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Colossians 1:16
candidates for data storage. However, no actual material has been identified so far that exhibits fractons. A group of researchers has recently examined these quasiparticles more closely, revealing a surprising behavior.
Quasiparticles, such as excitations
in solids, can be mathematically represented; an example being phonons
which are an excellent depiction of lattice vibrations that amplify with
rising temperature.
Mathematically, quasiparticles that have yet
to be observed in any material can also be expressed. These
“theoretical” quasiparticles may possess unique properties, making them
worthy of further scrutiny. Take fractons, for example.
Fractons
are fractions of spin excitations and are not allowed to 
possess
kinetic energy. As a consequence, they are completely stationary and
immobile. This makes fractons new candidates for perfectly secure
information storage. Especially since they can be moved under special
conditions, namely piggybacking on another quasiparticle.
“Fractons have emerged from a mathematical
extension of quantum electrodynamics, in which electric fields are
treated not as vectors but as tensors – completely detached from real
materials,” explains Prof. Dr. Johannes Reuther.
In
order to be able to observe fractons experimentally in the future, it
is necessary to find model systems that are as simple as possible:
Therefore, octahedral crystal structures with antiferromagnetically
interacting corner atoms were modeled first.
This revealed special
patterns with characteristic pinch points in the spin correlations,
which in principle can also be detected experimentally in a real
material with neutron experiments.
This
is why Reuther has now included quantum fluctuations in the calculation of this
octahedral solid-state system for the first time.
These are very
complex numerical calculations, that in principle are able to map
fractons. “
In
the next step, the theoretical physicists want to develop a model
in which quantum fluctuations can be regulated up or down.
No
material is yet known to exhibit fractons. But if the next model gives
more precise indications of what the crystal structure and magnetic
interactions should be like, then experimental physicists could start
designing and measuring such materials." SciTechDaily
