starts to oscillate in a very regular pattern.”
Now that the researchers have created a new type of time crystal, they plan to continue experimenting with it to test further applications. In addition to being able to create new highly sensitive sensors, the researchers suggest that the crystals could also help scientists better understand quantum synchronization – a phenomenon that allows multiple quantum systems to operate in phase, which could aid in the development of better quantum computers.
