Scientists discover classical space-time crystals moving like Majorana quasiparticles

Researchers from WPI-SKCM² have published a groundbreaking study titled “Emergent discrete space-time crystal of Majorana-like quasiparticles in chiral liquid crystals” in Nature Communications, demonstrating that discrete space-time crystals can be realized in classical soft-matter systems. The study challenges the long-held belief that such exotic states of matter can exist only in fragile quantum systems and opens new possibilities for future optical technologies and soft-matter research.

The international research team, led by Hanqing Zhao, Rui Zhang, and Ivan I. Smalyukh, showed that robust space-time crystals can emerge in liquid crystals at room temperature, providing a classical analogue of Majorana-like quasiparticles and establishing a new direction in the study of time-dependent ordered materials.

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https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/news/98377