quantum physics

First images of Landau levels revealed
10/04/2012 - 09:42

Physicists have directly imaged Landau Levels – the quantum levels that determine electron behaviour in a strong magnetic field – for the first time since they were theoretically conceived of by Nobel prize winner Lev Landau in 1930.

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Quantum Condensate of the Thirteenth Kind
05/22/2012 - 09:07

Ultracold quantum gases have exceptional properties and offer an ideal system to study basic physical phenomena. By choosing erbium, the research team led by Francesca Ferlaino from the Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Innsbruck, selected a very exotic element, which due to its particular properties offers new and fascinating possibilities to investigate fundamental questions in quantum physics. “Erbium is comparatively heavy and has a strongly magnetic character.

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Quantum random motions can now be simulated in two dimensions, providing new insights into the behaviour of quantum objects
03/20/2012 - 23:36

Tourists who drift aimlessly during a sightseeing tour are moving randomly - just like electrons that move from one atom to the next. To obtain a better understanding of these random motions it is often useful to reduce their complexity. Physicists do this by simulating random walks. These simulations can bring new insights in the quantum world as well. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and the University of Paderborn and their colleagues are now the first to successfully realise an arrangement for a quantum walk in two dimensions. The experimental setup can be used to investigate many quantum phenomena.

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A Traffic Jam of Quantum Particles
03/05/2012 - 15:26

LMU/MPQ-scientists discover surprising transport phenomena in ultracold quantum many body systems.  Transport properties such as thermal or electrical conductivity are of great importance for technical applications of materials. In particular the electrical conductivity stems from the behaviour of the electrons in the solid and is very difficult to predict. This is true especially in the case of strongly correlated electrons, when the position and the dynamics of each single electron is strongly influenced by the behaviour of all other electrons.

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Two Molecules communicate via single photons
02/28/2012 - 08:13

Scientists realize one of the most elementary and oldest “gedanken” experiments in modern physics, namely, excitation of a single molecule with a single photon. This paves the way for further investigations in which single photons act as carriers of quantum information to be processed by single emitters.

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Squeezing What Hasn’t Been Squeezed Before: Scientists Score Another Victory Over Uncertainty in Quantum Physics Measurements
02/27/2012 - 10:26

Most people attempt to reduce the little uncertainties of life by carrying umbrellas on cloudy days, purchasing automobile insurance or hiring inspectors to evaluate homes they might consider purchasing. For scientists, reducing uncertainty is a no less important goal, though in the weird realm of quantum physics, the term has a more specific meaning.

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