Stockholm university

European Research Council funding for outstanding joint project in quantum physics

Markus Hennrich, professor in quantum physics at Stockholm University, together with Igor Lesanovsky from the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the University of Tübingen and Ferdinand Schmidt-Kaler from Mainz University, has been awarded the European Research Council's most prestigious grant, the ERC Synergy Grant worth EUR 10 million, about SEK 116 million, over a period of six years.

The aim of their project is to study open quantum systems using quantum simulators based on ion crystals in highly excited electronic states. These can be used not only to answer questions in physics, but also to shed light on complex processes in chemistry, biology, and information processing.

“It is beautiful to receive as a team this ERC Synergy Grant. This Grant allows us to work with the best specialists in this field and together develop a quantum simulator device that may help to understand complex quantum phenomena in material science, chemistry and biology”, says Markus Hennrich. 

In the ERC project Open 2D Quantum Simulator (Open-2QS), the researchers will realize precisely controllable quantum systems. For this purpose, ions are stored in Paul or Penning traps and form regular two-dimensional structures known as ion crystals. Selected ions are then excited with laser pulses and thereby brought into strong interaction. The dynamics that arise in such a synthetic quantum system are so complex that predicting them is far beyond the capacity of conventional computers.

About the ERC Synergy Grant

The European Research Council (ERC) provides substantial and long-term funding for cutting-edge research in all fields of science. The ERC is part of the EU's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The ERC Synergy Grant is aimed at small groups of excellent researchers with research projects with high synergy effects. A Synergy Grant is a grant of up to €14 million for a period of up to six years.

 

Read more about the ERC Synergy Grant 2024 here.