"Quantum and Neuronal Avalanches: Insights and Innovations"

Researchers at Harvard University have observed the onset of quantum avalanches in a many-body localized system for the first time. Many-body localization occurs when a system made of interacting particles fails to reach thermal equilibrium even at high temperatures. The researchers placed cold atoms in a potential that they built out of precisely shaped laser beams and observed how the particles would spread. They found that particles from the non-disordered region started to spread to the disordered one at an increasing speed, suggesting the onset of a quantum avalanche. These findings could inspire new experiments aimed at further probing quantum avalanches and assessing the robustness of localization in strongly interacting many-body systems.