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The fifth state of matter\u2014the ultracold Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC)\u2014has been an invaluable tool in unlocking the secrets of quantum physics.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Now, scientists from Columbia University have created a molecular sodium-cesium BEC that\u2019s dipolar, which opens the door for dozens of exotic matter applications.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
To achieve this breakthrough, the research team leveraged two microwave fields to create the BEC, which lasts a full two seconds (a pretty long time in quantum physics research).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In the mid-1920s, two absolute giants in the world of physics, Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein<\/a>, theorized the existence of a strange quantum state of matter<\/a> that\u2019d eventually be named in their honor: the Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The 20th century luminaries figured that if particles were cooled to ultracold temperatures\u2014mere fractions of degrees away from absolute zero (-459.67 \u00b0F)\u2014and kept at low densities, they\u2019d form an indistinguishable whole.<\/p>\n Fast-forward some 70 years later, scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder<\/a> proved Einstein and Bose correct. Since then, BECs have been a vital tool for exploring the quantum properties of atoms<\/a>, and a series of advancements\u2014whether getting the particles even cooler or getting them to form diatomic molecules\u2014have made them more and more useful in the search for the underlying physics that governs the universe.<\/p>\n Now, physicists from Columbia University\u2014in collaboration with Radboud University in the Netherlands\u2014have taken the next step of this century-long BEC journey by creating a sodium-cesium condensate that\u2019s only five nanoKelvin above absolute zero<\/a>. While that\u2019s an impressively cold temperature, the most important part of this impressive piece of experimental physics is that the resulting BEC is dipolar, meaning it has both a positive and a negative charge.<\/p>\n The team utilized a previously peer-reviewed technique<\/a> that uses microwaves to cross \u201cthe BEC threshold,\u201d according to a press statement. The results of this study were published in the journal Nature<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBy controlling these dipolar interactions, we hope to create new quantum<\/a> states and phases of matter,\u201d Columbia postdoc Ian Stevenson, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement.<\/p>\n Microwaves are usually associated with heating things up, but study collaborator Tijs Karman from Radboud University suggested that microwaves can act like shields and essentially protect molecules<\/a> from lossy collisions while hot molecules are removed from a sample, which has an overall cooling effect. The team tried the microwave technique in 2023, but this new study added a second microwave field that proved more effective at creating the desired BEC.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really have a good idea of the interactions in this system, which is also critical for the next steps, like exploring dipolar many-body physics,\u201d Karman, who was also a co-author of the study, said in a press statement. \u201cWe\u2019ve come up with schemes to control interactions, tested these in theory, and implemented them in the experiment. It\u2019s been really an amazing experience to see these ideas for microwave<\/a> \u2018shielding\u2019 being realized in the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n The creation of this dipolar BEC opens the door to the creation of many other forms of exotic matter, such as \u201cexotic dipolar droplets, self-organized crystal<\/a> phases, and dipolar spin liquids in optical lattices,\u201d according to the paper. But those are only a few of the dozens of possible applications that this new BEC could help realize. Because this experiment enables precise control over quantum interactions\u2014according to Jun Ye, an ultracold scientist at UC-Boulder\u2014the impacts on quantum chemistry could also be pretty profound.<\/p>\n