Bose-Einstein Condensate
A state of matter formed when certain atoms are cooled to near absolute zero and collapse into the same quantum state, behaving as a single quantum entity.
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that forms when certain particles (bosons) are cooled to temperatures within a billionth of a Kelvin of absolute zero. At this temperature, the particles lose their individual identities and collapse into the lowest quantum energy state, behaving collectively as a single quantum entity.
BEC was first predicted by Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein in the 1920s. The first experimental observation was achieved at JILA in Boulder, Colorado in 1995 by Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman, for which they received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics.
BEC research directly enabled neutral atom quantum computing. The techniques developed to achieve Bose-Einstein condensation, including laser cooling, magnetic trapping, and evaporative cooling, are the same techniques used to create and manipulate neutral atom qubits.
The Bose-Einstein condensate was first created in Boulder at JILA in 1995. This single experiment is arguably the most important event in the history of the Colorado quantum ecosystem, establishing Boulder as the global center of ultracold atomic physics, which is the direct predecessor to neutral atom quantum computing.