A solid is made of atoms that are, more or less, locked in an ordered structure. A liquid, on the other hand, is made of atoms that can flow freely around and past each other. But imagine atoms that stay unfrozen, like those in a liquid–but which are in a constantly changing magnetic mess.
What you have then is a never-before-seen state of matter, a state of quantum weirdness called a quantum spin liquid. Now, by carefully manipulating atoms, researchers have managed to create this state in the laboratory. The researchers published their work in the journal Science on December 2.
Scientists had been discussing theories about spin liquids for years. “But we were literally interested in that when those theorists, here at Harvard, regardless, figured out a way to generate quantum spin liquids,” says Giulia Semeghini, a physicist and postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, who coordinated the assignment of studies and was one of them. of the authors of the article.
In excessive situations that are not regularly discovered on Earth, the regulations of quantum mechanics can turn atoms into all kinds of exoticism. Take, for example, degenerate matter, discovered in the cores of dead stars like white dwarfs or neutron stars, where excessive pressures convert atoms. in porridge of subatomic particles. Or, on the other hand, the Bose-Einstein condensate, in which several atoms at very low temperatures fuse together to become one (his creation won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001).
The quantum spin liquid is the last access in this bestiary of cryptid states, its atoms do not freeze in some kind of ordered state and are in motion.
[Related: IBM’s quantum chip crosses elusive 100 qubit barrier]
The “spin” in the call refers to an inherent active in the particle, up or down, that provides elevation to the magnetic fields. In a general magnet, all rotations point up or down in an express order. In a quantum spin liquid, on the other hand, there is a third spin in the image, which prevents the formation of coherent magnetic fields.
This, combined with the esoteric regulations of quantum mechanics, means that the spins are in other positions at once. If you only look at a few particles, it’s hard to know if you have a quantum liquid or, if so, what their homes are. .
Quantum spin liquids were first theorized in 1973 through a physicist named Philip W. Anderson, and since then physicists have been looking to get their hands on this question. “Many other experiences. . . they have tried to create and practice this kind of state. But it turned out to be very difficult,” says Mikhail Lukin, a physicist at Harvard University and one of the paper’s authors.
The Harvard researchers had a new tool in their arsenal: what they call a “programmable quantum simulator. “Essentially, it is a device that allows them to play with individual atoms. Using particularly directed laser beams, researchers can combine atoms around two dimensional grids like magnets on a whiteboard.
“We can determine the position of each atom separately,” says Semeghini. “We can place them separately in any shape or shape we want. “
In addition, if they had managed to create a quantum spin liquid, the researchers took advantage of what is called quantum entanglement, energized the atoms, which began to interact: adjustments in the assets of one atom would be reflected in another. By examining those connections, the scientists discovered the confirmation they needed.
All this might seem like creating abstract matter for abstract matter’s sake–but that’s part of the appeal. “We can kind of touch it, poke, play with it, even in some ways talk to this state, manipulate it, and make it do what we want,” says Lukin. “That’s what’s really exciting.”
But scientists who know that quantum spin liquids also have attractive applications. Just venture into the realm of quantum computers.
Quantum computers have the potential to outperform their classical counterparts. Compared to today’s computers, quantum computers can create larger simulations of systems such as molecules and perform safe calculations much faster.
But what scientists use as quantum computer building blocks would possibly leave much to be desired. These blocks, called qubits, are things like individual debris or atomic nuclei, which are sensitive to the slightest noise or temperature fluctuations. stored in the way they are organized, they can also be less whimsical qubits.
If researchers were to show that a quantum spin liquid can be used simply as a qubit, Semeghini says, it could lead to an entirely new type of quantum computer.
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