Low-temperature physics

Low-temperature physics studies matter and physical processes at temperatures far below ordinary environmental conditions, where quantum effects and unusual phases become prominent.

Cryogenics: The science and engineering of producing and using very low temperatures. Cryogenic methods remove heat to reach the regimes studied in low-temperature physics.
Thermal energy: The characteristic energy associated with temperature, commonly expressed as Boltzmann's constant times temperature. Comparing thermal energy with material energy scales predicts when cooling matters.
Dilution refrigerator: A refrigerator that uses helium-3 and helium-4 mixing to reach millikelvin temperatures continuously. It provides the temperatures required for many quantum-material experiments.
High-temperature superconductivity: Superconductivity occurring at temperatures higher than those of conventional superconductors, though often still requiring cooling. Its higher transition temperatures challenge explanations built around conventional low-temperature superconductors.
Bose–Einstein condensation: A state in which a dilute bosonic gas occupies a shared quantum ground state at sufficiently low temperature. It is a striking collective quantum phase created by cooling.
Boltzmann constant: The physical constant that relates temperature to energy in statistical mechanics. It converts a temperature into the energy scale relevant to low-temperature behavior.
Adiabatic demagnetization: A cooling method that lowers a material's temperature by reducing its magnetic field under insulated conditions. It is a key route to temperatures below those readily reached by ordinary cryogenic methods.
Room-temperature superconductor: A material that superconducts near ordinary ambient temperature, a state not yet established under everyday pressure. It represents the prospect of superconductivity without cryogenic cooling.
Superfluidity: A phase of matter that flows without viscosity and exhibits macroscopic quantum behavior. Cooling helium or atomic gases can produce frictionless flow.
Quantum statistics: The statistical laws governing indistinguishable quantum particles, including bosons and fermions. At low temperatures, particle statistics strongly shape collective states.

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