he UPV/EHU physicist Eneko Malatsetxebarria has explored, on a theoretical level, some quantum effects that take place in atoms at a very low temperature. Firstly, he has discovered that boson-type atoms and fermion-type ones can be mixed in a specific way. So he has made the necessary conditions for carrying out these experiments available to experimental physicists. Secondly, he has deduced how fermions would influence bosons in this case.
The experiments carried out on cold atoms are very important for understanding quantum physics.In actual fact, they provide anopportunity to observe quantum effects directly. Cold atoms are known as quantum simulators for that very reason. In the words of Eneko Malatsetxebarria, who has done his thesis in this field at the DIPC (Donostia International Physics Center) and at the Centre for Materials Science, "it is a very powerful tool for understanding the behaviour of condensed matter. It is not like before when quantum effects were something that occurred inside a black box; now we are capable of manipulating atoms almost as we want and observing the quantum effects."
To read more, click here.