D-PHYS News
All stories that have been tagged with Quantum sciences
Superfluid surprise
- Research
- Physics
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Researchers from the Institute for Quantum Electronics and the Quantum Center studied particle and entropy flows between two connected superfluid reservoirs and found unexpected evidence of irreversible and enhanced entropy transport.
A recipe for scalable quantum dots
- Research
- Physics
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
A team including researchers from the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich found a method for creating electrically defined quantum dots with the potential for long-sought tunability and scalability.
Rediscovering quantum mechanics through teaching
- Education
- Physics
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
- 100 Years of Quantum Mechanics
No two lecturers are likely to teach quantum mechanics in the same way, but many will agree that its richness and intrinsic peculiarities make for a wonderful playground for teaching experimentation.
Long live the graphene valley state
- Laboratory for Solid State Physics (LFKP)
- Research
- Physics
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Researchers in the Laboratory for Solid State Physics at ETH Zurich found evidence that bilayer graphene quantum dots may host a promising new type of quantum bit based on so-called valley states.
Quantum scars as a way out of thermalisation
- Research
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Researchers studied how quantum many-body scars, states that resist thermalisation, could be probed experimentally in a variety of systems and thus harnessed for quantum information processing applications.
Peering behind the quantum mechanical curtain
- Research
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Physics
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Researchers from the Institute for Theoretical Physics used a more general formulation of quantum mechanics to study a breakdown of adiabaticity.
D-PHYS at Scientifica 2023
- Events
- Physics
- Astronomy
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
On 2 and 3 September up to 30,000 visitors sought answers to the question: what holds the world together?
Single atoms for everyone
- Events
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- Physics
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Thanks to a collaboration between the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich and Technorama, visitors to the Science Centre can see with their naked eye very small objects that behave according to the unfamiliar laws of quantum mechanics – single atoms.
Challenging quantum mechanics with a crystal
- Laboratory for Solid State Physics (LFKP)
- D-PHYS
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Researchers at ETH have put a crystal into a quantum superposition state and measured for how long quantum effects in the vibrations of the crystal lasted. Such measurements are important for putting bounds on possible modifications of quantum theory that could explain why we do not see quantum features in everyday life.
Magnetic matchmaking under the microscope
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Quantum sciences
Experimentalists at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching (Germany), in close collaboration with theoretical physicist Eugene Demler at ETH Zurich, observed for the first time in microscopic detail how magnetic correlations mediate the pairing of quantum entities known as holes. The work establishes an intriguing platform for exploring theoretical models of high-temperature superconductivity — and might guide future efforts for designing novel quantum materials.
Integrated photonic circuits could help close the ‘terahertz gap’
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- Physics
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
EPFL researchers have collaborated with colleagues at ETH Zurich and Harvard University on a new thin-film circuit which, when connected to a laser beam, produces finely tailorable terahertz-frequency waves. The device opens up a world of potential applications in optics and telecommunications.
A quantum pump without the crank
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- Quantum sciences
ETH physicists demonstrate how atoms can be pumped through a synthetic crystal without having to apply external periodic driving. These experiments combine several key aspects of quantum many-body physics in unexpected ways, thus paving a novel path to understanding and creating exotic states of quantum matter.
A key role for quantum entanglement
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Quantum sciences
A method known as quantum key distribution has long held the promise of communication security unattainable in conventional cryptography. An international team of scientists, including ETH physicists, has now demonstrated experimentally, for the first time, an approach to quantum key distribution that uses high-quality quantum entanglement to provide much broader security guarantees than previous schemes.
Going gentle on mechanical quantum systems
- Laboratory for Solid State Physics (LFKP)
- Quantum sciences
Systems in which mechanical motion is controlled at the level of individual quanta are emerging as a promising quantum-technology platform. New experimental work now establishes how quantum properties of such systems can be measured without destroying the quantum state — a key ingredient for tapping the full potential of mechanical quantum systems.
The side effects of quantum error correction and how to cope with them
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- Quantum sciences
It is well established that quantum error correction can improve the performance of quantum sensors. But new theory work cautions that, unexpectedly, the approach can also give rise to inaccurate and misleading results — and shows how to rectify these shortcomings.
Vacuum fluctuations break topological protection
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- Quantum sciences
A hallmark of so-called topological quantum states is that they are protected against local perturbations. ETH physicists now demonstrate that in the paradigmatic case of the integer quantum Hall effect, vacuum fluctuations can cause a breakdown of topological protection.
Quantum errors made more tolerable
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- Quantum sciences
ETH physicists have modified one of the major schemes for quantum error correction and put it into practice, demonstrating that they can substantially prolong the lifetime of quantum states — a crucial ingredient for future large-scale quantum computers.
Quantum Physics at Technorama
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- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- D-PHYS
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Quantum computers and quantum mechanics are currently the focus of intensive research, including at ETH Zurich, and are also increasingly becoming topics in the media. In this domain, researchers work with the tiniest of particles daily, with a particular emphasis on experimentally realizing a new era of information technologies with capabilities beyond those available to us today. But how can this world of quantum physics be experienced outside the laboratory?
Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics goes to Eugene Demler
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Topic tags
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Eugene Demler, quantum researcher and professor at ETH Zurich, was honoured for his theoretical work on quantum fluids and solids, especially for his contributions to the study of ultracold atoms in optical lattices.
“We have to make the right moves!”
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Physics
- Quantum sciences
- D-PHYS
ETH professor Renato Renner is one of the world’s leading theoreticians in quantum information science. He talks about the latest developments. Renato Renner’s group focuses on the question of how the processing and transmission of information relates to physical laws.
The future draws nearer
- Laboratory for Solid State Physics (LFKP)
- Research
- Physics
- Quantum sciences
Yiwen Chu researches new ways of connecting quantum technologies, with the aim of creating a quantum telecommunications network for the exchange and storage of quantum information.
ERC Starting Grants for Yiwen Chu and Judit Szulágyi
- Laboratory for Solid State Physics (LFKP)
- Research awards
- Astrophysics (IPA)
- Quantum sciences
- D-PHYS
ETH has once again been highly successful in the awarding of this year’s ERC Starting Grants for young researchers, with the European Research Council (ERC) approving a total of CHF 21.4 million in funding for 12 ETH project submissions, among them those of physicists Yiwen Chu and Judit Szulágyi.
A new path for electron optics in solid-state systems
- Laboratory for Solid State Physics (LFKP)
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Quantum sciences
- D-PHYS
In combined theoretical and experimental work, ETH physicists introduce and demonstrate a novel mechanism for electron optics in two-dimensional solid-state systems. The discovery opens up a route to engineering quantum-optical phenomena in a variety of materials and devices.
With noise to completely secure communication
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Quantum sciences
- D-PHYS
How can we protect communications against 'eavesdropping' if we don’t trust the devices used in the process? This is one of the main questions in quantum-cryptography research. Researchers at the University of Basel and ETH Zurich have now developed the theoretical groundwork for a communication protocol that guarantees one hundred percent privacy.
The cascade to criticality
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Quantum sciences
Combined theoretical and experimental work unveils a novel mechanism through which criticality emerges in quasiperiodic structures — a finding that provides unique insight into the physics on the middle ground between order and disorder.
A shuttle to quantum computers
- Research
- Institute for Quantum Electronics (IQE)
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Well-controlled shuttling of ions through laser beams should enable scalable quantum computing.