Research

Even though quantum communication is tap-proof, it is so far not particularly efficient. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics want to change this. They have developed a detection method that can be used to track quantum transmissions - without destroying the information. more

A new study carried out by a team of laser physicists, molecular biologists and physicians based at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics has confirmed the temporal stability of the molecular composition of blood in a population of healthy individuals. The data provide a basis for a new method of monitoring the constituents of blood and detecting alterations that reveal changes in a person’s state of health. more

Today’s quantum computers contain up to several dozen memory and processing units, the so-called qubits. Researchers from MPQ have successfully interconnected two such qubits located in different labs to a distributed quantum computer. Their system is the worldwide first prototype of a distributed quantum computer. more

The size of the alpha particle, the nucleus of the helium atom, has been measured more accurately than ever before. Results now indicate a size 1.67824(83) femtometers, which is 4.8 times more precise than previous measurements. The researchers used laser spectroscopy of exotic helium ions, where the electron is replaced by a 200 times heavier muon. more

Understanding systems of many interacting quantum particles remains one of the grand challenges in physics. Simulating such systems on supercomputers is impossible for more than a few particles, but promising approaches based on quantum simulators are on the horizon. more