Coherence and Quantum Technology

Our central theme is dilute matter at high phase space density. Our goal is exploiting quantum coherence. Our work is both theoretical and experimental, our tools include high power lasers and compact particle accelerators, our objectives are fundamental as well as applied.

The Coherence and Quantum Technology group exploits its unique combination of cold atom, plasma and beam physics to achieve new understanding and novel applications

The research of the Coherence and Quantum Technology group focuses on collective effects in dilute, strongly interacting systems of high phase-space density: ultra-cold atoms, quantum gases and plasmas, and high-brightness electron, ion and atom beams. These strongly interacting systems have an extremely large variety in energy and length scales, ranging from high-Tc superconductors to the dense interiors of neutron stars. Understanding them is at the frontier of modern quantum physics.

The Coherence and Quantum Technology group has a special position in the physics community thanks to its unique combination of atomic physics, plasma and accelerator physics and technology. Our approach includes both experiment and theory, for a balanced mixture of 50 % fundamental and 50 % applied research. Thanks to our long history of close collaboration between theorists and experimentalists, we can develop unifying concepts and translate them into new sources of charged particles and X-rays for scientific, industrial and medical applications.

An essential area of interest for us is light-matter interaction. To reach the special experimental conditions needed for our research, atomic gases and charged particle beams are manipulated and controlled by coherent light-matter interaction, using both ultra-narrowband continuous-wave lasers and mode-locked femtosecond lasers, enabling a new class of experiments that are both ultracold and ultrafast.

Present projects include development of (sub)nm focused ion beam (FIB) technology using laser-cooled ion sources, with Thermo Fisher Scientific; a program on ultracold source development and ultrafast beam manipulation for femtosecond electron microscopy & crystallography, also supported by Thermo Fisher; ultra-bright, high-current electron source development for a new generation of high-brilliance X-ray sources, supported by EU Interreg, ASML and CERN; development of a quantum simulator based on Rydberg atom lattices; development of quantum theory of few-body systems to describe fundamental phenomena in ultracold atomic gases.