Liu Lee R, Rosenberg Dina, Changala P Bryan, Crowley Philip J D, Nesbitt David J, Yao Norman Y, Tscherbul Timur V, Ye Jun
JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Science. 2023 Aug 18;381(6659):778-783. doi: 10.1126/science.adi6354. Epub 2023 Aug 17.
Ergodicity, the central tenet of statistical mechanics, requires an isolated system to explore all available phase space constrained by energy and symmetry. Mechanisms for violating ergodicity are of interest for probing nonequilibrium matter and protecting quantum coherence in complex systems. Polyatomic molecules have long served as a platform for probing ergodicity breaking in vibrational energy transport. Here, we report the observation of rotational ergodicity breaking in an unprecedentedly large molecule, C, determined from its icosahedral rovibrational fine structure. The ergodicity breaking occurs well below the vibrational ergodicity threshold and exhibits multiple transitions between ergodic and nonergodic regimes with increasing angular momentum. These peculiar dynamics result from the molecule's distinctive combination of symmetry, size, and rigidity, highlighting its relevance to emergent phenomena in mesoscopic quantum systems.
遍历性是统计力学的核心原则，它要求一个孤立系统探索受能量和对称性约束的所有可用相空间。违反遍历性的机制对于探测非平衡物质和保护复杂系统中的量子相干性具有重要意义。多原子分子长期以来一直是探测振动能量传输中遍历性破坏的平台。在这里，我们报告了在一个前所未有的大分子C中观察到的旋转遍历性破坏，这是根据其二十面体转动振动精细结构确定的。遍历性破坏发生在远低于振动遍历性阈值的情况下，并且随着角动量的增加，在遍历和非遍历状态之间呈现多次转变。这些奇特的动力学源于分子独特的对称性、尺寸和刚性组合，突出了其与介观量子系统中涌现现象的相关性。
