Quantum breakthrough makes light behave as if it were both solid and liquid

🌟 Quantum breakthrough makes light behave as if it were both solid and liquid

An international team of scientists has succeeded in making an astonishing discovery in the field of quantum matter, where they managed to create a rare state that combines the properties of solid and liquid matter at the same time. This state is known as supersolid, and it represents a condition that combines the ordered structure that characterizes crystals with the smooth flow typical of the special liquid known as superfluidity. Most importantly, this behavior was observed at room temperature, which eliminated the need for the intense cooling that scientists have long used in quantum matter studies.

🔬 What is a Supersolid, and how can matter be both solid and liquid?

In ordinary life, we easily distinguish between solids and liquids. Solids such as crystals are characterized by an orderly arrangement of their particles within a repeating structure, while liquids are defined by flexibility, the ability to flow, and the ability to change shape. But the laws of quantum physics allow for unusual behavior.

One of the most prominent quantum phenomena is superfluidity, in which a liquid loses its internal viscosity, allowing it to flow with almost no resistance. For example, if we move a paddle in such a liquid, we will feel almost no resistance until quantum vortices appear at a certain speed threshold.

In the 1960s, physicists proposed the existence of a unique state that combines the regular properties of solid matter with the ability to flow without viscosity. This state, called supersolid, remained theoretically fascinating for many years until its existence was actually confirmed in 2017 in experiments with Bose-Einstein condensates at temperatures close to absolute zero. However, those experiments required expensive and complex cooling equipment.

💡 Using light instead of cooled atoms to form the Supersolid

The research team overcame these obstacles by turning to a new type of particle called exciton polaritons, hybrid particles that combine the properties of light and matter. These particles form in small optical chambers called microcavities, where light interacts strongly with matter.

Although these particles live for only a very short time, no more than a few picoseconds (one trillionth of a second), they can arrange themselves into a quantum collective state of the Bose-Einstein condensate type, allowing them to exhibit superfluid behavior.

The researchers built a microcavity containing a carefully engineered liquid crystal coated with an organic semiconductor, enabling strong interaction between light and matter without the need for very low temperatures. According to one of the researchers, these devices can operate at temperatures as high as 60 degrees Celsius, which is high compared with the difficult cooling conditions required by conventional experiments.

🔍 Optical patterns reveal the Supersolid

How can we confirm that the system has entered a supersolid state? In this study, a sequence of successive light pulses was observed in an orderly arrangement as bright fringes, indicating that the particle density inside the sample developed periodically and repeatedly, a core feature of crystalline structures.

Notably, with each laser pulse passing through the sample, these optical patterns appeared in different locations instead of remaining fixed, reflecting a phenomenon known as spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this process, the system randomly chooses between several equivalent arrangements.

Another property was also identified, which the researchers called persistent spin helix, and it is related to a periodic gradient in the polarization of the light emitted from the sample, that is, a change in the direction of the light’s oscillating electric field.

As a result, two kinds of order appeared in the system: one in the intensity of the emitted light and the other in its polarization, reflecting an unprecedented level of complexity in controlling this quantum state of matter.

⚙️ Experimental challenges and practical significance

The scientists faced a practical challenge related to chemical factors. The organic component used in the device gradually reacted with the liquid crystal, which meant that the measurement window was limited to only a few hours per sample. Therefore, careful planning of the sequence of experiments and the advance identification of the necessary measurements were required.

The crucial measurements were carried out in IBM laboratories in Zurich, where the thin layers of the organic semiconductor were prepared along with the optical structures developed by the Military University of Technology in Poland. This collaboration made it possible to observe the supersolid phenomenon at normal temperatures for the first time.

📈 The significance of the emergence of quantum matter at room temperature

The importance of the discovery lies in enabling the study of complex quantum phenomena without relying on advanced cooling systems. This technique could open broad horizons for developing devices that use light to process information at extremely high speed.

Possible future applications include:

• Ultra-fast photonic devices
• Advanced computing units based on neuromorphic computing, meaning the imitation of the human brain’s method of processing information.
• Highly sensitive optical sensors thanks to the strong response of the supersolid state to changes in light polarization.

Although these applications are still in the research stage, quantum production at room temperature represents a major step toward making these technologies more practical in the future.

🔌 Electrical control of quantum matter

One of the unique features made possible by this experiment is the ability to tune the device electrically. The use of liquid crystals in microcavities allows the properties of the quantum optical system to be adjusted by applying an external electric voltage.

This flexibility in control was not available in previous experiments, which were unable to easily modify the state of exciton-polariton condensates. This feature allows researchers to explore the properties of quantum matter more broadly, and it also opens the door to designing practical quantum photonic tools whose operation requires precise control over the properties of light and matter.

🧾 Conclusion

With this achievement, a team of scientists from the University of Warsaw, Poland, France, and Switzerland managed to combine the properties of solid and liquid matter within light particles in a supersolid state at unprecedented high temperatures in this field. This study overcame the technical barrier represented by the need for extreme cooling of quantum matter, opening wide horizons for future studies and innovative technological applications in photonic computing and highly sensitive sensors.

Source: Science Advances

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