Physicists Create New Method to Study Coldest Objects in the Universe

Physicists have found out a way to study some of the coldest objects in the universe. They've come up with a new way of measuring Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) by using a filter to cancel out the damage caused by the streams of light that are typically used to measure them.

BECs consist of just a cluster of atoms. Until now, though, it's been impossible to measure and control these remarkable forms of matter simultaneously. This new filter, however, can create a best estimate of the state of BECs by removing "noise" from the measurements. It can also use these measurements to actively feedback to the BECs and remove some of the heating based on what has already been observed.

"It's like trying to check if your refrigerator is still working but not wanting to let cold air out by opening the door," said Michael Hush, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The smallest amount of heat can destroy a BEC and many of even the most up-to-date imaging devices end up destroying the BEC after a single image. Experimentalists have demonstrated that a BEC can be imaged non-destructively for a limited amount of time, but our work will allow them to be imaged for much, much longer-potentially indefinitely."

Currently, the researchers hope that they'll be able to gather much more information about BECs using this new method. The scientists may also be able to extend their use in fundamental science, such as in atom lasers to precisely measure gravity and as models to study the emission of Hawking radiation from black holes.

"We've essentially created a window to look into the world's coldest fridge," said Hush in a news release. "By peering through this window, we hope that scientists can potentially view previously inaccessible phenomena related to BECs and begin to realize their potential applications."

The findings are published in the New Journal of Physics.