American scientists have managed to create synthetic dimensions by exciting giant atoms with a laser that represent a new state of matter. They mimic the quantum interactions that occur when electrons fluctuate beyond classical dimensions.
Researchers at Rice University in Texas have created what they call “synthetic dimensions” in which they can observe the reactions of electrons fluctuating beyond classical physical dimensions.
This research could be useful in better understanding the quantum mechanisms at work in larger experiments or systems, the scientists note in a release.
While our daily lives go on in three boring dimensions (width, depth, and height), scientists are exploring systems that can reach additional “synthetic dimensions” to explore the world beyond classical dimensions.
To achieve this, they have learned to control the electrons in giant Rydberg atoms so precisely that they can create “synthetic dimensions” capable of replacing extra spatial dimensions and powering quantum research.
giant atom
A Rydberg state occurs when an electron inside an atom is energetically raised to a highly excited state, increasing its orbit to make the atom thousands of times larger than normal. This creates a “giant atom & rdquor ;, full of ordinary atoms.
Rydberg atoms represent a new state of matter that was verified in 2018 by scientists from the Technical University (TU) Vienna, Harvard University and Rice University, as reported then in a Article published in Physical Review Letters.
In the new research, building on this earlier one, the Rice team applied a technique to create the Rydberg states of ultracold strontium atoms by applying resonant microwave electric fields, which allowed them to couple many states, or dimensions, of those atoms.
The researchers applied microwaves to couple adjacent energy levels and control how electrons from ultracold strontium atoms cross slow and fast barriers and create the synthetic dimensions.
using lasers
The ultracold Rydberg atoms are a millionth of a degree above absolute zero. Through precise and flexible manipulation of electron motion, the researchers coupled Rydberg levels in a lattice-like fashion that simulate aspects of real materials.
The technique makes it possible to realize systems that cannot be achieved in real three-dimensional space, and sheds light on a powerful new platform for quantum research: synthetic dimensions.
Rydberg atoms possess many regularly spaced quantum energy levels, which can be coupled by microwaves that allow the highly excited electron to move from one level to another, from one dimension to another, using lasers.
The dynamics in this “synthetic dimension” are mathematically equivalent to a particle moving between lattice sites in a real crystal, the researchers note.
Parallel dimension
They add that, in this artificial process, each level can be considered as a location in space, as a synthetic dimension parallel to the ordinary dimensions. The scientists managed to make the particles move between six levels or synthetic dimensions.
Using different wavelengths of light, the researchers explain, levels can be coupled together and make synthetic dimensions look like particles that simply move between locations in space.
That means you can shape the way those particles move and capture all the important physics of a much more complicated system, like the one made up of synthetic dimensions sprung from Rydberg atoms.
But the researchers plan to go much further: They want to put together several Rydberg atoms to create particles that interact in these synthetic dimensions, which will allow them to do physics that cannot be simulated on a classical computer.
Practical applications
This development has a not insignificant peculiarity: the waves used to form the “network & rdquor; The one-dimensional wave from which the synthetic dimensions arise are millimeter waves, that is, radio waves spanning frequencies from 30 to 300 GHz. They have propagation properties, which means they are widely usable, for example, in telecommunications.
In addition, this result can enhance the use of quantum simulators, consisting of a controllable quantum system that is used to simulate or emulate other quantum systems. In this way, they are capable of solving complex problems that are inaccessible to classical computers, thanks to the explorations that synthetic dimensions allow.
Reference
Realizing topological edge states with Rydberg-atom synthetic dimensions. S.K. Kanungo et al. Nature Communications, Volume 13, Article number: 972 (2022). DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28550-y