Van Gogh’s iconic painting ‘The Starry Night’ is not just a masterpiece of art — it has also inspired a groundbreaking discovery in quantum physics. Scientists have for the first time observed a decades-old prediction about quantum turbulence while uncovering mysterious crescent-shaped vortices that strikingly resemble the painting’s famous glowing moon.
This remarkable study reveals a new link between the swirling skies of van Gogh’s 19th-century work and the intricate behavior of quantum fluids. Could a work of art truly help unlock secrets of the subatomic world? The answer is yes, and it offers fascinating insights into the physics of the very small.
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At the heart of the research lies the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI), a phenomenon best known for creating dramatic wave patterns where two fluids slide past each other at different speeds. Anyone who’s seen ocean waves or the streaky clouds on a windy day has witnessed KHI in action.
But translating this familiar instability into the quantum realm has long puzzled scientists. Unlike the fluids we’re used to—water, air, or oil—quantum fluids, such as Bose–Einstein condensates or superfluids, follow the quirky laws of quantum mechanics. They have no viscosity and exist in delicate quantum states that are notoriously difficult to create and sustain.
For years, the idea that KHI could happen in such an exotic fluid seemed out of reach. That changed thanks to a clever experiment led by Hiromitsu Takeuchi and his team at Osaka Metropolitan University. They chilled a gas of lithium atoms to just a few billionths of a degree above absolute zero, pushing it into a multi-component Bose–Einstein condensate. This state causes the atoms to behave as one united quantum wave.
How crescent-shaped vortices were discovered
The researchers then arranged the condensate into two overlapping components that flowed past each other at differing speeds. At the interface, tiny ripples began to form—tellingly similar to the early phases of classical KHI observed in ordinary fluids.
But here’s the exciting twist: instead of smooth waves, the quantum world produced vortices with unusual shapes and behaviors. These were known as eccentric fractional skyrmions (EFSs), unlike any skyrmions seen before. While traditional skyrmions tend to be symmetrical and centered, these were crescent-shaped, featuring embedded singularities—sharp points where the usual spin patterns suddenly broke down.
To Takeuchi, the resemblance was uncanny. “The large crescent moon in the upper right corner of The Starry Night looks exactly like an EFS,” he said.
These quantum vortices carry only half the elementary charge, a property setting them apart from conventional skyrmions and merons. This unusual behavior emerges from what scientists call “anomalous symmetry-breaking,” marking a new frontier in understanding quantum topological defects.
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Skyrmions are no stranger to cutting-edge technology discussions, especially in the field of spintronics, where researchers aim to create faster, more efficient devices by manipulating the spin of particles instead of relying solely on electric currents.
Finding a new type of skyrmion in a quantum fluid hints at yet unexplored possibilities for data storage and processing. Could these eccentric fractional skyrmions lead to breakthroughs in quantum computing or other advanced fields? The potential is thrilling.
Moreover, these findings challenge existing frameworks in physics. Current classifications of topological structures don’t fully explain the unique nature of EFSs, suggesting that our grasp of quantum states still has room to grow. This work opens the door to better understanding the complex nonlinear dynamics that govern these extraordinary systems.
The future of quantum turbulence research
The team’s next goal is to conduct even more precise experiments, potentially testing Kelvin–Helmholtz wave predictions made more than a century ago. They also want to explore whether similar vortices can be found in other multi-component or higher-dimensional quantum fluids.
It’s fascinating to think that a painting created in the late 1800s can inspire discoveries that might reshape parts of modern physics. Reading about this connection reminds me how both science and art are ways of making sense of the world’s hidden patterns. One of my own moments of wonder came when I saw the swirling patterns of a river and thought of a painting hanging in a museum. Sometimes glimpsing unexpected links can open our eyes wider—making even the most abstract concepts feel a little more familiar.
What about you? Have you ever connected a work of art to something you noticed in nature or science? I’d love to hear your stories or thoughts about this unique intersection of creativity and discovery.
The study is published in the journal Nature Physics.