In a surprising discovery, scientists have found a connection between Earth’s equatorial waves and the behavior of electrons in topological insulators. Equatorial Kelvin waves, which propagate around the equator due to the Coriolis force, are similar to the edge current in a topological insulator. This connection explains the robustness of equatorial waves and why they remain strong despite turbulence and chaos in Earth’s atmosphere. By studying Poincaré-gravity waves in Earth’s stratosphere, scientists confirmed the existence of twisted topological waves and observed the spiraling wave functions in a manner similar to topological insulators. This groundbreaking research has provided a nontrivial explanation for the existence and strength of Earth’s equatorial waves.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-quantum-physics-describes-earths-weather-patterns-20230718/