Chinese scientists’ quantum study hailed as a ‘breakthrough of the year’

Physics World puts creation of the world’s first ultracold three-atom molecules in top 10 scientific achievements of the year

The accolade comes days after the researchers unveiled their latest findings, expected to shed new light on how chemicals behave at the quantum level

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Scientists have been able to make ultracold two-atom molecules for decades but a team of Chinese researchers has added a third atom, in one of the top physics breakthroughs of the year, according to Physics World. Photo: University of Science and Technology of China

Published: 6:00pm, 8 Dec 2022

Chinese scientists are ending the year with a double celebration. Days after releasing details of their latest breakthrough, a team from Anhui in eastern China has been included in Physics World’s top 10 achievements of 2022.

The researchers, from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), were recognised for their initial study earlier this year, which outlined indirect evidence that they had created the first ultracold three-atom molecules.

In their latest paper, published last Friday by the journal Science, the team confirmed the breakthrough which is expected to shed new light on how chemicals behave at the quantum level.

And on Tuesday, the Institute of Physics’s membership journal listed their first study – published in the February edition of Nature – as one of its top 10 scientific breakthroughs of the year.

In their most recent study, the USTC researchers produced around 4,000 gas molecules, each containing one sodium-23 atom and two potassium-40 atoms, at 100 nanokelvins – less than one millionth of a degree above absolute zero.

The achievement could help simulate chemical reactions, design new materials and even lead to a better understanding of the notoriously complex three-body problem.