Quantum Physicists Tune Material’s Property Using Energy of ‘Empty’ Space

In quantum physics, there’s no such thing as truly empty space. Even the barest of voids has quantum fluctuations, such as particles continually being created and quickly annihilated in empty space.

In a new paper in Nature, a team of quantum physicists, including Flatiron Institute research scientist Nicolas Regnault, demonstrates a remarkable setup that can alter a material’s properties using vacuum field fluctuations. By tuning the interaction strength between vacuum fields and gases made up of electrons confined to two dimensions of movement, the team successfully altered the bulk behavior of the electrons using the vacuum field fluctuations.

The results could provide a new way for physicists to manipulate quantum materials for use in compact electronic devices, Regnault says. “Vacuum fields provide a new route toward designing the interaction between electrons.” Because the work concerns electron gases confined to two dimensions, the mechanism could aid in creating quasi-particles called anyons that have only been seen in 2D systems. Anyons, Regnault says, “have no counterpart in the realm of elementary particles,” making them particularly interesting to study for potential applications in quantum computing.