It's not easy to get atoms to do what you want.
The creation and controlling of new forms of matter is an active area of research.
A brand new method of sculpting ultracold atoms into different shapes using laser light has been discovered.
Ultracold atoms allow researchers to see and explore physical phenomena that wouldn't otherwise be possible.
Bose–Einstein condensates are formed when groups of atoms form a new state of matter. Physicists were awarded a prize for their work.
The atoms of a BEC are very different from what we're used to. They all have the same energy and are coordinated with each other.
The difference between light particles coming from the Sun and those in laser beams is the same as the difference between light particles coming from the Sun and those in laser beams.
In this new state of matter, the atoms are more like a single wave than a group of particles.
Researchers have been able to show wave-like interference between two different BECs. The latter is similar to a laser beam.
We investigated the use of specially shaped laser beams to manipulate ultracold atoms of a BEC.
The idea of using light to move objects has been around for a long time. The idea of solar sails is based on the idea that the force of sunlight on large mirrors can be used to propel a spaceship.
In this study, we used a particular type of light that is capable of not just pushing the atoms, but also rotating them around.
The laser beams look like bright rings or doughnuts and they have a twisted wavefront.
When twisted light is shone on to a moving BEC the atoms in it are first attracted to the bright ring before being moved around it.
Light and atoms start to form droplets which move away from the ring as the atoms are rotating.
The number of droplets is greater than the number of light twists. By changing the number of twists in the initial laser beam, we were able to control the number of droplets that formed and the speed of their rotation.
We could prevent the atomic droplets from leaving the ring so that they continued to stay in the ring for a long time.
Through shining twisted light through ultracold atoms, a new and simple way of controlling and sculpting matter into further unconventional and complex shapes can be found.
The generation of atomtronic circuits, where matter waves of ultracold atoms are guided and manipulated by optical and/or magnetic fields to form advanced equivalents of electronic circuits, is one of the most exciting potential applications of BECs.
The creation of atomtronic circuits will be aided by being able to reliably manipulate a BEC's shape.
The potential to provide far superior devices than conventional electronics can be achieved by our ultracold atoms.
Neutral atoms result in less information loss than electrons. The device's features can be changed more easily.
Our method allows for the creation of complex atomtronic circuits that would be impossible with normal materials.
It could help design quantum sensors that can measure tiny magnetic fields.
In areas such as basic physics research, measuring signals from the brain and discovering new materials would be possible with such sensors.
Grant Henderson is a PhD candidate in physics at the University of Glasgow.
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