Scientists ‘Freeze’ Light to Create a Supersolid State

Researchers have achieved an unprecedented feat: transforming light into a supersolid. This groundbreaking work potentially revolutionizes fields like quantum computing and energy transport, promising lossless optical systems.

Frozen Light’s Unusual State

A team from Italy’s University of Pavia and CNR Nanotec has successfully manipulated photons within a meticulously controlled, ultra-cold environment. This experiment effectively converted light into a supersolid, enabling it to flow with practically zero viscosity. The findings were published in the journal Nature.

What Makes a Supersolid?

A supersolid is an exotic phase of matter. It has a crystalline structure, yet it also moves like a frictionless fluid. This peculiar state combines the organized arrangement of a solid with the smooth flow of a superfluid. Physicists first theorized supersolids in the 1960s, and they were first created in a lab in 2017.

“Exact quotation with Person Name bolded.”

—Person Name, Title

The study involved manipulating polaritons, hybrid particles behaving as light and matter. They used a semiconductor platform to create a periodic pattern, trapping the polaritons. The team employed a pulsed laser, maintaining a dense polariton condensate at –269º C. The global market for quantum computing is forecast to reach $125 billion by 2030 (Fortune Business Insights, 2024).

How It Works

When the laser light entered the semiconductor, polaritons formed and were confined by the grating. The polaritons settled into a hybrid light-matter wave pattern, resulting in a crystal-like structure. This condition allowed the polaritons to organize themselves in specific ways. The polaritons then acted like a supersolid.

‘Quantum Theatre’

In a Nature briefing, researchers described this phenomenon as “quantum theatre.” Imagine an auditorium with three seats left, all in the first row. Everyone wants the center seat, but only one person can occupy it. In a “quantum theatre,” force-carrying particles, or bosons, can occupy that same seat simultaneously. When this occurs, a Bose-Einstein condensate is formed.

Potential Applications

The experiment confirmed that light can exhibit certain states of matter under specific conditions. This advancement could render photonic supersolids more accessible for experimentation. Potential applications include lossless energy transport and optical computing components.