ASPACE-Q
The Astrophysics, Space Exploration and Quantum Computing Group
ASPACE-Q
The Astrophysics, Space Exploration and Quantum Computing Group
by Maria Ișfan, PhD student
Top Left: 3D atomistic model of the graphene device. Bottom Left: Top view of the actual device, as seen under an optical microscope. Right: Artistic Illustration of electrons moving like a fluid inside graphene. Credit: Aniket Majumdar
Researchers at the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and collaborators from the National Institute for Material Science in Japan detected for the first time a quantum fluid of electrons in graphene (a material structure made of a single layer of carbon atoms). The results were published in Nature Physics (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-025-02972-z).
These electrons behave like a Dirac fluid. Instead of acting like individual quantum particles, they flow collectively as an ultra-low viscosity fluid. Usually, in a material the electrical and the thermal conductivities are proportional. However, in this electron fluid, they have an inverse relation, violating the Wiedermann-Franz law with a factor larger than 200 at low temperatures.
This exotic state of matter resembles the quark-gluon plasma, which is observed in particle accelerators at CERN.
