Nobel Prize in Physics: Cutting-edge research into quantum technology also in Erlangen
In the year of quantum research, three scientists from this discipline are receiving special recognition: they are being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. The researchers laid the foundation for the development of the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors. These topics are also being researched at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) and in Erlangen.
Prof. Dr. Florian Marquardt, head of a chair in theoretical physics at FAU and director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, explains: "This year's Nobel Prize went to the researchers who laid the foundation for one of the most successful variants of quantum computing that exists today: superconducting quantum processors. The work of John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis in the 1980s addressed a seemingly simple question: What happens when you cool an electrical circuit, essentially a piece of metal, to the lowest possible temperature? It was already known that metals can have zero electrical resistance at low temperatures and conduct electricity without generating heat. However, these three observed something much stranger: the entire circuit behaves like a single quantum object. Similarly to individual electrons or atoms, the circuit exhibits properties typical of quantum physics. These included, in particular, the tunneling effect, in which an object switches between two states even though there is a large barrier between them. At the time, this was considered a curiosity. Since then, technological development has made great strides. These groundbreaking experiments ultimately led to the invention of superconducting qubits.
Enormous potential for application in information technology
And it is precisely these superconducting circuits that the research group led by Prof. Dr. Christopher Eichler, Head of the Chair of Experimental Physics at FAU, is working on. He says: “We were all delighted for this year's three prize winners. With their groundbreaking work on the quantum mechanical tunneling effect in superconductors, these three pioneers have laid the foundation for a whole new field of research with enormous potential for application in information technology. Such quantum mechanical tunnel contacts can now be incorporated into increasingly complex electrical circuits. This allows quantum information to be stored, initialized, processed, and read out. In other words, it is possible to compute with quantum information. And all thanks to the quantum mechanical tunneling effect. We are sure to see many more exciting developments in the coming years that build on the work of Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis.”
In June of this year, the MPL gathered 300 physicists on the island of Heligoland to celebrate 100 years of quantum mechanics. Nobel Prize winner Michel Devoret gave one of the keynote speeches and explained how these counterintuitive quantum effects manifest in his latest experiments with superconducting quantum circuits.
Experience quantum physics in Erlangen
To celebrate 100 years of quantum physics, FAU and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light are putting quantum research in the spotlight at the Long Night of Science on Saturday, October 25 – at FAU with exciting lectures on research trends in the Audimax. The Max Planck Institute will open its laboratories and provide insights into current issues in quantum research.
