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Disorder in the quantum realm can spawn a fluid that flows without friction.
Abstract
Usually, disorder prevents particles from moving in an orderly way, but in a system with three energy levels per site, it creates resonant pathways. On a quantum processor, scientists saw how disorder turns an insulator into a superfluid—like traffic jams that open up express lanes. So, does chaos give birth to order?
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Quantum particles in a strongly disordered environment behave like dancers executing steps in sync: each knows its own move and never collides with others. This kind of coordinated, frictionless flow—superfluidity—unexpectedly emerged in an experiment on a superconducting quantum chip. Scientists modeled a system where each particle had three 'floors' of energy, and observed their response using a method akin to spectroscopy—analyzing which energies are absorbed, much like light broken into a rainbow.
Amidst strong chaos, a superfluid phase was born, reminiscent of the behavior of helium cooled nearly to absolute zero. Usually the measure of disorder—entropy—only grows, but here quantum chaos gave rise to order. This effect could show up in various materials, from high-temperature superconductors to ultracold atoms. Moreover, it turned out that superfluidity in disorder can be more robust than in perfectly clean systems—as if dirt strengthens the flow.
🎯 In the superfluid 'dance' of particles, sound never fades—it lasts forever, like music without a finale.
