For the first time in 20 years, scientists have demonstrated quantum superchemistry!
Scientists at the University of Chicago have found the first evidence of a phenomenon known as "quantum superchemistry". This phenomenon has long been predicted, but never confirmed; the effect could speed up chemical reactions, give scientists better control over them, and inform quantum computing.
The research results were published July 24 in the journal Nature Physics under the title "Many-body chemical reactions in a quantum degenerate gas".
Reaction coupling between atomic and molecular quantum fields.
Various "weird" behaviors occur on the quantum scale. Atoms can exist in so many states at once, so entangled, that they can instantly share information over any distance, or cross barriers they shouldn't have to. Scientists are trying to capitalize on these phenomena to enable more powerful computing, communication systems and other technologies.
Now, for the first time, a team of researchers at the University of Chicago has found direct evidence of a previously predicted quantum effect - an effect known as superchemistry. It begins in a bizarre state of matter known as Bose-Einstein condensation, in which a cloud of atoms is cooled to almost absolute zero, causing them to enter the same quantum state and begin behaving like one big atom. It has been proposed that "inducing" atoms to undergo chemical reactions in this state produces different results than usual.
In classical chemistry, atoms in a mixture collide randomly, and each collision has the potential to connect them to form molecules. But if the atoms were all in the same quantum state, they would instead act together.
Cheng Chin, the lead researcher on the study, said, "We no longer see chemical reactions as collisions between separate particles, but as a collective process. They react together as a whole."
Co-authors Zhendong Zhang (left) and Cheng Chin (right) with the lab equipment that helped them make their first observations of quantum superchemistry.
Comparison of molecule formation rates in classical and quantum condensed states.
Bose-enhanced atom-molecule reaction dynamics.
Chin's team is experienced in introducing atoms into quantum states, but molecules are larger and more complex than atoms, so the team had to invent new techniques to solve them. In their experiments, the researchers cooled cesium atoms to the extreme temperatures required and then "coaxed" them into the same quantum state. Sure enough, the atoms appeared to be forming molecules in a way similar to superchemistry.
This process has a number of consequences that are different from those of ordinary chemistry. First, because the atoms are all working together, the reaction happens faster: the more atoms in the system, the faster the reaction. The molecules that are eventually created all have the same state, which helps generate large batches of identical molecules more reliably than traditional chemistry, the team says.
In the process, the team also found evidence of a strange phenomenon: three-body interactions occur more frequently than two-body interactions. Essentially, three atoms collide, with two of them joining together to form a molecule and the third helping the process in some way.
This breakthrough could help pave the way for new technologies such as quantum chemistry, quantum computing and helping scientists study the laws of physics. So far, this superchemistry research has only been conducted in diatomic molecules, but the team plans to extend this work to more complex molecules.
For example, some in the field envision using molecules as quantum computers or quantum bits in quantum information processing. Other scientists are exploring them as a way to more accurately measure fundamental laws and interactions, such as testing fundamental laws of the universe like symmetry breaking.
"What we're seeing is consistent with theoretical predictions, which has been a scientific goal for 20 years, so this discovery is a very exciting moment."
Reference link:
[1]https://newatlas.com/physics/quantum-superchemistry-observed-first-time/
[2]https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-02139-8
[3]https://phys.org/news/2023-08-scientists-evidence-quantum-superchemistry-laboratory.html
