Elusive and exotic quasiparticles called anyons could be detected in graphene using a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) – according to physicists in the US and UK. If discovered, the anyons could prove useful for creating quantum computers.
An anyon is a hypothetical particle-like collective excitation (or quasiparticle) that is predicted to exist in some 2D materials. These are materials that are so thin that their electrons are effectively confined to move in only two directions.
When two anyons in a quantum system are interchanged, the wavefunction of the system can undergo a phase shift of any angle – hence the name anyon. This is unlike familiar particles like electrons and photons, whereby an interchange results in either no phase shift (for photons and other bosons) or a 180° shift (for electrons and other fermions).
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