The laboratory was the first to create a special state of connection between atoms using a laser beam. Their
Theoretically, this effect was predicted long ago,But now scientists from the Center for Quantum Science and Technology at the Technical University of Vienna, in collaboration with the University of Innsbruck, have measured this exotic atomic bond for the first time. This interaction is useful for controlling extremely cold atoms. This effect may also play a role in the formation of molecules in space. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Physical Review.
In an electrically neutral atom it is positivea charged atomic nucleus is surrounded by negatively charged electrons, which surround it like a cloud. If you turn on an external electric field, then the charge distribution will shift slightly. “The positive charge shifts a little in one direction, the negative charge a little in another, the atom suddenly has a positive and a negative side, it becomes polarized,” explains Professor Philipp Haslinger, whose research at the Atomic Institute of the Technical University of Vienna is supported by the FWF START program.
Light is an electromagnetic field that is verychanges rapidly, so the polarization effect can also be created using laser radiation. When several atoms are near each other, the laser light polarizes them equally—positively on the left and negatively on the right—or vice versa. In both cases, two neighboring atoms turn different charges towards each other, which leads to the emergence of an attractive force.
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