Tsinghua simulates false vacuum decay experiment in Physical Review Letters
Chinese researchers just pulled off a wild experiment: they simulated a quantum event called "false vacuum decay," the kind of thing that, in theory, could wipe out the universe.
Published in Physical Review Letters on March 27, 2026, their work bridges big physics ideas with actual lab science.
Wang Xiao reassures, rubidium-87 mimics decay
The team at Tsinghua University used lasers and rubidium-87 atoms to mimic this dramatic energy shift, creating two states and triggering the decay with quantum fluctuations.
Lead scientist Wang Xiao made it clear: they are not predicting doom, just exploring how quantum mechanics works.
He also pointed out that these atom arrays could help push quantum technology forward—and invited researchers worldwide to join in figuring out these mysteries together.