Physicists create one-dimensional gas out of light, achieving bizarre quantum state
Physicists created a 1D quantum gas by confining light in microscopically small gutters using a dye solution and laser, revealing exotic quantum behaviors.
Researchers from the University of Bonn and RPTU successfully created a one-dimensional photon gas by confining and cooling light particles in a narrow space. This was achieved by filling a tiny container with a dye solution and stimulating it with a laser, causing photons to ricochet between reflective walls and condense into a photon gas.
By applying a transparent polymer to the reflective surfaces, they created microscopically small protrusions that acted like gutters for the light, allowing the dimensionality of the photonic matter to be fine-tuned. The narrower the gutter, the more one-dimensional the gas became, revealing new and exotic quantum behaviors.
The researchers observed that the phase transitions in one-dimensional photon gases differed significantly from those in traditional 2D photon gases due to increased thermal fluctuations. These fluctuations caused unusual phase behaviors, offering novel insights into quantum optical effects and paving the way for future exploration of phenomena across different dimensionalities.