In the online edition of the journal Nature, Boston College physicists report that they have discovered a new particle that is a magnetic relative of the mass- defining Higgs Boson particle.
A decade ago, the discovery of the Higgs Boson made it possible to understand mass. A more complex form of the theory is needed to explain the properties of the axial Higgs mode.
Theories that predicted the existence of such a mode have been used to explain dark matter, the nearly invisible material that makes up most of the universe.
The team focused on rare-earth tritelluride, a well-studied quantum material that can be examined at room temperature in an experiment.
It's not every day that you find a new particle on your table.
The properties ofRTe3 mimic the theory of the axial Higgs Mode. The main challenge in finding the Higgs particles is their weakness to experimental probes. In order to reveal the subtle quantum properties of particles, you have to use a lot of equipment, such as huge magnets and high-powered lasers.
The team reports that it overcame the challenges through the use of scattering of light and proper choice of quantum simulator.
The charge density wave is a state where electrons self-organize with a density that is periodic in space, and was the focus of the research.
He said that the fundamental theory of this wave mimics the standard model of particle physics. The charge density wave is quite special, it emerges far above room temperature and involves both the charge density and the atomic orbits. This allows for the Higgs Boson associated with this charge density wave to have more than one component.
The team used light scattering to show the subtle nature of this mode. The change in color is a result of the light creating the Boson in the material.
The particle could be created with different components, such as one without magnetism, or a component pointing up. They used a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics to exploit it. For a different configuration is added.
The hidden magnetic component and the discovery of the first axial Higgs mode were proved.
It was predicted in high-energy particle physics that the axial Higgs would be found. It hasn't been observed. A new broken symmetry state that had not been predicted was discovered when it appeared in a Condensed Matter System. This was done at room temperature in a table top experiment where we achieved quantum control of the mode by just changing the polarization of light.
The simple and accessible experimental techniques deployed by the team can be applied to other areas.
A lot of the experiments were done by an undergrad in my lab. The approach can be used to apply the quantum properties of many collective phenomena. The study of quantum interference in materials with correlated and/or topological phases can be done at room temperature.
The report was co-authored by Boston College student Grant McNamara and graduate student Yiping Wang. The American Physical Society gave Wang the Best PhD in Magnetism because of her work on the project.
It was important to draw on the expertise of researchers from BC, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Massachusetts, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The power of interdisciplinary efforts in controlling new phenomena is shown by this. It's not every day you get physics, chemistry, physical theory, materials science, and optics in a single work.
More information: Kenneth Burch, Axial Higgs Mode Detected by Quantum Pathway Interference in RTe3, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04746-6. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04746-6 Journal information: Nature
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