A single layer of tungsten atoms can create a super-atom state that usually requires temperatures colder than deep space.
Bose-Einstein condensation is a state of matter where thousands of particles act like one single giant atom. This state normally collapses unless it is kept at near absolute zero using expensive liquid helium. These researchers achieved this condensation at room temperature by trapping light and matter inside a monolayer of tungsten disulfide. This breakthrough makes quantum fluids accessible for everyday technology like ultra-efficient transistors. It proves that the most exotic physics in the universe can survive in a lab you could walk into without a parka.
Room Temperature Non-equilibrium Bose-Einstein Condensation of Dirac Polaritons in WS₂ Monolayer
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Abstract Exciton–polariton Bose Einstein condensation (BEC) in atomic monolayers promises nonlinear and reconfigurable quantum photonic platforms operating at ambient conditions. Yet it has remained elusive beyond cryogenic and weakly nonlinear microcavities. Here we demonstrate room-temperature (RT) non-equilibrium polariton condensation in a monolayer of tungsten disulfide (WS₂), enabled by topological light confinement through a bound state in the continuum (BIC) arising from interfering Dira