Exotic theoretical particles known as fractons have until now remained imaginary constructs. But new research suggests they may have been lurking under our noses within a certain kind of defect in crystals. The findings could one day help us build memory storage for quantum computers.

In 2011, Jeongwan Haah, then a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, discovered a new theoretical phase of matter composed of particle-like entities he dubbed ‘fractons.’

Fractons are characterised by how they …