A Quantum of Solid

Scientists from Vienna, Kahan Dare ( left ) and Manuel Reisenbauer ( right ) working on the experiment that cooled a levitated nanoparticle to its motional quantum groundstate. Lorenzo Magrini, Yuriy Coroli/University of Vienna) - Researchers in Austria use lasers to levitate and cool a glass nanoparticle into the quantum regime. Although it is trapped in a room temperature environment, the particle's motion is solely governed by the laws of quantum physics. The team of scientists from the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) published their new study . It is well known that quantum properties of individual atoms can be controlled and manipulated by laser light. Even large clouds of hundreds of millions of atoms can be pushed into the quantum regime, giving rise to macroscopic quantum states of matter such as quantum gases or Bose-Einstein condensates, which nowadays are also widely used in quantum technologies. An exciting next step is to extend this level of quantum control to solid state objects.