The paths of quantum physics are inscrutable. In my opinion this appointment of Richard FeynmanNobel Prize in Physics for their contributions to quantum electrodynamics and one of the most admired scientists of the twentieth century, condenses very well The complexity of this discipline: “If you think you understand quantum physics, you don’t really understand quantum physics.” Quantum mechanics study the laws that govern The world of the very smallof the particles, as well as the interactions to which the atomic and subatomic structures are exposed.
Most of these rules are radically different from the laws we have become familiar with in the world in which we live. In the macroscopic world. Many physicists have spent the last century trying to understand how known quantum phenomena work, and also striving to identify unknown quantum rules. The problem is that working with the extremely small, with the particles, is very difficult. However, this does not mean that they are not successful. He Mit (Massachusetts Technological Institute) has just been a bit very important.
Physicists now better understand the quantum properties of the materials
A group of MIT researchers has managed to measure accurately at the quantum level the geometry of electrons in solid materials. Expressed in this way it does not seem much, but it is a very relevant discovery. Until now, physicists had managed to measure the energy and speed acquired by these elementary particles in crystalline materials, but not their geometry at the quantum level. According to Riccardo CominProfessor of Physics at the MIT and leader of this research, “this discovery allows us to understand and manipulate the quantum properties of the materials.”
Quantum geometry allows physicists to determine the geometric characteristics of the wave function
Before moving forward we are interested in briefly investigating the concept of ‘quantum geometry’ to be able to understand with some precision what we are talking about. Its purpose is to describe the structure of a quantum system such as the forming, for example, by The interaction of electrons In a solid material. In practice this knowledge serves to elaborate a map that describes the probability of finding an electron in a given position. Rigorously this “map” is known as wave function.
However, this is not all. Quantum geometry also allows physicists to determine the geometric characteristics of the wave function. This simply means that with this information you can know how precisely the electrons behave in a material and to what extent their properties condition. Quantum geometry helps scientists, in short, to predict the behavior of materials and design new elements or combinations of elements that can be used in aeronautics, Quantum computing or robotics, among many other disciplines.
Riccardo Comin assures that “in essence we have done is to develop a plan to obtain completely new information (about the materials) that until now could not be collected.” And Mingu Kang, another of the physicists who have signed the article published in Nature Physics, duck That “this knowledge It can be applied to any type of quantum material“. The technique that these scientists have used to develop their strategy is known as photo emission spectroscopy resolved at an angle. In broad strokes it is an experimental procedure that serves to study the electronic structure of materials in a thorough way and know their fundamental properties.
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More information | Nature Physics
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