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During photoinjection, an electron that cannot move freely through a solid receives enough energy from a light wave to become mobile. Scientists have been exploring this phenomenon since the beginning of quantum mechanics; nevertheless, there are still open questions about how the relevant processes unfold in time.  Laser physicists of MPQ and LMU have now made a direct observation of... more

Joannis Koepsell, former PhD Candidate in the group of Immanuel Bloch, receives the award for his outstanding dissertation entitled “Quantum simulation of doped two-dimensional Mott insulators”. The prize is sponsored by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation, a private institution that supports scientific research and education with an emphasis on physics. The award is donated to the Faculty of Physics and is endowed with 4,000 euros. more

Focusing on so-called symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases, the theorist uncovered some essential but previously unknown properties. Her findings further our understanding of STP phases in open systems. more

The simulation of quantum chemical processes promises a lot of progress, such as the discovery of new chains of reactions, new synthetic materials or pharmaceuticals. But it is an enormous task, which known methods have failed to date. For classical supercomputers, the molecules are too complex, and for quantum simulations with cold atoms, the technological hurdles are still too high. In a new paper, theorists have now developed... more

Every two years, the optics enterprise ZEISS honours outstanding research achievements in the fields of optics and photonics with the "ZEISS Research Award". This year, the award goes to Prof. Dr. Immanuel Bloch – one of the world's leading minds in the development of experiments for quantum simulation with ultracold atoms. The price will be awarded in a gala event on the 26th of June in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.  more

From 11 to 16 April 2023, the 15 best physics students in all of Germany came together for the national final round of the Physics Olympiad. At the MPQ, they faced tricky theoretical and experimental tasks from all areas of physics and experienced a varied programme. The five best young talents will travel to Tokyo in July as the German national team and compete with young people from over 80 countries for Olympic medals. more

The European Quantum Flagship project PASQuanS continues. Led by Immanuel Bloch, 25 project partners from academia and industry will continue to cooperate intensively for another seven years to advance European quantum simulation capabilities. Their ambitious goal: developing large-scale programmable quantum simulators with up to 10,000 atoms... more

The MPQ is launching the long-planned career initiative "Women in Quantum Optics" - WiQO for short - aimed at young female scientists in the quantum sciences. As part of the programme, female candidates will receive a two-year postdoctoral fellowship, as well as access to various training opportunities or coaching. more

In his thesis he discovered tunable Feshbach resonances between atoms and ions for the first time. For this outstanding result the AMOP section of the German Physical Society awards Pascal Weckesser, Postdoctoral researcher at MPQ, their 2023 dissertation prize. 
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With the experiment "Lecker im Licht", the school laboratory at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics has won the first prize of LernortLabor, the federal association of school laboratories. The course explains both the phenomena of light and the psychology behind lighting and colour vision. Congratulations to PhotonLab on the award! more

Along with two other researchers, Ferenc Krausz, Director and head of the Attosecond Physics Division at MPQ, receives the "Frontiers of Knowledge Award" in the basic sciences category. Since 2008, the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) Foundation annually awards the prize in eight different categories. more

Researchers at MPQ have created a switchable metamaterial: an atomic array whose optical qualities can be tuned to become either reflective or transparent. The findings build on team’s previous research on so-called “ordered atomic arrays” that enable efficient interaction between light and atoms. more