Room-temperature supersolid observed in a light-matter condensate

Overview

Updated 6 hours ago

Supersolids flow without friction yet hold a crystal-like pattern. Since they were first made in 2017, they have existed only near absolute zero. A consortium led by the University of Warsaw has now produced one in a light-matter condensate at room temperature.

The device is a liquid-crystal microcavity filled with an organic semiconductor, and its optical properties can be tuned with voltage. That makes it the first electrically adjustable platform for studying supersolid exciton-polariton condensates.

Why it matters

Quantum phases that once required near-absolute-zero cooling may now be studied, and eventually used, in room-temperature photonic devices.

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Key Indicators

60°C

Operating temperature ceiling

The liquid-crystal microcavity can operate at temperatures approaching 60°C, per the Military University of Technology team.

3.33 µm

Stripe spacing

Measured period of the density modulation, close to the predicted 3.46 micrometres.

1.0121

Zero-delay correlation

Correlation between light from the two counter-propagating modes, near 1, the signature of coherence.

15.89 µJ/cm²

Supersolid onset threshold

Excitation level at which light appeared in the two counter-propagating modes.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Marcin Muszyński

First author of the Science Advances paper; postdoctoral researcher

Postdoctoral researcher at The City College of New York

Wiktor Piecek

Professor at the Military University of Technology; led liquid-crystal structure development

Professor, Military University of Technology (Poland)

Guillaume Malpuech

Professor at Institut Pascal (CNRS); theoretical lead

Professor, Institut Pascal, CNRS

Thilo Stöferle

Researcher at IBM Research Zurich; organic semiconductor deposition

Researcher, IBM Research Zurich

Organizations Involved

University of Warsaw, Faculty of Physics

University research department

Led the experiment and the paper

The Warsaw physics faculty coordinated the consortium and the experimental work.

Military University of Technology

University research department

Built the liquid-crystal microcavity structures

The Polish technical university supplied the liquid-crystal structures that enable room-temperature operation.

IBM Research Zurich

Corporate research laboratory

Deposited the organic semiconductor films and ran key measurements

The lab deposited MeLPPP films onto photonic structures and carried out the most important measurements.

CNRS / Institut Pascal

National research organization

Provided theoretical framework

The French national research body contributed the theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking in the condensate.

Timeline

October 2026 November 2026

2 events Latest: 2 days ago

November 2026
University of Warsaw announces the result
Latest Announcement

The university publicizes the room-temperature supersolid, describing the liquid-crystal microcavity and its voltage tunability.
2 days ago
October 2026
Supersolid results published in Science Advances
Publication

The Warsaw-led consortium reports a supersolid phase in a spin-orbit coupled exciton-polariton condensate at room temperature.
October 2026

Scenarios

Independent group replicates a room-temperature polariton supersolid

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: The Warsaw-led authors, who present the result as a general platform rather than a one-off

The claim rests on one sample type and one material combination. If other groups reproduce a supersolid phase in exciton-polariton condensates above 0°C, the result becomes a platform. If not, it stays a single-lab curiosity.

Voltage tuning of the supersolid is demonstrated

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: The authors, who call the liquid-crystal cavity the first electrically tunable supersolid platform

The paper argues the cavity's optical properties can be controlled with an external voltage. A published demonstration of switching the supersolid phase on or off electrically would move the work from a static observation to a controllable device.

Supersolid platform yields a working photonic device

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2029

Discussed by: The authors, who cite ultrafast photonic devices, neuromorphic computing and optical sensors as possible uses

The proposed applications are speculative. A functional device that relies on the supersolid phase, rather than on ordinary polariton condensation, would be the first practical payoff.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2017

Supersolidity in ultracold atoms (2017)

Physicists predicted in the 1960s that a superfluid could also form a periodic crystal-like structure. The first experimental observations came in 2017, in ultracold atomic Bose-Einstein condensates held near absolute zero.

Then

Supersolidity moved from theory to a measured phase, but only in cryogenic atomic systems.

Now

The result set the benchmark: a supersolid was real, but required extreme cooling and complex atomic apparatus.

Why this matters now

The new work keeps the same phase but swaps ultracold atoms for light-matter quasiparticles that survive only picoseconds, and does it at room temperature.

March 2026

Room-temperature supersolid in nanostructures (2026)

A separate team reported a room-temperature supersolid in a nanostructured device, published in Nature Nanotechnology. That result also framed room-temperature operation as the long-standing barrier to practical use.

Then

It showed that more than one approach could reach a supersolid without cryogenics.

Now

Whether these platforms converge or stay separate depends on replication and on which is easier to control.

Why this matters now

The Warsaw result is a second, independent route to room-temperature supersolidity, using a liquid-crystal cavity rather than a nanostructured device.