{"id":849264,"date":"2026-03-25T12:12:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/849264\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T12:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:12:21","slug":"you-can-create-and-control-this-exotic-state-using-light-darpa-funded-scientists-use-lasers-to-create-a-new-exotic-state-of-matter-at-room-temperature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/849264\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cYou Can Create and Control This Exotic State Using Light \u201c: DARPA-Funded Scientists Use Lasers to Create a New Exotic State of Matter at Room Temperature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), with support from the U.S. Army Research Office<\/a>, the National Science Foundation<\/a>, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA<\/a>), and the Office of Naval Research<\/a>, have announced the successful laser<\/a> light-induced creation and manipulation of a new state of matter<\/a> called a supersolid<\/a> at room temperature.<\/p>\n

The research team behind the historic achievement said that demonstrating that a supersolid can be created and controlled without the need for extremely cold temperatures<\/a> by engineering how light<\/a> and matter<\/a> interact inside a nanoscale device overcomes a \u201clong-standing limitation\u201d in the study of such exotic states of matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Exotic State of Matter First Proposed in the 1960s<\/strong><\/p>\n

In nature, solids are defined as objects or materials with an ordered structure. Conversely, fluids are substances that can flow without resistance. Scientists first proposed the concept of a solid that could demonstrate fluid-like flow in the 1960s; however, the concept remained theoretical for decades.<\/p>\n

Recently, researchers have successfully created a state of matter that combines the properties of both materials, called a supersolid. Last year, The Debrief reported on the creation of a supersolid using laser light. Still, the creation of this once purely theoretical state of matter has been achieved only under extreme conditions, including at very low energy states near absolute zero.<\/p>\n

Now, the RPI-led team has achieved this, creating the first stable, room-temperature supersolid using the power of light.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur work shows that you can create and control this exotic state using light,\u201d said<\/a>\u00a0Wei Bao, Ph.D., assistant professor in the\u00a0Department of Materials Science and Engineering\u00a0at RPI and senior author of the study, adding that it happens \u2018at room temperature.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Genuinely Random\u2019 Patterns Confirm Effect is Not Caused Externally<\/strong><\/p>\n

To create a room temperature supersolid, the researchers built a device that combines a high-quality perovskite crystal with a specialized, precisely patterned nanostructure. According to a statement detailing the breakthrough, the nanostructure\u2019s shape is designed to trap and shape light. Wei Li, a senior Ph.D. student in Bao\u2019s lab and co-lead author of the study detailing the achievement, said the fabrication of the light-trapping nanostructure was carefully controlled to \u201censure the device could reliably confine light and behave as designed.\u201d<\/p>\n

After fabricating the nanostructure, the team exposed it to laser light. According to Bao and colleagues, this process produces hybrid particles called polaritons, which are \u201cpart light and part matter.\u201d When these particles are coaxed into behaving collectively, they can form a coherent quantum \u2018fluid.\u2019<\/p>\n

As previously noted, such exotic states typically occur at low-energy states. However, when a condensed polariton fluid receives more energy, it begins to transform. According to the RPI team, instead of remaining uniform, the newly energized quantum fluid \u201cspontaneously reorganizes into a striped pattern,\u201d similar to a crystal.<\/p>\n

Notably, this exotic matter maintains quantum coherence across the entire system. Bao said this dual nature is the \u201cdefining feature\u201d of a supersolid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system is both ordered and coherent at the same time,\u201d the researcher explained.<\/p>\n

When the team performed several experiments by increasing the energy input into their quantum fluid, they observed the exotic state of matter through the striped pattern. However, the team was surprised to find that the effect varied across experiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach time we repeat the experiment, the system chooses a slightly different configuration,\u201d Bao explained.<\/p>\n

According to the researcher, this randomness confirmed that the pattern was forming spontaneously rather than being \u2018imposed\u2019 by an outside force. Yilin Meng, a Ph.D. student in Bao\u2019s group and a co-lead author, said a follow-up effort that included synchronizing the laser pulses with single-shot real-space imaging confirmed that the variations are \u201cgenuinely random and directly visualize different phase selections from run to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting that our optical measurements let us observe this distinctive phase transition simultaneously in the emission spectrum and in real space,\u201d Meng said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Just the Beginning\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

When discussing the scientific implications of the achievement, the RPI team highlighted the benefits of studying quantum phenomena, such as their laser-generated supersolid, under \u201cmore practical conditions\u201d than in earlier, highly complex experimental setups.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis gives us a new way to study how complex quantum order emerges in nonequilibrium driven systems,\u201d Bao explained. \u201cIt brings phenomena that were once limited to specialized laboratories into a more accessible and controllable setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond basic science, the team said their experimental achievement could have practical applications in photonics, optical computing, information processing, and other quantum-based technologies. They also suggest that this particular exotic state of matter involves multiple modes of light emission, which could support research into improved, potentially tunable lasers.<\/p>\n

When discussing the versatility of their setup, Professor Bao\u2019s team noted that it can be extended to create more complex geometries. If successful, such customized shapes could enable the study of \u2018richer\u2019 quantum behaviors, \u201cincluding vortex dynamics and other collective phenomena.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have a platform where we can not only observe these exotic states but also design and control them,\u201d the professor explained. \u201cThat opens up many exciting directions for both fundamental science and future technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d Bao added.<\/p>\n

The study \u201cHybrid perovskite\u2013nanograting photonic architecture enables supersolidity at room temperature<\/a>\u201d was published in Nature Nanotechnology.<\/p>\n

Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on <\/strong>X<\/strong><\/a>, learn about his books at <\/strong>plainfiction.com<\/strong><\/a>, or email him directly at <\/strong>christopher@thedebrief.org<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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