Anyons: the two-dimensional particles that reframe reality | Aeon Essays

"Bosons are sociable. They happily pile into the same quantum state, that is, the same combination of quantum properties such as energy level, like photons do when they form a laser. Fermions, by contrast, are the introverts of the particle world. They flat out refuse to share a quantum state with one another. This reclusive behaviour is what forces electrons to arrange themselves in layered atomic shells, ultimately giving rise to the structure of the periodic table and the rich chemistry it enables."

"In recent years, evidence has been accumulating for a third class of particles called 'anyons'. Their name, coined by the Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek, gestures playfully at their refusal to fit into the standard binary of bosons and fermions - for anyons, anything goes. If confirmed, anyons wouldn't just add a new member to the particle zoo. They would constitute an entirely novel category - a new genus - that rewrites the rules for how particles move, interact, and combine."

"Although none of the elementary particles that physicists have detected are anyons, it is possible to engineer environments that give rise to them and potentially harness their power. We now think that some anyons wind around one another, weaving paths that store information in a way that's unusually hard to disturb. That makes them promising candidates for building quantum computers - machines that could revolutionise fields like drug discovery, materials science, and cryptography."

All matter is built from elementary particles traditionally classed as bosons or fermions. Bosons can occupy identical quantum states while fermions obey the Pauli exclusion principle, shaping atomic structure and chemistry. Recent evidence indicates a third class, anyons, with exchange statistics distinct from bosons and fermions. Anyons can emerge in engineered environments and exhibit braiding behavior that stores information in topological paths resistant to local disturbances. Such topological information storage could enable robust, fault-tolerant quantum computing. Anyon-based quantum designs may offer intrinsic protection against decoherence and promise applications across drug discovery, materials science, and cryptography.

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