Researchers at Monash University have predicted a new form of quantum matter in which bosons and fermions combine to create stable, self-bound droplets. The theoretical work, published in Physical Review Letters, challenges earlier assumptions that such droplets were unlikely in strongly interacting Bose-Fermi systems.
Lead author Sam Foster, a PhD candidate at the School of Physics and Astronomy, explained that an attractive force pulling the particles together is precisely counteracted by pressure generated by the fermions, preventing collapse. This balance allows the droplet to hold itself together without an external trap.
Previous theories could only describe these mixtures when particle interactions were relatively weak. The Monash team, working with collaborators at Heidelberg University, developed a new theoretical approach that extends into the strong-interaction regime where the droplet phase appears.
The calculations indicate that the predicted droplets could be produced using ultracold atom experiments that already exist, giving researchers a realistic path to test the prediction. The study also found signatures of a liquid-gas-like transition, suggesting these systems may host a richer variety of quantum phases than previously recognized.
Associate Professor Jesper Levinsen and Professor Meera Parish co-authored the study. Foster noted that understanding how matter organizes under extreme quantum conditions provides new tools for designing and controlling quantum systems, with potential long-term relevance for quantum technologies such as ultra-precise sensors and quantum computing.
A strange new quantum droplet can hold itself together
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