Physicists first experimentally confirmed the existence of enions

In three-dimensional space, all interactions can be divided into two types - bosonic and fermionic, in

depending on changes in system properties. The wave function of a bosonic system does not change its phase when the particles are rearranged, while the wave function of a fermion system changes its phase by π.

In two-dimensional systems, a phase change can bedifferent from 0 or π - this means that there is a different type of particles that have fractional statistics. In theory, such particles are called anions, and represent a generalization of the concepts of fermion and boson.

Experiment design

A group of physicists from France led byFor the first time, Gwendal Thebes was able to experimentally confirm the existence of anions and measure their statistics. They carried out a collision of quasiparticles on quantum conductors with a two-dimensional GaAs / AlGaAS electron gas. Fractional statistics of colliding quasiparticles were revealed by measuring the current correlations taken from the scatterer.

Previously, Finnish scientists found new anomalies in the size of atomic nuclei when studying the properties of very unstable isotopes of copper.