Alvise Bastianello

Stories

Bethe strings, predicted in 1931, created in ultracold cesium gas

Affiliated with the theory teams in the collaboration

A quantum state predicted in 1931 now exists in a laboratory. Physicists in Innsbruck cooled cesium atoms near absolute zero, squeezed them into thousands of one-dimensional tubes, and watched them bind into clusters called Bethe strings.

Updated Oct 28

Physicists create a strange new quantum state called a fractional Fermi sea

New Capabilities

Provided the theoretical framework for the state

Physicists at the University of Innsbruck created a new quantum state called a fractional Fermi sea: ultracold cesium atoms locked into a highly excited but orderly configuration. The state forms when researchers cycle the atoms between forceful repulsion and attraction, pushing the gas far from equilibrium without letting it fall into disorder.

Updated Oct 19