Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Active quantum matter has very recently emerged at the intersection between bio- and quantum many-body physics, combining the self-organization of living systems with the coherence of the quantum world. Active quantum systems have been shown to exhibit flocking - a collective phenomenon with no precedent in equilibrium quantum physics. In this work we uncover an unexpected layer of quantum order in active quantum flocks: they can become superfluid. We show that, in addition to the symmetry breaking associated with their directed motion, these flocks can also break an additional U(1) symmetry, giving rise to off-diagonal long-range order. For a microscopic model of active hard-core bosons governed by Lindblad dynamics, we derive an effective long-wavelength description of the single-particle density matrix and demonstrate that the flocking phase develops an instability toward off-diagonal long-range order characteristic of superfluid behavior. Our findings reveal active quantum matter as a promising research direction for discovering exotic nonequilibrium phases of quantum matter.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Institutions: University of Luxembourg, University of Augsburg
Language: English
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7212057194