Although your desk is composed of distinct, individual atoms from faraway, its surface appears smooth. This simple idea is the basis of all models of the physical universe. It is possible to describe the overall events without getting too involved in the complex interactions between each atom and electron.Many physicists were skeptical when they discovered a new theory state of matter whose microscopic characteristics stubbornly persist at all scales.I was skeptical when I heard about fractons. It completely defied my preconceptions of how systems behave. Nathan Seiberg is a Princeton-based theoretical physicist. I was wrong. I realized I had been living in denial.2011 was a surprise year for physicists when they discovered the theoretical possibility that fractons could exist. These strange states of matter have led physicists to seek new theoretical frameworks that could aid them in solving some of the most difficult problems in fundamental physics.Fractons are quasiparticles particles-like entities created from complex interactions between elementary particles within a material. Fractons, which are quasiparticles particle-like entities, are quite bizarre. They are unable to move in any way or are completely immobile. They can move because there is nothing that prevents them from moving. This means that fractons microscopic structure has an influence on their behavior over long distances.It's quite shocking. It is absolutely shocking, according to Xie Chen at the California Institute of Technology, a condensed matter researcher.Partial ParticlesJeongwan Haah was a Caltech graduate student in 2011. He was looking for stable phases of matter that could be used to create quantum memories at room temperature. He discovered a new theoretical phase through a computer algorithm. This was later called the Haah Code. Because of the quasiparticles it contains, the phase was quickly noticed by other physicists.These particles seemed to be only fractions of other particles and could only move together. Soon, other theoretical phases with similar characteristics were discovered. In 2015, Haah, Sagar Vijay, and Liang Fu created the term "fractons" for these strange quasiparticles. Claudio Chamon, an earlier paper that was not mentioned is now the one who discovered fracton behavior.You can see the extraordinary nature of fracton phases by looking at a simpler particle like an electron moving freely through a substance. One way that physicists have come to understand electron movement is that space is filled with electron-positron pair pairs, which momentarily pop into and out of existence. The positron, the oppositely charged electron antiparticle, appears on top of one such pair and it annihilates. The pair's electrons are then displaced from their original electron. We can't distinguish between the two electrons so all we see is one electron moving.Instead, imagine that antiparticles and pairs of particles cannot arise from the vacuum. However, they can create squares. A square could be formed if one antiparticle is placed on top of the original particle. This would annihilate that corner. The vacuum then creates a second square, which is annihilated by one side of the first square. The second side of the square, which also contains a particle or an antiparticle, is left behind. The resultant movement is that of a particle-antiparticle pair moving sideways in a straight line. This world is an example of a "fracton phase", where a single particle's movement is limited, but a pair can move freely.The Haah code is a more extreme example of this phenomenon: Particles cannot move unless new particles are summoned in endless repeating patterns called "fractals". Imagine four particles in a square. But if you zoom in on each corner, you will find another square with four particles that are very close together. Zoom in again on a corner to find another square. This type of fracton is impossible to move because it requires so much energy to make such a structure materialize in the vacuum. As the environment cannot disrupt qubits fragile state, this allows for very stable qubits that can be stored in the system.It is difficult to describe fractons as a smooth continuum because of their immovability. Particles can move freely so if you wait enough, they'll settle into an equilibrium state, which is defined by bulk properties like temperature and pressure. Particles cease to matter at their initial locations. However, fractons cannot move along specific lines or in combinations with other planes or points. This motion must be described by keeping track of the locations of the fractons. The phases can't shake their microscopic nature or conform to the continuum description.Vijay, a Santa Barbara-based theorist, stated that their resolute microscopic behavior makes fractons difficult to visualize and forces one to consider what is possible. How can we describe these states of matter without a continuous description?Chen said that we are missing a lot of things. They are difficult to define and hard to understand.A New Fracton FrameworkAlthough fractons have not yet been made in the laboratory, that could change. Some crystals with immovable defect have been shown mathematically to be similar to fractons. The theoretical fracton landscape is expanding beyond anyone could have imagined, with new models appearing every month.Brian Skinner, a Ohio State University condensed matter physicist who has developed fracton model, stated that it is likely that someone will accept one of these ideas in the near future.Even though they were not experimentally realized, the mere possibility of fractons alarm bells Seiberg, an expert in quantum field theory (the theoretical framework that almost all physical phenomena are described currently),Quantum field theory describes discrete particles as excitations within continuous fields that extend across time and space. It is the most popular physical theory to be discovered and includes the Standard Model of Particle Physics, an impressively precise equation that governs all elementary particles.This framework does not include fractons. Seiberg said that I believe the framework is incomplete.There are good reasons to believe that quantum field theory may not be complete. For example, it does not account for gravity. Seiberg and others see new possibilities for a quantum gravity theory if they can describe fractons within the framework of quantum field theory.Seiberg said that fragments of discreteness can be dangerous as it could ruin the entire structure we have. It can be a problem or an opportunity, depending on whether you believe it is.His colleagues and he are currently developing new quantum field theories to explain the strange behavior of fractons. They allow some discrete behavior on top a bedrock that is continuous space-time.Quantum field theory can be very fragile so we want to keep the rules as simple as possible. We are on thin ice and trying to reach the other side.
