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The Cluster of Excellence “Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology”, jointly proposed by LMU and TUM, has been approved for a second seven-year funding phase starting in 2026. MPQ is one of the partner institutions, alongside LMU, TUM, WMI, and the Deutsches Museum. MPQ Directors Immanuel Bloch and Ignacio Cirac serve as speakers of the Cluster and have played a key role in its inception and development. more

Johannes Zeiher has accepted a tenure-track W2 professorship at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. His group “Artificial Quantum Matter” is part of the Faculty of Physics’ Quantum Optics chair. At LMU, the researcher will expand the work of his independent research group, originally established at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), while continuing to collaborate closely with the institute. more

Researchers from MPQ and LMU have experimentally demonstrated a strongly interacting quantum phase – known as the Mott-Meissner phase. This phase emerges under the combined influence of strong interactions and an artificial magnetic field. The results mark a major breakthrough: Previous experimental studies of interacting particles in artificial magnetic fields had been limited to system sizes involving only two particles. more

Immanuel Bloch, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Chair of Experimental Physics at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, has been elected as an international member of the National Academy of Sciences. Appointment to the NAS is one of the highest distinctions a scientist can receive – its members are considered luminaries in their respective fields. more

At the nationwide Girls’Day, girls have the chance to explore careers where women are still underrepresented. The Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics has been part of the initiative for many years – and once again this year, the participants enjoyed a wide-ranging programme. Through talks, hands-on experiments and tours of a lab and the mechanical workshop, the fifteen students gained insight into the diverse everyday work of a quantum optics researcher. more

Ferenc Krausz received the award as part of the Bavarian Digital Prize B.DiGiTAL 2025. Florian Herrmann, Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery and Minister of State for Federal Affairs and Media, presented the award on behalf of Minister President Markus Söder: “Ferenc Krausz’s groundbreaking research is advancing progress in medicine and IT – with the potential for many more revolutionary developments.” more

On the evening of April 9, 2025, the Free State of Bavaria awarded its new Hightech Prizes for the first time, across four categories. Recipient of the “Hightech Prize of the Bavarian Prime Minister” is MPQ Director Immanuel Bloch, honored for his pioneering work in experimental quantum sciences, particularly in the study of quantum many-body systems. The award includes a prize of €300,000, which is to be reinvested into research. more

The theorist explored the potential of tensor networks as a tool for describing chiral gapped condensed matter systems. His work showed how methods from quantum field theory could extend the range of applicability of tensor network theory. His results effectively render tensor networks a more complete and powerful theory for condensed matter, allowing them to describe a wider variety of systems using exclusively analytical techniques. more

In the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the member institutes of the Munich Quantum Valley Initiative open their doors to the public. The first regular event in the series “MQV-Einblicke” took place at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. During an introductory lecture and a subsequent tour of the quantum optics laboratories, the audience gained insights into quantum simulation and quantum computing with neutral atoms. more

In his PhD project, Kritsana Srakaew investigated how tunable long-range interactions of Rydberg atoms can be utilised in quantum many-body systems. His research focused on two key settings: subwavelength atomic arrays and itinerant Hubbard systems. His findings deepen our understanding of how Rydberg interactions shape quantum systems, opening new avenues for controlling light-matter interactions and studying complex quantum phases. more

Researchers at MPQ, in collaboration with the chemicals company Covestro, have developed a method for simulating chemical models using fermionic quantum simulators. The key advantage: The energetic states produced in the lab intrinsically mirror molecular behaviour. Mapping chemistry algorithms onto their fermionic quantum simulator marks a major step toward harnessing quantum computing for fundamental chemistry. more

A research team at MPQ has confirmed surprising properties of thermalisation in two-dimensional quantum systems using a quantum simulator with neutral atoms. The study demonstrates how the initial state can significantly influence the thermodynamic behaviour of such systems—unlike in classical physics. The results were recently published in Nature and provide new insights into the behaviour of quantum systems out of equilibrium. more