Insight into metastability and avalanche dynamics in strongly correlated gases with long-range interactions

The phenomenon of metastability -- when a system is in a state that is stable but not the one of least energy -- is widely observed in nature and technology. Yet, many aspects underlying the mechanisms governing the behavior and dynamics of such systems remain unexplored. Physicists have now demonstrated a promising platform for studying metastability on a fundamental level, using an exquisitely well controlled gas consisting of a few ten thousands of atoms.