Scientists see fireworks from atoms at ultra-low temperatures

Jets of atoms shoot off together like fireworks from a central disc in a new quantum phenomenon discovered by UChicago scientists (color added for illustration). Scientists aren't normally treated to fireworks when they discover something about the universe. But a team of University of Chicago researchers found a show waiting for them at the atomic level-along with a new form of quantum behavior. "This is a very fundamental behavior that we have never seen before; it was a great surprise to us," said study author and professor of physics Cheng Chin. Published Nov. 6 in Nature , the research details a curious phenomenon-seen in what was thought to be a well-understood system-that may someday be useful in quantum technology applications. Chin's lab studies what happens to particles called bosons in a special state called a Bose-Einstein condensate.