{"606647":{"#nid":"606647","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Spooky Quantum Particle Pairs Fly Like Weird Curveballs","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECurvy baseball pitches have surprising things in common with quantum particles described in a \u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/journals.aps.org\/pra\/abstract\/10.1103\/PhysRevA.97.053601\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Enew physics study\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E, though the latter fly much more weirdly.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, ultracold paired particles called \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/simple.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fermion\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Efermions\u003C\/a\u003E must behave even weirder than physicists previously thought, according to theoretical physicists from the Georgia Institute of Technology, who mathematically studied their flight patterns. The researchers even predicted that the particles can\u0026nbsp;act like different quantum balls called bosons to mimic the manner that photons, or particles of light, fly.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAlready, flying quantum particles were renowned for their weirdness. To understand why, start with\u0026nbsp;similarities to a baseball then add significant differences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA pitcher imparts spin, momentum, and energy to a baseball when throwing a curveball, a change-up, or a slider. Fermions\u0026rsquo; funny flights are likewise carved by spins, momenta, and energies, but also by powerful quantum eccentricities like entanglement, which Albert Einstein once called \u0026ldquo;spooky action at a distance\u0026rdquo; between quantum particles.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA simplified explanation of these ultracold paired particles and their odd flights is below.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELight-matter modeling\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThose influences all combine\u0026nbsp;to give fermions a trajectory repertoire much odder than that of any master baseball pitcher, and the new study maps it out and opens new ways to observe it experimentally. The Georgia Tech team took the offbeat approach of adding quantum optical -- or light-like \u0026ndash; ideas to their predictive calculations of these specks of matter and arrived at eyebrow-raising, insightful results.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The particle behavior we predicted is just schizophrenic,\u0026rdquo; said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/uzi-landman\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EUzi Landman, Regents\u0026rsquo; and Institute Professor and F.E. Callaway Endowed Chair\u003C\/a\u003E in Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s School of Physics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMathematical and theoretical details can be found in the study\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/journals.aps.org\/pra\/abstract\/10.1103\/PhysRevA.97.053601\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ein the journal\u003Cem\u003E Physical Review A\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;which Landman, first author Benedikt Brandt, who is a graduate research assistant, and senior scientist Constantine Yannouleas published on May 4, 2018. Their research was \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/news\/463871\/entering-strange-world-ultra-cold-chemistry\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Efunded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFlying fermions explained\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETracing quantum curveballs is counterintuitive by nature with concepts like\u0026nbsp;fermions, bosons, spins, spooky entanglement, and particle-wave duality. So, let\u0026rsquo;s go step-by-step to understand them and\u0026nbsp;the study\u0026rsquo;s insights.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThis\u0026nbsp;ballgame revolves around fermion pairs. Fermions can be subatomic particles or whole atoms. In this case, the physicists modeled using atoms.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe term fermion refers to quantum-statistical\u0026nbsp;properties that the particle has as opposed the properties of\u0026nbsp;its counterpart particle called a boson, in particular, the particle\u0026rsquo;s spin, which is called half-integer for fermions and full-integer for bosons. (These spins aren\u0026rsquo;t exactly like those on a ball. For more, see: \u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.dummies.com\/education\/science\/quantum-physics\/fermions-and-bosons\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFermions and Bosons for Dummies\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E.)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Photons and Higgs bosons are examples of bosons,\u0026quot; Landman said. \u0026quot;Bosons are gregarious: Two or more bosons can share the exact same space. This allows many of them to be superimposed onto each other on the same tiny spot.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;Fermions, on the other hand, are standoffish. They lay\u0026nbsp;claim to their own space, and don\u0026#39;t share it with other particles. Fermions can be stacked upon each other but do not occupy the same space.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EElectrons, protons, neutrons, and many atoms are common examples of fermions.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELaser-tweezing baseballs\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe theoretical study envisions two fermionic atoms starting out carefully held next to each other by two pairs of \u0026ldquo;tweezers\u0026rdquo; made of intersecting laser beams, as is\u0026nbsp;actually done in applicable physics experiments. In the study\u0026#39;s theoretical setup, lasers and special magnetic fields would also be used to slow the fermions to a near halt, making them \u0026ldquo;ultracold\u0026rdquo; at 0.000000001 degrees Kelvin, or -273.15 degrees Celsius (-459.67 degrees Fahrenheit).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThat\u0026rsquo;s a sliver above absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature in the universe, and particles that cold do strange things.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A particle\u0026rsquo;s motion is usually frantic, but the cooling slows it down almost to a stand-still,\u0026rdquo; said Landman, who is also director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/projects\/ihpcl\/people\/projects\/cms.html\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Center for Computational Materials Science\u003C\/a\u003E. \u0026ldquo;And these particles also have wave properties, and at that temperature, the wavelength grows enormously long.