Flatland Physics Probes Mysteries of Superfluidity (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Flatland Physics Probes Mysteries of Superfluidity

Caption

A gas of atoms arranged in a single, flat layer ordinarily has "thermal" behavior (left) in which the atoms act as individual entities. At lowered temperatures, the gas transforms into a "quasi-condensate" (middle) consisting of little islands (schematically represented as colored blobs) that fluctuate in time; within each island atoms act as a single coordinated entity. At lower temperatures still, the gas enters the superfluid "BKT" phase (right): the islands start to coalesce and atoms can flow frictionlessly within the merged area.

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Credit: Kristian Helmerson, JQI

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