An experimental setup built at the Technion Faculty of Physics demonstrates the transfer of atoms from one place to another through quantum tunneling between optical tweezers. Led by Prof. Yoav Sagi and doctoral student Yanay Florshaim from the Solid State Institute, the research was published in Science Advances.

The experiment is based on optical tweezers—an experimental tool for capturing atoms, molecules, and even living cells using an optical potential created by laser beams focused on a micron-sized spot.

How is this possible? The interaction of light with matter generates a force proportional to the intensity of the light. This force is too weak to affect our daily lives, but when it comes to tiny particles such as atoms, it can be strong enough to hold them in place or move them from one location to another.

The invention of optical tweezers, which have become a significant tool in physics, earned physicist Arthur Ashkin the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2018.

The Technion researchers used a linear array of three optical tweezers in their experiment. By changing the distances between each pair of adjacent tweezers, they dynamically controlled the tunneling rate of atoms between them.

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