Gyromorphs: The New Hybrid Material That Could Revolutionize Light-Based Computing

Gyromorph material combining liquid and crystal traits

Scientists at New York University have discovered a remarkable new class of materials called gyromorphs — substances that combine the seemingly incompatible traits of liquids and crystals to control light in ways never seen before. This discovery, published in Physical Review Letters, could help usher in a new era of light-based computing, where information is transmitted and processed by photons rather than electrons.

The development of optical or photonic computers has long been viewed as a transformative leap in computing technology. Unlike traditional electronics, which depend on the flow of charged particles through metal circuits, light-based processors use photons — offering potentially faster speeds, lower energy consumption, and reduced heat dissipation. Yet, one of the greatest challenges in making this vision a reality has been finding materials that can guide, block, or manipulate light efficiently in every direction. Gyromorphs may finally provide that solution.

The Quest for Isotropic Bandgap Materials

At the heart of this research lies a problem known as the isotropic photonic bandgap challenge. To prevent energy loss, light-based computers need materials that can block unwanted light waves equally from all directions — a property known as isotropy. So far, most known structures, such as crystals or quasicrystals, have failed to achieve complete isotropic bandgaps. They can either block light entirely but only along specific directions, or attenuate it partially across all directions without fully eliminating interference.

The team at NYU, led by Professor Stefano Martiniani from the Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Neural Science, set out to overcome this limitation by designing a new type of metamaterial — one whose optical properties depend not on chemical composition, but on its carefully engineered structure.

Introducing Gyromorphs: A Balance of Order and Disorder

The result of their efforts is the gyromorph — a material that blurs the line between crystalline order and liquid disorder. “Gyromorphs are unlike any known structure in that their unique makeup gives rise to better isotropic bandgap materials than is possible with current approaches,” explains Professor Martiniani.

In traditional materials, atoms or molecules are arranged either in a fixed, repeating pattern (as in crystals) or in completely random configurations (as in liquids or glasses). Gyromorphs, however, exist in a unique middle ground: they possess correlated disorder. This means that while their structure appears random at small scales, at larger scales it exhibits patterns and symmetries that reinforce light-blocking properties.

As Dr. Mathias Casiulis, lead author of the study, describes: “Gyromorphs don’t have a repeating structure like a crystal, but if you step back, they form organized patterns that interact with light in an isotropic way. This gives rise to complete optical bandgaps — regions where light waves simply cannot propagate in any direction.”

How the Discovery Was Made

To create these new materials, the NYU researchers used a computational algorithm that designs functional disordered structures. The approach involved simulating thousands of atomic arrangements and calculating their corresponding optical behaviors to identify the optimal configurations for isotropic light blocking. In essence, they discovered a new form of correlated disorder — materials that are neither fully ordered nor completely random.

The analogy, according to Martiniani, is that of a forest: “Trees grow at random positions, but not completely random — they’re usually spaced a certain distance from each other. Gyromorphs exhibit similar structured randomness that helps scatter light efficiently from every direction.”

Why Gyromorphs Matter for Photonic Computing

For the rapidly advancing field of photonic chips and light-based neural networks, the implications of gyromorph materials are profound. They can potentially be used to build:

Moreover, since the gyromorphs’ unique optical behavior arises purely from their geometry, they can theoretically be made from a variety of substances — including polymers, silica, or other common materials — making large-scale fabrication more feasible than with complex nanostructured crystals.

From Quasicrystals to Correlated Disorder

The discovery of gyromorphs also connects deeply with the legacy of quasicrystals — a concept introduced in the 1980s by physicists Paul Steinhardt and Dov Levine, and first observed experimentally by Dan Shechtman, who later received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2011). While quasicrystals provided a new model of order without periodicity, their optical properties never fully achieved isotropy. Gyromorphs, in contrast, take that idea further by deliberately embracing controlled disorder to enhance isotropic behavior.

A Bridge Between Physics, Chemistry, and Computation

The creation of gyromorphs demonstrates the power of interdisciplinary research — merging physics, mathematics, chemistry, and computational modeling. As computing moves toward photon-based architectures, such materials could be critical for designing chips that communicate using light, enabling faster data transfer and reduced power consumption compared to traditional silicon electronics.

Beyond computing, gyromorph-like materials may inspire advances in optical cloaking, metamaterial lenses, and quantum photonics. Their ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves isotropically opens possibilities across telecommunications, imaging, and fundamental physics.

Original article: https://phys.org/news/2025-11-gyromorphs-combine-liquid-crystal-traits.html
DOI: 10.1103/gqrx-7mn2

This article on Quantum Server Networks was prepared with the assistance of advanced AI technologies to enhance readability, structure, and SEO optimization for materials-science professionals.

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