Crystallization in Ising quantum magnets

Abstract

Atoms behaving in an orderly manner In physics, interactions between components of a system can cause it to become more orderly in an attempt to minimize energy. Such ordered phases appear, for example, in magnetic systems. Schauss et al . simulated these phenomena using a collection of neutral atoms at low temperatures. By shining laser light on the atoms, the authors brought some of them into a high energy state called the Rydberg state. By carefully varying the experimental parameters, they coaxed these Rydberg atoms into patterns reminiscent of crystal lattices in rod- and disk-shaped atomic samples. Science , this issue p. 1455