Study quantum phenomena at macroscopic scales

Scientists have designed a unique system in the world capable of levitating a superconducting sphere in a superfluid at extreme temperatures.

The device developed consists of a ‘levitator’ that opens a door to the study of quantum turbulence in previously unexplored temperature regimes, as well as other quantum phenomena at scales larger than microscopic.

The scientific team, made up of Manuel Arrayás Chazeta, José Luis Trueba Santander and Carlos Uriarte González, researchers from the Electromagnetism and Fundamental Physics Group of the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) in Spain, and D. Zmeev from the University of Lancaster in the UK, has completed the optimized design and manufacturing of this ‘levitator’. Thus, researchers have developed a unique probe to study the behavior of superfluids in the temperature range of a few microkelvins (temperatures less than one thousandth of a kelvin, that is, very close to Absolute Zero, the lowest temperature allowed by the laws of physics and that it is about 273 degrees Celsius below zero.

“Currently, once the ‘levitator’ has been manufactured, the work is focused on the system for detecting the position of the superconducting sphere that must be integrated inside a cryostat, a device used to maintain low temperatures”, explains Manuel Arrayás .

To carry out this project, firstly, the theoretical development of the prototype was carried out based on the basic principles that govern the electromagnetic behavior of superconductors. Next, numerical simulations were done to optimize the design parameters in order to save costs in experiments. And finally, the prototype was built and the preliminary tests were carried out in a glass cryostat filled with liquid type II helium (He) at 272 degrees centigrade below zero.

Image of the device designed outside the cryostat. The coin serves as a reference to get an idea of ​​its size. (Photo: Carlos Uriarte González)

The results obtained will allow us to broaden the knowledge we have so far of turbulence phenomena, which affect the movement of cars, ships and aerospace vehicles. “Turbulence, which was already the object of study by Leonardo da Vinci himself, can be understood as the complex spatial and temporal movement of a fluid, as opposed to the laminar regime. Today, many processes, from the generation of magnetic fields in galaxies to the efficiency of turbines depend on turbulence. Despite its ubiquity, turbulence remains one of the great unsolved problems in science”, points out the URJC researcher.(Source: Irene Vega / URJC)