Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have observed and captured images of rare “edge states” in supercooled atoms. Using these results, they can learn to access and use electronic edge states in different materials. These breakthroughs in the field of quantum physics could lead to the discovery of unlimited energy sources.
An “edge state” of electrons is a special state where the electrons move along the boundaries or edges of certain materials, rather than through the center.
“In this rare ‘edge,’ state, electrons can flow without friction, bouncing effortlessly around obstacles while adhering to a rotationally oriented flow,” the study authors note.
Such frictionless movement of electrons could enable the transfer of data and energy across devices without any conduction loss, leading to the development of more efficient electronic circuits and quantum computers.
Capturing the edge state in electrons is not easy
In 1980, a German physicist named Klaus von Klitzing proposed that in certain 2D materials at very low temperatures and under strong magnetic fields, electric current flows along the edges in a quantized manner. This phenomenon is called the quantum hall effect.
It is closely related to the electron edge state because, in materials that exhibit the quantum hall effect, the electrons in the interior are trapped and cannot conduct electricity. However, they begin to move in a straight line along the edge of the material, creating an edge condition.
In the “edge state,” electrons do not scatter and continue to cross the material boundary even if there is an obstacle in their path. This smooth and steady flow of electrons in edge states produces the hall currents responsible for the quantum hall effect.
However, it is difficult for scientists to observe the state of the electron edge because it occurs in a fraction of time.
“Actually seeing them is a unique thing because these states occur in femtoseconds, and fractions of a nanometer, which is very difficult to capture,” Richard Fletcher, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor of physics at MIT, said. .
So, does that mean there is no way to observe and use the power of extreme states? Well, the researchers were clever enough to find an interesting solution to this problem.
Instead of trying to capture the edge state of an electron, they focused on atoms and performed experiments that allowed them to observe the “edge state” on a larger scale.
How atoms can exhibit similar behavior
The authors of the study hypothesized that if electrons in other materials can enter the edge state, possibly atoms can also do the same. Therefore, they decided to study atoms under such conditions that lead to edge conditions in electrons.
They trapped one million sodium atoms using controlled lasers and cooled them down to near-zero temperatures. Then, they made the laser trap spin the atoms around, similar to how people spin in the Gravitron ride.
“The trap is trying to pull the atoms in, but there’s a centrifugal force that’s trying to pull them out. These two forces balance each other, so if you’re an atom, you think you’re living in a flat space, even though your universe is spinning,” Fletcher explained.
“There is also a third force, the Coriolis effect, that if they try to move in a line, they are deflected. So these large atoms are now acting as if they were electrons living in a magnetic field.
The researchers then used another ring-shaped laser beam to create a circular rim around the rotating atoms. Surprisingly, the atoms began to flow along the edge in a line, exhibiting edge states similar to what is believed to exist in the case of electrons.
“There is no friction. There is no slowing down, and no atoms leak or scatter into the rest of the system. There is only a smooth, coherent flow, “Martin Zwierlein, one of the researchers and professor of physics at MIT, said. The researchers also introduced several obstacles but they could not slow down or disrupt the movement of atoms.
They were able to observe this state of the atomic edge for a few milliseconds and also take pictures. In future experiments, they plan to test this extreme mode against more obstacles.
We hope that these results will contribute to the development of more efficient data and energy transfer methods in the future.
The research has been published in the journal Natural Physics.
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