Scientists have achieved a new milestone by creating supersolid light – a state combining properties of solids and superfluids – led by Italian physicists Antonio Gianfrate and Davide Nigro, to alter quantum mechanics and advanced quantum technologies.
Using a photonic semiconductor platform made of aluminum gallium arsenide, the team fired laser light to induce a Bose-Einstein condensate supersolide state. The achievement of light as a supersolid will improve our understanding of quantum phases of matter and opens new possibilities for developing advanced quantum-based applications.
What Is a Supersolid?
Supersolid state of matter is a unique phase with an ordered structure like a solid but flows without friction, akin to a superfluid. Until now, it was only observed in ultra-cold Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) – which form when atom gases are cooled near absolute zero.
Supersolid light is newly generated, introducing a new area of research in the study of quantum states. Supersolid light demonstrates that light is able to exhibit quantum phases of matter observed previously only in atomic systems.
The team, including physicist Antonio Gianfate from CNR Nanotec and Davide Nigro from the University of Pavia, achieved the supersolid light breakthrough by using a photonic semiconductor platform made of aluminum gallium arsenide.
To create the supersolid state of matter, researchers directed laser light onto the semiconductor platform, where photons could occupy one of three equal-energy quantum states with different wavenumbers. Initially incoherent, the photons reached a critical density, condensing into a quantum phase of matter and forming a Bose-Einstein condensate supersolid.
When additional photons are added, they transfer from the center “lowest energy” state to next states, forming “satellite condensates” of equal energy but wavenumbers of opposite sign.
“These photons form satellite condensates that have opposite nonzero wavenumbers but the same energy (they are isoenergetic),” explained the researchers. The redistribution grants a supersolid light state with spatial density modulation in the photon system.
Supersolid Light and Quantum States
Giafante and Nigro liken the supersolid state of matter to a crowded theater. Picture three empty front-row chairs: one center and two on the sides. The center chair represents the lowest-energy quantum state, and when more photons are added, they spread from the center chair to close ones, forming a supersolid light as they fill out the system.
This resemblance helps one to comprehend how quantum systems, with their strange behavior, can become a supersolid light state, providing important insight into the physics of exotic materials and quantum states of matter.
With the invention of supersolid light, scientists have further extended the boundaries of quantum physics, paving the way for new opportunities to study and control matter at its most fundamental level. The discovery is an important step toward realizing the potential of quantum states, with interesting prospects for future innovations.
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