ISS astronauts are creating a quantum state of matter unseen in nature

The Cold Atom Lab cools atoms to 1/10-billionth of a degree above absolute zero.

Key Takeaways

Astronauts aboard the ISS are creating a fifth state of matter, the Bose-Einstein condensate.
This bizarre state, fleeting on Earth, lasts much longer in microgravity, enabling deeper study.

The Cold Atom Laboratory chills atoms to near absolute zero to form the condensate.
The experiments may unlock insights into dark energy, gravitational waves, and planetary mapping.
Remote control and hardware updates have extended the lab’s lifespan to over two years in orbit.

___________

Forging a Fifth State of Matter in Space

In an extraordinary scientific achievement, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are creating Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), a fifth state of matter that’s nearly impossible to sustain on Earth. This exotic state forms when atoms are cooled to near absolute zero, causing them to lose individuality and merge into a quantum “superfluid” that behaves as a single entity.

While BECs have been produced on Earth since 1995, their brief lifespans, limited to fractions of a second due to gravity’s pull, make them challenging to study. However, NASA’s Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL), a box of lasers sent to the ISS in 2018, has revolutionized this research. Operating in microgravity, CAL allows BECs to exist for extended periods, providing researchers with crucial time to analyze their properties.

David Aveline, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and lead author of a study published in Nature, highlighted the advantage of microgravity: “We’re getting to make BECs daily, for many hours.” The lab, remotely controlled from Earth, has exceeded its one-year operational goal, thanks to hardware upgrades performed by astronauts like Christina Koch.

cold atom lab — The Cold Atom Laboratory consists of two standardized containers that were installed on the International Space Station. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Unlocking the Quantum World

BECs bridge the gap between classical physics, which governs visible phenomena, and quantum physics, which describes subatomic behavior. This makes them invaluable for studying quantum mechanics in a way that’s observable under a microscope.

CAL achieves these ultracool conditions using lasers and magnets to chill atoms to within 1/10-billionth of a degree above absolute zero. The experiments not only deepen understanding of quantum physics but also have significant real-world applications. For instance, the lab uses an atom interferometer to measure gravitational variations on Earth’s surface, providing insights into underground structures like water reservoirs or oil deposits.

bose einstein condensate — This graph shows the changing density of a cloud of atoms as it is cooled to lower and lower temperatures (going from left to right) approaching absolute zero. The emergence of a sharp peak in the later graphs confirms the formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate. NASA/JPL-Caltech

The potential applications extend beyond Earth. CAL’s research could aid planetary mapping and the detection of dark energy, a mysterious force accelerating the universe’s expansion. Dark energy accounts for 70% of the cosmos, with the remainder split between dark matter and normal matter. Understanding its nature is vital, as studies show the universe is expanding 9% faster than predicted, a revelation that has stirred excitement among cosmologists.

BECs may also help detect particles like axions, thought to be tied to dark energy and dark matter. Early studies have used condensates to probe these elusive phenomena, offering hope for groundbreaking discoveries about the universe’s hidden forces.