Researchers have experimentally observed energy patterns that physicists have predicted for about 40 years. By arranging laser-trapped atoms into a quantum simulator, they recreated two different quantum tipping points and watched the atoms fall into the exact energy ratios predicted by theory. The technique could now be used to explore mysterious quantum systems where scientists do not already know the answer.
Caltech physicists finally measure a quantum energy ladder predicted 40 years ago
Researchers have experimentally observed energy patterns that physicists have predicted for about 40 years. By arranging laser-trapped atoms into a quantum simulator, they recreated two different quantum tipping points and watched the atoms fall into the exact energy ratios predicted by theory. The technique could now be used to explore mysterious quantum systems where scientists do not already know the answer.