In a groundbreaking development, researchers have successfully frozen photons in time using innovative crystal designs, opening up new possibilities for future materials and quantum computing. This achievement is a significant step towards understanding and controlling the flow of energy at the atomic level, which is a fundamental goal in the study of matter.
Artificial Atom and Superconducting Wire
To build their machine, the researchers created a structure made of superconducting materials that contains 100 billion atoms engineered to act as a single “artificial atom.” They placed the artificial atom close to a superconducting wire containing photons. This blending together of the photons and the atom allows the researchers to artificially devise strong interactions among the photons, leading to completely new collective behavior for light — akin to the phases of matter, like liquids and crystals, studied in condensed matter physics.