Unusual quantum liquid on crystal surface could inspire future electronics

(PrincetonUniversity) Researchers at Princeton University and the University of Texas-Austin found that electrons, when kept at very low temperatures where their quantum behaviors emerge, can spontaneously begin to travel in elliptical paths on the surface of a crystal of bismuth. The strange elliptical orbits correspond to the electrons being in different "valleys" of possible states created by the crystal. The findings could inform further research on a forward-looking strategy for electronics