System in reciprocal and coordinate space. (Image Credit: Nature (2025)
An international team of engineers, nanotechnologists, and physicists has made it possible to transform laser light into a supersolid. This breakthrough could ultimately unlock new insights into quantum states of matter. Their achievement builds on earlier work by Danielle Sanvitto of Italy’s National Research Council (CNR), who showed that light could act as a fluid.
But what are supersolids? Supersolids, which mainly exist in the quantum world, are materials with zero viscosity and a crystal-like structure. Previously, these were created using atoms cooled down to very low temperatures---a necessary condition to observe quantum effects. The latest experiment used a different technique to achieve this feat.
Rather than extremely cold atoms, the team used aluminum gallium arsenide, a semiconductor. They beamed a laser light at this piece of gallium arsenide featuring narrow, special ridges. Once the laser hit the ridges, a type of hybrid particle called polaritons formed. This ridge pattern constrained the polarions’ movement, causing them to turn into supersolids. However, the team also needed to precisely measure the properties of this supersolid to prove that it behaves like a solid and a fluid with zero viscosity. That task was challenging as a supersolid made of light hadn’t been produced or experimentally validated before.
This is an important study as it allows us to understand how phase transition can change quantum matter states. Although the team created a supersolid, they still need to perform further measurements and analysis to fully understand the properties. Supersolids made of light might be easier to work with compared to atom-based ones. As a result, it may pave the way toward exploring unexpected states of matter and quantum technology applications.
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