In an exciting scientific breakthrough, researchers have successfully turned light into a "supersolid" for the first time ever. This innovative achievement opens up new possibilities in the field of physics, where light, typically considered a form of energy, has now been transformed into a solid-state material with extraordinary properties.
The experiment, conducted by a team of scientists, has resulted in a novel phase of matter, combining the characteristics of both solids and superfluids. This "supersolid" formed by light could have wide-ranging applications, potentially revolutionising fields like quantum computing, materials science, and energy storage, researchers explained in a paper published March 5 in journal Nature.
"We can imagine the supersolid as a fluid composed of coherent quantum droplets periodically arranged in space, which are able to flow through an obstacle without undergoing perturbations, maintaining their spatial arrangement and mutual distance unchanged as happens in a crystalline solid", says Iacopo Carusotto, co-author of the study and researcher at National Institute of Optics (CNR-INO).
The ability to manipulate light at this level allows researchers to explore new realms of material science and could lead to advancements in how we understand and use energy. While this discovery is still in its early stages, it marks an important milestone in the journey towards understanding the fundamental properties of light and matter.
"This is not simply a photonic analogy of atomic systems, but a fundamentally new approach to achieve supersolidity," explains Dimitrios Trypogeorgos, senior researcher at CNR-Nanotec and coordinator of the study.
"This work not only demonstrates the observation of a supersolid phase in a photonic platform but also opens the way to the exploration of quantum phases of matter in non-equilibrium systems", says Daniele Sanvitto, research director and head of the advanced photonics group at CNR-Nanotec in Lecce, who adds: "This is particularly significant because this approach has the potential to bridge the gap between fundamental science and practical applications."
"Realising this exotic state of condensed matter in a fluid of light flowing in a semiconductor nanostructure will allow us to investigate its physical properties in a new and controlled way and perhaps to be able to exploit its unique characteristics for possible applications to new light-emitting devices," concludes Dario Gerace, co-author and full professor at the University of Pavia.
