Physicists discover method for emulating nonlinear quantum
electrodynamics in a laboratory setting

Date:
March 7, 2022
Source:
Purdue University
Summary:
On the big screen, in video games and in our imaginations,
lightsabers flare and catch when they clash together. That clashing,
or interference, happens only in fiction -- and in places with
enormous magnetic and electric fields, which happens in nature only
near massive objects such as neutron stars. A team of physicists
has discovered discovered that it is possible to produce this
effect in a laboratory setting, using a class of novel materials.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
On the big screen, in video games and in our imaginations, lightsabers
flare and catch when they clash together. In reality, as in a laser
light show, the beams of light go through each other, creating spiderweb patterns. That clashing, or interference, happens only in fiction --
and in places with enormous magnetic and electric fields, which happens
in nature only near massive objects such as neutron stars. Here,
the strong magnetic or electric field reveals that vacuum isn't truly
a void. Instead, here when light beams intersect, they scatter into
rainbows.


==========================================================================
A weak version of this effect has been observed in modern particle accelerators, but it is completely absent from our daily lives or even
normal laboratory environments.

Yuli Lyanda-Geller, professor of physics and astronomy in the College
of Science at Purdue University, in collaboration with Aydin Keser
and Oleg Sushkov from the University of New South Wales in Australia, discovered that it is possible to produce this effect in a class of
novel materials involving bismuth, its solid solutions with antimony
and tantalum arsenide.

With this knowledge, the effect can be studied, potentially leading
to vastly more sensitive sensors as well as supercapacitors for energy
storage that could be turned on and off by a controlled magnetic field.

"Most importantly, one of the deepest quantum mysteries in the universe
can be tested and studied in a small laboratory experiment," Lyanda-Geller said. "With these materials, we can study effects of the universe. We
can study what happens in neutron stars from our laboratories." Brief
summary of methods Keser, Lyanda-Geller and Sushkov applied quantum field theory nonperturbative methods used to describe high-energy particles and expanded them to analyze the behavior of so-called Dirac materials, which recently became the focus of interest. They used the expansion to obtain results that go both beyond known high-energy results and the general
framework of condensed matter and materials physics. They suggested
various experimental configurations with applied electric and magnetic
fields and analyzed best materials that would allow them to experimentally study this quantum electrodynamic effect in a nonaccelerator setting.

They subsequently discovered that their results better explained
some magnetic phenomena that had been observed and studied in earlier experiments.

Funding U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic
Energy Sciences; Division of Materials Sciences and
Engineering; and the Australian Research Council, Centre
of Excellence in Future Low Energy Electronics Technologies ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Purdue_University. Original written
by Brittany Steff.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Aydın Cem Keser, Yuli Lyanda-Geller, Oleg P. Sushkov. Nonlinear
Quantum Electrodynamics in Dirac Materials. Physical Review Letters,
2022; 128 (6) DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.066402 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220307162024.htm

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