Physicists have, for the first time, created stable bright matter-wave solitons with attractive interactions inside a laser-generated grid.

Unlike typical quantum waves that spread out, solitons remain concentrated in one spot.

Using a Bose–Einstein condensate of cesium atoms cooled near absolute zero, the team trapped the atoms in an optical lattice of laser light and tuned magnetic fields to make them attract each other.

This delicate balance allowed the solitons to remain stable without dispersing or collapsing, Phys.org has reported.

The achievement provides a new method to control and guide atomic clusters, an important step for future quantum technologies.