For the first time, scientists observed solo atoms floating freely and interacting in space. Discovery helps to confirm some of the most fundamental principles of quantum mechanics This was planned for the first time over a century ago but has never been directly checked.
Individual atoms are notoriously difficult to observe because of their quantum nature. Researchers cannot, for example, know both the position of an atom and its speed at the same time, due to quantum strangeness. But using certain laser techniques, they captured Images of atom clouds.
“It’s like seeing a cloud in the sky, but not the individual water molecules that make up the cloud,” Martin ZwierleinA physicist at the MIT and co-author of the new research, said in a statement.
The new method goes further, allowing scientists to capture images of “outdoor” atoms in free space. First, Zwierlein and his colleagues covered a cloud of sodium atoms in a loose trap at ultracold temperatures. Then they pulled a network of laser light through the cloud to temporarily freeze the atoms in place. A second fluorescent laser then lit up the positions of individual atoms.
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The atoms observed belong to a group called Bosons. These particles share the same quantum mechanical state and, therefore, behave like a wave, grouping together. This concept was the first proposed by the French physicist Louis de Broglie In 1924 and later became known as a “broglie wave”.
Indeed, the Zwierlein bosons and his team observed a behavior of waves from Broglie. The researchers also captured images of lithium farmions – a type of particle that repels similar particles rather than grouping together.
The results were published on May 5 in the journal Physical examination letters. Two other groups said they used a similar technique for observing pairs of bosons and fermions in the same issue of the review.
“We are able to see unique atoms in these interesting clouds of atoms and what they do with each other, which is beautiful,” said Zwierlein.
In the future, the team plans to use the new technique – called “microscopy resolved to atom” – to study other quantum mechanical phenomena. For example, they can use it to try to observe “the effect of the quantum room”, in which the electrons synchronize under the influence of a strong magnetic field.