Advertisement

Atomic vanity: Mirror prolongs life of artificial atoms

Researchers say the findings are significant outside of theoretical physics because they prove the potential for manipulation of vacuum fluctuations.

By Brooks Hays
An atom sees itself in a mirror. Image by Chalmers University of Technology
An atom sees itself in a mirror. Image by Chalmers University of Technology

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The "lifetime" of an atom is the length of time it takes for an excited atom -- one infused with energy -- to lose its newfound energy, to return to its normal state.

Recently, researchers at Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology were able to prolong the lifetime of an artificial atom by placing it in front of a mirror.

Advertisement

As detailed in the journal Nature Physics, the experimental atom held its charge for up to ten times as long when placed in front of a mirror at varying distances.

"We demonstrated how we can control the lifetime of the atom in a very simple way," lead resaercher Per Delsing, a physicist at Chalmers, explained in a press release. "We can vary the lifetime of the atom by changing the distance between the atom and the mirror."

"If we place the atom at a certain distance from the mirror the atom's lifetime is extended by such a length that we are not even able to observe the atom," Delsing added. "Consequently, we can hide the atom in front of a mirror."

Advertisement

If that sounds confusing, the experiment gets stranger.

The experimental atom is not actually an atom at all, but a superconducting circuit created on a small silicon chip. The circuit acts just like an atom, emitting microwaves when excited with an electric charge. What's more, the mirror is not a mirror, but a electric circuit designed to replicate the presence of a mirror.

"Atoms 'die' because they return to their original ground state -- it sees very small variations in the electromagnetic field known as vacuum fluctuations," said researcher Goran Johansson, a quantum physicist at Chalmers.

The mirror image of the excited atom alters these fluctuations and thus changes the atomic resonance frequency of artificial atom's nucleus. This process prolongs the atom's lifetime.

Researchers say the findings are significant outside of theoretical physics because they prove the potential for manipulation of vacuum fluctuations.

"Engineering vacuum fluctuations is therefore becoming increasingly important to emerging technologies," researchers write in their new study.

Latest Headlines