Imagery of Quantum Coherence

Filed in archive Research on July 25, 2007

Researchers at the London Center for Nanotechnology have exploited a hidden magnetic "quantum order" which can be measured to determine the degree of coherence in small systems of atoms. The red peak in the image shows almost perfect quantum coherence. The material of study was a ceramic made up of nickel-centered oxygen octahedra. The researchers didn't' only image the quantum coherence, but manipulated the distance over which it was maintained by changing the temperature and using other elements for doping. Superconductivity and superfluidity are examples of phenomena where large-scale quantum phase coherence is observed.