Falling Walls Falling Walls Science Summit 2023

Breaking the Wall to Supersolid Matter

Tilman Pfau

Physical Sciences

Two states of matter “solid” and “fluid”, which are mutually exclusive in the classical world, can exist simultaneously in the quantum world. The supersolid was created by dysprosium atoms that behave like tiny magnets and that were cooled down to near absolute zero (-273° Celsius). To generate a supersolid, the researchers adjusted the relationship between the magnetic interactions of the atoms such that a periodic lattice structure and superfluidity are created simultaneously.

Tag: Fundamental Quantum Science.

Tilman Pfau

University of Stuttgart, 5th Institute of Physics

Tilman Pfau received the PhD in the field of atom optics in 1994 at the University of Konstanz. In 2000, he became a full professor and founded a new institute at the University of Stuttgart. His focus is on atomic, molecular, and optical physics with the aim to control, and understand new phenomena in interacting quantum systems. He is co-director of the Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST) Stuttgart/Ulm. He is an elected fellow of the Optical Society, and the American Physical Society. He received the Herbert P. Broida Prize in 2017, the Gentner-Kastler Prize in 2014.

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