No Storm in a Teacup: It’s a Cyclone on a Silicon Chip

No Storm in a Teacup: It’s a Cyclone on a Silicon Chip Source: Sally Wood

University of Queensland researchers have combined quantum liquids and silicon-chip technology to study turbulence for the first time, opening the door to new navigation technologies and an improved understanding of the turbulent dynamics of cyclones and other extreme weather.

Professor Warwick Bowen, from the University of Queensland’s Precision Sensing Initiative and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, said the finding was “a significant advance”.

According to Professor Bowen, the finding has provided a new way to study turbulence. “Turbulence is often described as the oldest unsolved problem in physics,” Professor Bowen said.

“Our finding allows us to observe nanoscale quantum turbulence, which mirrors the sort of behaviour you see in cyclones.”

These are the quantum equivalent of vortices in water or a tornado. Their interactions cause dynamics analogous to that of a cyclone. “This advance is enabled by the properties of quantum liquids, which are fundamentally different to everyday liquids.”

Professor Bowen said it was postulated more than 50 years ago that the turbulence problem could be simplified using quantum liquids.

“Our new technique is exciting because it allows quantum turbulence to be studied on a silicon chip for the first time,” he said.

The research also had implications in space, where quantum liquids are predicted to exist within dense astrophysical objects.

“Our research could help to explain how these objects behave,” Dr Bowen said.

Dr Yauhen Sachkou, a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland and the paper’s lead author, said rotating neutron stars lost angular momentum in fits and starts.

The University of Queensland team has observed nanoscale quantum turbulence, which mirrors the sort of behaviour you see in cyclones. Image credit: Dr Christopher Baker, University of Queensland.

“The way this occurs is thought to hinge on quantum turbulence,” Dr Sachkou said.

University of Queensland scientist, Dr Christopher Baker, who co-led the research, said the finding made possible silicon-chip based accelerometers with sensitivity far beyond current state of the art.

“In quantum liquids, atoms behave more like waves than particles,” Dr Baker said.

“This allows us to build laser-like sensors from atoms.”

The research was a collaboration between researchers in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) and ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronic Technologies (FLEET) in Australia, and the Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies in New Zealand. It was supported by the United States Army Research Office and the Australian Research Council.

The Precision Sensing Initiative

The University of Queensland Precision Sensing Initiative (PSI) seeks to enhance real-world outcomes of next-generation sensing research at the University of Queensland.

The three-year $1.17 million initiative is a joint venture between the School of Mathematics and Physics, and the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. It is directed by Professor Warwick Bowen and is affiliated with Precision Sensing Australia.

The PSI comprises experts from the University of Queensland and industry, spanning the fields of quantum technology, photonics and electronics, healthcare and medical diagnostics, the resources sector, and the aerospace and defence industries.

Sensors play an essential role in modern technologies, providing capabilities in areas ranging from navigation to timing, and chemical and biological diagnostics.

Quantum effects are integral to enhancing the performance and capabilities of precision sensors, with research developments currently geared towards improving sensitivity and speed, lowering energy consumption and miniaturising devices.

The PSI focuses on the physical technologies associated with quantum and photonic sensors, and the engineering architectures required for successful field deployment.

Central to the initiative is the establishment of the Optoelectronic Integration Facility (OIF), which enables researchers to take laboratory proof-ofprinciple nanotechnologies and integrate them into industry-ready prototypes.