Lectures

Quantum technology promises groundbreaking advances in communication, computer and sensor technology. But what is behind quantum computers, quantum cryptography and entangled particles? We will look at the phenomena of the quantum world that allow us to fundamentally push the boundaries of what computers can calculate and encrypt data securely in completely new ways. After 100 years of research, we are on the cusp of a quantum revolution that is increasingly reaching our society. Today, modern technologies allow us to control the quantum properties of individual photons, atoms or superconducting circuits so well that we can process information in quantum computers in new ways and even want to network them in a quantum internet in the future. We take a look at today's quantum processors and emerging quantum network connections that open up exciting possibilities for science and technology.

The galaxies in our universe are not randomly distributed, but form a form a characteristic large-scale structure: a cosmic network of nodes and network of nodes and empty spaces, in which galaxy clusters are  connected to each other by filamentary clusters of galaxies. In this lecture, I will describe how this structure of today's cosmos can be traced back to quantum mechanical processes in the early universe universe, in particular to quantum fluctuations during the phase of the so-called cosmic inflation phase in the first fractions of a second after the Big Bang. This astonishing finding gives rise to concrete cosmological predictions that can be verified by observations of the cosmic background radiation.

In addition, the phase of cosmic inflation is capable of providing a further quantum seed for another quantum relic: a gravitational wave echo of the Big Bang. Current searches for gravitational waves are on the trail of this signal and may be on the on the verge of eliciting further quantum secrets from the Big Bang.

The geographic South Pole is located in one of the most extreme landscapes on our planet, surrounded only by ice as far as the eye can see. Not even penguins venture here. When the sun sets for six months in March, temperatures can drop to -80° C. For eight long months, the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is isolated from the outside world, and with it a small crew of “winterovers”. But the winterovers are able to withstand the extreme cold, the darkness and the isolation thanks to their special community and because of the fascinating science that is carried out here: Among other things, the South Pole is home to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which investigates the origin of high-energy cosmic particles, and with them the history of our universe. Dr. Raffaela Busse lived and worked for IceCube at the South Pole for more than one year and provides insights into a world that very few of us will ever get to see.

icecube.wisc.edu

Physicists had a major share to build nuclear weapons and tried to prevent their use in the aftermath of World War II during the Cold War and beyond. They worked as advisors, diplomats and advocates for governments, the civil society and the international community. Key is to apply social responsibility for the consequences of their work. The new generation of physicist has to be prepared to understand the past being prepared to work further for finishing the business to get rid of nuclear weapons, before they get rid of us.

The Pugwash Conferences for Science and World Affairs were founded as a consequence of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto of 1955, which urged leaders of the world to gather and to ”think in a new way”: to renounce nuclear weapons, to ”remember their humanity” and to find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between them.

Under the currently increasing geopolitical tensions, the original Russell-Einstein Manifesto’s call is as relevant today as it was in the 1950’s. Scientists have an important role in analyzing technical aspects in disarmament and arms control, verification, safeguards, dismantlement of nuclear weapons and ways to rid the world of these weapons of mass destruction.

In summary, the talk will emphasize the fundamental role scientists in past and present to play in building peace and understanding in a complex and fragmented world.

Götz Neuneck, Chair of the Pugwash Council and Chair of the Federation of German Scientists

When Louis de Broglie published in 1923 that every massive object is associated with a wave, this was a bold idea at first. Later, this idea was formalized as quantum theory in 1925-1927 by Heisenberg, Schrödinger and Dirac, among others. This became the basis for a whole century of astounding discoveries and philosophical puzzles.

In quantum theory, objects can have properties and follow rules that seem to contradict our everyday experience and logic. And yet quantum physics has been producing innovative technologies for a century. Here, we will focus primarily on the quantum wave nature of matter. We will ask ourselves what 'reality' means when objects that we can see individually under the microscope can delocalize in experiments and seem to collect information from places that they should never have according to our everyday understanding.

Markus Arndt is Professor of Quantum Nanophysics at the University of Vienna. He became known for his interference experiments with macromolecules such as fullerenes, which enabled him to demonstrate the wave properties of macromolecules. The fundamental question of the limit up to which quantum effects play a role is given a new perspective by his fundamental work. Markus Arndt is a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and has received numerous prizes for his work, including the Robert Wichard Pohl Prize of the German Physical Society and the Erwin Schrödinger Prize of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

quantumnano.at