Science for All | What is the chiral bose-liquid state?

Source: The post is based on the article “Science for All | What is the chiral bose-liquid state?” published in The Hindu on 23rd June 2023

What is the News?

Recent research has suggested that the chiral Bose-liquid state could be a completely new form of matter.

Background

Normally we encounter three types of matter—solid, liquid, and gas.

But when we move beyond the realm of daily life, we see quantum states of matter such as Bose-Einstein condensate.

These are observed when we go to low temperatures near absolute zero or on atomic and subatomic scales, where particles can have very low energies. 

Scientists are now claiming that they have found a new phase of matter called the chiral Bose-liquid state.This was discovered in a frustrated quantum system. 

What is a Frustrated Quantum system? 

In quantum systems, there are billions of particles and billions of parameters governing their interactions.This means that not all quantum systems can be well-described and understood.

Some physical systems have competing interactions between particles or components that prevent the system from achieving its lowest energy state. This leads to a state of frustration, where the system cannot fully optimize its energy or configuration due to conflicting influences.

In these systems, the arrangement and behavior of particles or spins become highly complex and can give rise to emergent phenomena and novel states of matter.

How was the chiral bose-liquid state formed?

Researchers developed a bi-layer semiconducting device.The top layer is electron-rich, and these electrons can move freely.The bottom layer is filled with “holes,” or places that a roving electron can occupy.

Then the two layers are brought extremely close together. The machine is then triggered to create a local imbalance resulting in electrons not having enough holes to fill and this kicks off the novel state called the chiral Bose-liquid state.

In this state, electrons can be frozen into predictable patterns, making them resilient to changes in spin (a defining characteristic of subatomic particles) and even have electrons synchronize their movements.

It is very difficult to create such states of matter but going ahead may be used to fashion novel digital encryption systems.