Researchers from Würzburg have experimentally demonstrated a quantum tornado for the first time by refining an established method. In the quantum semimetal tantalum arsenide (TaAs), electrons in momentum space behave like a swirling vortex. This quantum phenomenon was first predicted eight years ago by a Dresden-based founding member of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat.

The discovery, a collaborative effort between ct.qmat, the research network of the Universities of Würzburg and Dresden, and international partners, has now been published in Physical Review X.

Scientists have long known that electrons can form vortices in quantum materials. What’s new is the proof that these tiny particles create tornado-like structures in momentum space—a finding that has now been confirmed experimentally. This achievement was led by Dr. Maximilian Ünzelmann, a group leader at ct.qmat—Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter—at the Universities of Würzburg and Dresden.