A revolutionary technique for creating quantum gases has been developed, making the process significantly faster and more efficient.
Quantum gas, a unique state of matter different from solids, liquids, gases, and plasma, is essential for advancing quantum science and technology.
Researchers at National Taiwan University, led by Associate Professor Shau-Yu Lan, have achieved this breakthrough, which is published in Nature Physics.
What is a quantum gas?
Quantum gases form when atoms are cooled to extremely low temperatures, causing their behavior to follow the strange rules of quantum mechanics.
At these temperatures, the atoms’ de Broglie wavelength—the quantum “size” of their matter waves—becomes larger than the distance between atoms. This transformation turns a normal gas into a quantum gas.
Since the first observation of quantum gases by Nobel Prize winners Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman in 1995, scientists have relied on evaporative cooling to create them.
This method, similar to cooling a hot drink by letting it evaporate, involves gradually removing the hottest atoms.
However, it is inefficient and time-consuming, as it depends on repeated atomic collisions.
The new method eliminates these drawbacks. By using lasers to trap atoms in a three-dimensional optical lattice and applying electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) alongside adiabatic expansion, the researchers rapidly cooled the atoms to form a quantum gas. This process is nearly 100% efficient and roughly 100 times faster than traditional techniques.
This efficiency could open new doors in quantum sensing and quantum computing, as cold atom platforms play a key role in these fields. Faster cooling methods mean experiments and technologies can be developed more quickly and with less waste.
Interestingly, during their experiments, the team observed an explosive phenomenon they called a “bosenova” explosion—a behavior similar to a supernova.
After forming the quantum gas, the atoms rapidly collapsed, collided, and emitted streams of atomic jets, creating a shell-like structure. This discovery could advance research into many-body physics and quantum simulations, where scientists study how particles interact in complex systems.
This breakthrough not only enhances the efficiency of creating quantum gases but also provides new insights into quantum behavior. The technique could pave the way for faster, more precise experiments and practical quantum technologies, shaping the future of quantum science.
