Physicists in China have created a tabletop experiment using Rydberg atoms arranged in rings to simulate the decay of a false vacuum—a scenario where the universe could suddenly transition to a lower-energy state via quantum tunneling.

By precisely controlling atomic rotations with lasers, the team observed the real-time formation of “bubbles” of true vacuum, confirming key predictions from quantum field theory. Notably, the results show that decay rates decrease as field strength increases.

Beyond cosmology, the experiment uncovers unique behaviors in discrete quantum systems, offering a powerful new way to study extreme, universe-scale phenomena within controlled laboratory condition

This episode includes AI-generated content.