Physicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have published a new study that details their discovery of a hybrid particle. This particle is composed of an electron and phonon, which allows them to behave like one particle. This bond between the particles is called “glue” by the team, explaining that it is 10 stronger than any other hybrid of this type.
Christine Daniloff/MIT
Many people know the electron. This subatomic particle can attach to anatom. However, phonons are referred to as quasiparticles. They’re created by vibrational energy from atoms and are neither a particle or a wave.
The researchers refer to this new hybrid particle as one that is made up of an electron and phonon “tuned in tandem”. (via MIT ). This means that stimulation of the electron could also cause changes in the phonon “glued to” it. These phonon changes can trigger changes in the structure of a material, especially its magnetic properties.