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The waves become microns in size. That would be like a pebble growing to be a third of the size of this country. When that happens, the atom actually becomes visible under an optical microscope.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe inflated size makes it easier for researchers to know the two particles\u0026rsquo; starting locations. When they turn the laser tweezers off, the fermions fly away. The particles\u0026rsquo; wave properties also have a lot to do with their weird flights.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A particle in motion will act as a projectile under certain circumstances. But in others, it will behave like a wave,\u0026rdquo; Landman said. \u0026ldquo;We call it the quantum world duality.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETogether or apart\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;If you set up two detectors at different positions but the same distance from the particle pair, how often the two fly into the same detector or how often they fly into separate ones says a lot about those particles,\u0026rdquo; Landman said. \u0026ldquo;And that\u0026rsquo;s where our weird findings come in.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFermions are expected to fly differently from\u0026nbsp;bosons, but the theoretical physicists\u0026rsquo; study on fermions revises this idea. Depending on the degree of quantum entanglement between the two fermions before they\u0026rsquo;re released and depending on their energy level, they can act like fermions \u003Cem\u003Eor \u003C\/em\u003Eact like bosons.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This adds new weirdness to the already established schizophrenic particle-wave duality,\u0026rdquo; Landman said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A pair of photons (which are bosons) fly to the same place. They stay as a pair,\u0026rdquo; Landman said. \u0026ldquo;They\u0026rsquo;re social animals, and you find them either both in the one detector or both in the other. We call this phenomenon \u0026lsquo;bunching.\u0026rsquo;\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWeirdo flight paths\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFermions are often expected to do the opposite, referred to as anti-bunching, but according to the study, how they fly depends on whether or not they have spooky interaction and, if so, whether the interaction is attractive or repulsive.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;If they\u0026rsquo;re interacting, and depending on the starting energy level, we predict that they may do strange things when they fly,\u0026rdquo; Landman said. \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s new.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;At the base energy level, called ground state, our two fermions that interact with ultra-strong repulsion behave fermionically, meaning they avoid each other. Now, if they interact with strong attraction, they aggregate the way bosons do,\u0026rdquo; Landman said. \u0026ldquo;So far, all as expected.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut bumping up the trapped particles\u0026rsquo; level of energy, or excitation, via an additional laser or a magnetic field, would appear to heighten the particles\u0026rsquo; weirdness. The excitation levels can twist the rules of what interactions do to a fermion\u0026rsquo;s flight, according to the theoretical study.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor example, the above mentioned fermionic behavior usually connected with strong repulsive interaction could turn bosonic, according to the physicists\u0026rsquo; calculations. In other words, the two particles would fly to the same detector the way bosons do.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOrderly quantum schizophrenia\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;As crazy as all this looks, there appears to be strong reliability in these behaviors that could even be predictably and practically manipulated,\u0026rdquo; Landman said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs with a pitcher who finesses a screwball\u0026rsquo;s path,\u0026nbsp;physicists could determine a fermion\u0026rsquo;s weird flight using\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mathematical_formulation_of_quantum_mechanics\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Equantum mechanical formulation\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;advanced computational simulation, and experimentation, the study said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It looks like you may even be able to engineer what this quantum weirdness does,\u0026rdquo; Landman said. \u0026quot;If you know particle states reliably, you may be able to use them as a resource for quantum computations and information storage and retrieval.\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELike this article?\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/subscribe\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGet our email newsletter here.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (award # FA9550-418 15-1-0519). Findings and opinions are those of the authors and not necessarily of the sponsoring agency. Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s Brice Zimmerman contributed baseball background to this report.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter \u0026amp;\u0026nbsp;Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: Ben Brumfield (404-660-1408)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEmail:\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EKnow those particles that can be in two places at the same time and are not just particles but also waves? They appear to move in\u0026nbsp;even weirder ways than previously thought. Theoretical physicists at Georgia Tech applied a week\u0026#39;s worth of extreme computing power to\u0026nbsp;predict the movements of fermions by including quantum optics, or light-like, ideas in their mathematical, theoretical modeling of how these specks of ultracold\u0026nbsp;matter take flight.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"It\u0027s well-known that quantum particles are just plain weird, but some now appear much weirder than previously thought."}],"uid":"31759","created_gmt":"2018-05-31 17:28:53","changed_gmt":"2018-06-26 15:17:33","author":"Ben Brumfield","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2018-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"606646":{"id":"606646","type":"image","title":"NASA ultracold matter experiment on the ISS","body":null,"created":"1527786758","gmt_created":"2018-05-31 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