Physicists have coaxed ultracold atoms into an elusive form of quantum matter

A new experiment produces a material with properties of a ‘quantum spin liquid’

a hand holding a thin green wire at the end of which is a bright light, surrounded by scientific apparatus

Physicists used lasers (one shown) to trap rubidium atoms in a quantum simulator, coaxing them to exhibit the physics of a strange, elusive substance called a quantum spin liquid.

Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer

An elusive form of matter called a quantum spin liquid isn’t a liquid, and it doesn’t spin — but it sure is quantum.