Pitt physicists have developed a new form of matter

Earth, wind, water, fire, heart – now polariton superfluid? Captain Planet might soon need… Earth, wind, water, fire, heart – now polariton superfluid? Captain Planet might soon need to add an expansion member of his band of global pollution fighters, because Pitt physicists have developed a new form of matter. Known as polariton superfluid, the new form of matter uses characteristics of lasers and superconductors.

David Snoke, who is an assistant professor at Pitt and the lead investigator on the research, said the polariton superfluid is not a laser.

He explained that lasers emit coherent light, meaning they produce light in one direction and at one wave length. Rather than consisting of a steady light source, the matter itself becomes coherent inside of a laser. The system is very much like a superconductor, but it emits light,” Snoke said.

Snoke added that any technological application for the new matter is still unknown, but the breakthrough will aid in further research with other discoveries in the same area.

“We wanted to use it to answer the physics question of whether we can get matter to act like a wave,” he said.

According to Snoke, related discoveries were made in recent years that won the Nobel Prize.

“Now we’ve got another class of similar behavior,” he explained, in reference to the newfound matter. “I think that it’s an important discovery because we’re adding one piece of the puzzle.”

The Pitt researchers, in conjunction with their partners at the Bell Labs of Alcatel-Lucent located in New Jersey, released the details of their findings in the May 18 issue of the journal Science.