Direct imaging captures the crystalline vibrations of a supersolid made of atoms and light Researchers have succeeded in unequivocally demonstrating supersolidity in ultracold potassium atoms coupled to light. These direct observations, now published in Science, show a cloud of potassium atoms spontaneously forming stripes (a crystal-like structure) whose spacing oscillates in time, alternately getting closer together and moving farther apart. Ultimately, this generated a spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensate where two atomic states of different momentum interfered with each other. The first direct images of this kind of supersolid have, in fact, settled the debate surrounding spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates, establishing them as an excellent new platform for studying supersolidity. Single shot experimental image of the in situ density profile of the cloud of potassium atoms measured with matter-wave optics.