A quantum prediction from 1931 just came to life
Nearly a century after physicist Hans Bethe predicted them, scientists have created and directly observed unusual quantum states known as “Bethe strings” in an ultracold gas.
Nearly a century after physicist Hans Bethe predicted them, scientists have created and directly observed unusual quantum states known as “Bethe strings” in an ultracold gas.
The short version
- By cooling cesium atoms to near absolute zero and trapping them in thousands of tiny one-dimensional tubes, researchers were able to make groups of atoms bind together without ordinary chemical bonds.
- These strange clusters could contain six or more particles and even collide with one another without falling apart.
- Nearly a century after Nobel laureate Hans Bethe predicted their existence, scientists have created and observed unusual quantum structures known as "Bethe strings" using ultracold atoms.
What happened
The experiment, led by quantum physicist Hanns-Christoph Nägerl, provides researchers with a highly controllable way to explore these unusual quantum many-body states. In 1931, physicist Hans Bethe proposed that particles in certain quantum systems restricted to one dimension could join together into collective states now called Bethe strings.
Why it matters
These structures differ fundamentally from familiar molecules.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at ScienceDaily — Top Science via the links above and below.