Chinese physicists simulate false vacuum decay in laboratory experiment

7 articles · Updated · Futurism · Apr 28

A Tsinghua University team engineered a ring of Rydberg atoms and used lasers to mimic false vacuum decay, observing faster decay with stronger symmetry-breaking lasers.
Their experiment allowed real-time observation of quantum tunneling and the formation of a 'bubble' containing a true vacuum state, supporting quantum field theory predictions.
This tabletop simulation marks a significant step for future research into universe-scale vacuum stability, following earlier quantum computer simulations of similar phenomena in 2025.

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