Key Points
- Researchers identified how superfluorescence can occur at room temperature using hybrid perovskites.
- Large polarons group into solitons, which suppress thermal interference and allow quantum coherence.
- The study provides one of the first direct observations of macroscopic quantum state formation at high temperatures.
- Experiments and simulations confirmed the insulating effect of solitons against thermal noise.
A groundbreaking study published in Nature has revealed the mechanism and material conditions that allow superfluorescence—a rare quantum phenomenon—to occur at room temperature. Led by researchers at North Carolina State University, along with collaborators from Duke University, Boston University, and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, the study could pave the way for practical high-temperature quantum technologies.
The research focuses on hybrid perovskites—materials previously found to protect quantum particles from disruptive thermal noise. These perovskites enable macroscopic quantum coherence to persist even at ambient temperatures, representing a significant departure from typical quantum behaviors, which typically require cryogenic environments.
Professor Kenan Gundogdu, the study’s lead author, compares the effect to a school of fish moving in sync. In quantum terms, such collective behavior enables phenomena like superconductivity, superfluidity, and superfluorescence. The team found that when sufficient energy is introduced through laser excitation, large polarons—quasi-particles consisting of electrons and their surrounding atoms—begin to form a coherent structure known as a soliton.
This soliton formation plays a key role in shielding quantum coherence from thermal disruption. “The polaron’s local deformation in the atomic lattice suppresses thermal noise,” explained Gundogdu. “Once enough polarons are present, they evolve into solitons that allow the quantum state to become coherent and stable at high temperatures.”
The team experimentally observed this transition from incoherent polarons to an ordered soliton phase, one of the first direct measurements of macroscopic quantum state formation at room temperature. Theoretical simulations confirmed that this ordered state significantly reduces the effects of temperature-induced lattice vibrations.
Franky So, a co-author of the study, emphasized the significance of the findings: “Until now, we didn’t have a clear mechanism for high-temperature quantum states in these materials. This work changes that.”
With a deeper understanding of how solitons form and maintain coherence, the findings offer a roadmap for designing materials that can power quantum technologies, such as computers, sensors, and communication systems, without the need for ultra-cold environments.
