The study authors examined this process in great detail using numerical simulations and some experiments and noticed a type of capillary instability in action. They found that the breakdown happened in a way similar to the Plateau–Rayleigh instability of classical liquids.
“While the Plateau–Rayleigh instability is well-known in classical liquids and has also been observed in superfluid helium, it has never before been seen in atomic gases,” Chiara Fort, one of the study authors and a physicist at the University of Florence, said.
The study authors claim that their measurements not only deepen the understanding of this unusual liquid phase but also show the potential for creating quantum droplet arrays, which could be useful in future technologies such as hi-tech quantum sensors and simulators.