Researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) have made new discoveries about superfluidity in two-dimensional quantum systems. By cooling sodium atoms to extremely low temperatures and confining them to move in only two dimensions, the team observed a “quasi-condensate” state before transitioning to a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) superfluid state. This behavior differs from previous experiments with rubidium atoms, suggesting that the strength of atomic interactions may influence the nature of superfluidity in two dimensions. The findings could help clarify the mysterious properties of superfluidity, which was first observed in the 1930s but still holds new questions for physicists.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2009/03/flatland-physics-probes-mysteries-superfluidity
Keywords: Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), superfluidity, Berezinskii, Kosterlitz and Thouless (BKT) transition
