Most of us recognize basic phases of matter and their properties: solids maintain their shape, liquids flow freely with constant volume, and gases expand to fill their container. Quantum phases, on the other hand, are much harder to categorize, overturning traditional notions of what a phase even is and forcing physicists to rethink their definitions.
New stability rules distinguish quantum phases of matter that an older method wrongly groups together
Most of us recognize basic phases of matter and their properties: solids maintain their shape, liquids flow freely with constant volume, and gases expand to fill their container. Quantum phases, on the other hand, are much harder to categorize, overturning traditional notions of what a phase even is and forcing physicists to rethink their definitions.