Quantum mirage

In <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a>, a quantum mirage is a peculiar result in <a href="/facts/Quantum_chaos/p1JVxSTD">quantum chaos</a>. Every system of quantum <a href="/facts/Dynamical_billiards/2HPqXIrS">dynamical billiards</a> will exhibit an effect called <a href="/facts/Scar_(physics)/HHMRkBre">scarring</a>, where the quantum probability density shows traces of the paths a classical <a href="/facts/Billiard_ball/3568TLFe">billiard ball</a> would take. For an elliptical arena, the scarring is particularly pronounced at the foci, as this is the region where many classical trajectories converge. The scars at the foci are colloquially referred to as the "quantum mirage".
The quantum mirage was first experimentally observed by Hari Manoharan, Christopher Lutz and <a href="/facts/Donald_Eigler/jJMUvN1g">Donald Eigler</a> at the <a href="/facts/IBM_Research/4DaaL58U">IBM</a> <a href="/facts/Almaden_Research_Center/4DaaL58U">Almaden Research Center</a> in San Jose, California in 2000. The effect is quite remarkable but in general agreement with prior work on the quantum mechanics of dynamical billiards in elliptical arenas.

Quantum mirage open-in-new

Quantum mirage