While in a three-dimensional world, all particles must be either fermions or bosons, it is known that in fewer dimensions, the existence of particles with intermediate quantum statistics, known as anyons, is possible. Such fascinating objects are strongly believed to exist as emerging quasiparticles in fractional quantum Hall systems, but despite great efforts, experimental evidence of anyons has remained very limited. Since quantum statistics is defined through the behavior of the phase of the wave function, when two identical particles are exchanged, early attempts of anyon detection have been based on interferometric measurements using Fabry-Perot interferometry or beamsplitter experiments.
So far, there have been many efforts to improve the experimental evidence of anyons by searching for ways to study the FQH effect and understand its underlying physics in highly controllable quantum systems such as cold atoms or photonic quantum simulators. There are studies that have shown that light-matter interactions can create and trap fractional quasiparticles in atomic gases or electronic systems and measure, through time-of-light imaging, signatures of fractional statistics carried by the total angular momentum of a fractional quantum Hall system.
In a recent study published in Physical Review Letters, ICFO researchers Tobias Grass, Niccolo Baldelli, and Utso Bhattacharya, led by ICREA Prof. at ICFO Maciej Lewenstein, and in collaboration with Bruno Julia-Díaz, from the University of Barcelona, describe a new approach towards anyon detection, which is a crucial element for increasing our knowledge of exotic quantum matter.
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