An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A phase transitions that occurs at zero temperature as a function of a non-thermal parameter like → pressure, → magnetic field, or → chemical composition. In contrast to ordinary → phase transitions, which are associated with passage through a critical temperature, quantum phase transitions are associated with → quantum fluctuations, a consequence of → Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. For example, see → Bose-Einstein condensation.

See also: → quantum; → phase; → transition.