New evidence that the quantum world is even stranger than we thought

Nanowerk  September 7, 2020
Researchers at Purdue University have shown that anyons exhibit fractional charge and fractional statistics that maintain a “memory” of their interactions with other quasiparticles by inducing quantum mechanical phase changes. They demonstrated this behavior by routing the electrons through a specific maze-like etched nanostructure made of gallium arsenide and aluminum gallium arsenide. The interferometer confined the electrons to move in a two-dimensional path. When the device was cooled to within one-hundredth of a degree from absolute zero and subjected to a powerful 9-Tesla magnetic field. the electrical resistance of the interferometer generated an interference pattern which the researchers called a “pyjama plot.” Jumps in the interference pattern were the signature of the presence of anyons. This characteristic is said to be topological and may eventually lead to much more sophisticated anyon structures that could be used to build stable, topological quantum computers…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Experimental evidence of quasiparticles called anyons has been found by a team of scientists at Purdue University… Credit: Image: James Nakamura

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