. 24/7 Space News .
TECH SPACE
Quantum gas turns supersolid
by Staff Writers
Innsbruck, Austria (SPX) Apr 24, 2019

Several tens of thousands of particles spontaneously organize in a self-determined crystalline structure while sharing the same macroscopic wavefunction -- hallmarks of supersolidity.

Supersolidity is a paradoxical state where the matter is both crystallized and superfluid. Predicted 50 years ago, such a counter-intuitive phase, featuring rather antithetic properties, has been long searched in superfluid helium. However, after decades of theoretical and experimental efforts, an unambiguous proof of supersolidity in these systems is still missing.

Two research teams led by Francesca Ferlaino, one at the Institute for Experimental Physics at the University of Innsbruck and one at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences now report on the observation of hallmarks of this exotic state in ultracold atomic gases.

While so far, most work has focused on helium, researchers have recently turned to atomic gases--in particular, those with strong dipolar interactions. The team of Francesca Ferlaino has been investigating quantum gases made of atoms with a strong dipolar character for a long time.

"Recent experiments have revealed that such gases exhibit fundamental similarities with superfluid helium", says Lauriane Chomaz referring to experimental achievements in Innsbruck and in Stuttgart over the last few years.

"These features lay the groundwork for reaching a state where the several tens of thousands of particles of the gas spontaneously organize in a self-determined crystalline structure while sharing the same macroscopic wavefunction - hallmarks of supersolidity."

The researchers in Innsbruck experimentally created states showing these characteristics of supersolidity by tuning the interaction strength between the particles, in both erbium and dysprosium quantum gases.

"While in erbium the supersolid behavior is only transient, in line with recent beautiful experiments in Pisa and in Stuttgart, our dysprosium realization shows an unprecedented stability", says Francesca Ferlaino.

"Here, the supersolid behavior not only lives long but can also be directly achieved via evaporative cooling, starting from a thermal sample."

Like blowing over a cup of tea, the principle here is to remove the particles that carry the most of energies so that the gas becomes cooler and cooler and finally reaches a quantum-degenerate stationary state with supersolid properties at thermal equilibrium.

This offers exciting prospects for near-future experiments and theories as the supersolid state in this setting is little affected by dissipative dynamics or excitations, thus paving the way for probing its excitation spectrum and its superfluid behavior. The work was financially supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the European Union.

Research Report: Long-lived and transient supersolid behaviors in dipolar quantum gases


Related Links
University of Innsbruck
Space Technology News - Applications and Research


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


TECH SPACE
Scientists develop low-cost energy-efficient materials
Moscow, Russia (SPX) Apr 24, 2019
An international team of scientists from the National University of Science and Technology "MISIS" (NUST MISIS), Tianjin University (China), as well as from Japan and the United States has developed new energy-efficient iron-based alloys which combine high mechanical and magnetic properties with low cost and open up new opportunities for industry. The research results are published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds. Today, scientists from different countries are facing the task of creating ne ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

TECH SPACE
RSC Energia developed a one-orbit rendezvous profile

NASA Aids Testing of Boeing Deep Space Habitat Ground Prototype in Alabama

International Space Station suffers partial power loss, no danger to crew

Photobioreactor: oxygen and a source of nutrition for astronauts

TECH SPACE
NASA Says It Lost $700 Million in Failed Rocket Launches Due to Fraud Scheme

SLS Forward Join Set for Horizontal Assembly to Liquid Hydrogen Tank

SpaceX capsule was destroyed in 'anomaly': lawmaker

SpaceX Dragon cargo launch no earlier than May 3

TECH SPACE
ESA to Lose Member State Support if ExoMars Launch Postponed - Director-General

InSight lander captures audio of first likely 'quake' on Mars

All-woman engineering team heads to NASA Mars competition

A small step for China: Mars base for teens opens in desert

TECH SPACE
China's tracking ship Yuanwang-2 starts new mission after retirement

China to build moon station in 'about 10 years'

China to enhance international space cooperation

China opens Chang'e-6 for international payloads, asteroids next

TECH SPACE
Capella Space ramping up production with Blue Canyon Technologies' Attitude Control Systems

Satellite Constellations and Radio Astronomy

Iridium Awarded Gateway Support and Maintenance Contract by the U.S. Department of Defense

The Third Installment of the SpaceFund Reality (SFR) rating

TECH SPACE
Researchers discover surprising quantum effect in hard disk drive material

Flexible circuits for 3D printing

The first laser radio transmitter

Quantum gas turns supersolid

TECH SPACE
Rapid destruction of Earth-like atmospheres by young stars

Cosmic dust reveals new insights on the formation of solar system

Slime mold memorizes foreign substances by absorbing them

Necrophagy: A means of survival in the Dead Sea

TECH SPACE
Next-Generation NASA Instrument Advanced to Study the Atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune

Public Invited to Help Name Solar System's Largest Unnamed World

Europa Clipper High-Gain Antenna Undergoes Testing

Scientists to Conduct Largest-Ever Hubble Survey of the Kuiper Belt









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.