Christof Weitenberg joined the Department of Physics as Teacher for Ultracold Quantum Gases in 2024. His research study group examines how atoms act when they are reduced to very low temperature levels– near to outright absolutely no– by means of special laser and evaporative cooling. These ultracold atoms make it possible for the scientists to get insights into the behavior of quantum matter. In addition to the routine ERC Advanced Grant of EUR2.5 million over 5 years, Weitenberg is receiving an additional EUR1 million to finance new significant devices.
“Our objective is to replicate exotic states of matter in the lab that otherwise only happen in intricate solids,” explains Professor Weitenberg. “To do this, we trap ultracold atoms in so-called ‘optical lattices’ formed by laser light, where they act comparable to electrons in a strong.” The task “InToCold” is now concentrating on topological quantum states. To produce these unique states, the team should transfer the ultracold atoms to energetically higher bands in the lattice websites and engineer strong interactions in between surrounding atoms. To examine the resulting quantum states, the scientists will then use a novel kind of microscope that allows an effective resolution of just a couple of nanometers.
“We hope these experiments will offer us new insights into the exotic behavior of topological quantum matter, which could be of importance for topological quantum computer systems in the future,” says Weitenberg.
About Professor Christof Weitenberg
Professor Christof Weitenberg studied physics and musical composition in Saarbrücken. He made his postgraduate degree at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) in 2011 before joining the École Normale Supérieure in Paris as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2013, he moved to the University of Hamburg as group leader and received an ERC Beginning Grant in 2018 to investigate unique particles called anyons. He has actually been a professor at TU Dortmund University given that 2024, where he heads a research group on ultracold quantum gases.
To the ERC announcement
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