Emergent Magnetic Monopoles in Quantum Matter

Magnetic monopoles, though elusive as elementary particles, emerge as quantum excitations in granular quantum materials. Under certain conditions, they can undergo Bose condensation, leading to the formation of a novel state of matter known as the superinsulator. In this state, charge carriers, Cooper pairs and anti-Cooper pairs, are bound together by an electric flux string, forming neutral electric pions. This confinement mechanism results in an infinite resistance that persists even at finite temperatures. Superinsulators behave, thus, as dual superconductors.