Found in the semi-metal material ZrSiS, these quasiparticles are massless when moving at light speed in one direction but gain mass when slowing down in another, due to resistance within the material’s electronic structure.

This behavior, tied to Einstein’s E=mc², was unexpected and may lead to applications similar to graphene.

Researchers are now studying the unexplained quantum interactions behind this phenomenon, published in Physical Review X.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 16 hours ago

I think a quasi-particle is more like a phenomenon that can mathematically be described in a way a particle would be, rather than just a group of particles. After all, holes in semiconductors are quasiparticles caused by a lack of real particles.

Admittedly, I know very little about quasi-particles.