India’s RRI Team Discovers ‘Exotic & Strange’ State of Materials That Could Lead to Better Quantum Technologies

(IndiaNewEngland) Indian scientists have discovered a new “exotic and strange” state of materials that alters their physical properties in presence of an electromagnetic field, leading to better quantum technologies, the Ministry of Science and Technology reported.
Through this work, the Ramen Research Institute (RRI) team has shown that if such effects are carefully taken into account, one can drastically alter the quantum system’s physical behaviour and lead to better quantum technologies.
The scientists have shown that in an external electromagnetic field, geometric properties of a crystalline solid with lattices arranged in a one-dimensional periodic manner can display phase transitions, thereby altering its physical properties.
“The 2016 Nobel Prize for physics was awarded to the theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter, which have played a significant role in the modern understanding of materials and their applications,” the Ministry said.
In our everyday lives, several devices and technologies exploit some of the other aspects of quantum physics, like LEDs, semiconductor technology, and nanomaterials.
Usually, the environmental interactions in such quantum systems are either neglected or are considered very small.