Physicists observe particles acting coherently as they undergo phase transitions

said braka 12:19 AM
Scientists want to better understand and control the

behavior of particles at the exact moment that these so-called phase transitions—a change in energy in a system, much like process in which water evaporates or turns to ice—occur.
A study published Dec. 18 in Nature Physics by University of Chicago scientists observed how particles behave as the change takes place in minute detail. In addition to shedding light on the fundamental rules that govern the , understanding such transitions could help design more useful technologies.
One of the questions was whether, as particles prepare to transition between quantum states, they can act as one coherent group that "knows" the states of the others, or whether different particles only act independently of one another, or incoherently.
Cheng Chin, professor in the Department of Physics, and his team looked at an experimental setup of tens of thousands of atoms cooled down to near absolute zero. As the system crossed a , they measured its behavior with an extremely sensitive imaging system.
The conventional wisdom was that the atoms should evolve incoherently after the transition—a hallmark of older "classic" rather than quantum models of physics. "In contrast, we found strong evidence for coherent dynamics," said graduate student Lei Feng, the first author on the study. "In no moment do they become classical ; they always behave as waves that evolve in synchrony with each other, which should give theorists a new ingredient to include in how they model such systems that are out of equilibrium."


Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-physicists-particles-coherently-phase-transitions.html#jCp