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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Quantum close encounters of an ultra-cooled ion

A crowd of atoms helps to cool an ion to less than one ten-thousandth of a kelvin.
An ion trap on a microchip with lasers shining on it.

An ion trap uses electric fields to hold a charged particle in place. Scientists used a similar device to immobilize a ytterbium ion before chilling it. Credit: Andrew Brookes, National Physics Laboratory/SPL

Researchers have cooled an ion in an ultra-cold gas until it moved so slowly that it exhibited quantum behaviour.

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Nature 578, 194 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00295-y

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