EXC 2111:  Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST)

• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas ; Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: since 2019
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390814868

Quantum Mechanics and Information Science have revolutionized our modern world beyond imagination. Whilst quantum mechanics forms the basis for our understanding of the microscopic world, information science is the basic building block for information processing and communication in our digital age. Today we are witnessing a scientific and technological revolution in which Information Science and Quantum Mechanics no longer stand as separate entities, but have rather been united in the common language of Quantum Information Science. First developed to describe the working principles of future Quantum Computers, Quantum Information Science has emerged as an even more powerful description of our physical world, with wide ranging relevance, directly linking fields such as quantum materials and quantum chemistry to seemingly disparate fields such as the cosmology of black holes. At the core of this description is the notion of entanglement, an essential feature without any classical analogue that is responsible for a plethora of astonishing phenomena and applications of Quantum Physics.These dramatic developments have led to the new combined research field of Quantum Science and Technology (QST), in which these diverse topics, their interconnection as well as their consequences for practical applications are being explored. QST unites multidisciplinary research across physics, mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science, chemistry, and recently, even cosmology and high energy physics.The core goal of the Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) is to discover and understand the novel and unifying concepts in the interdisciplinary research fields of QST and to make them tangible and practical, to develop the extraordinary applications within reach by building next-generation quantum devices. At a fundamental science level, this includes the comprehensive understanding and control of entanglement in quantum many-body systems spanning different time, length and energy scales, through novel theoretical and experimental approaches in quantum information science. Applications for Quantum Devices and Materials to be developed at MCQST range from inherently secure communication and processing of information to ultrasensitive sensors and transducers for precision metrology.Munich is in a unique position to form such a world-leading research center in QST due to its longstanding experience, broad and proven interdisciplinary expertise, and outstanding excellence of the participating senior and junior researchers in all core fields of QST. Developing education and support for junior researchers in QST as well as advancing the strengths of Munich research structures within MCQST will ensure long-term and high-impact research as well as an ideal entry point for industry in this increasingly important field. It will allow Munich to achieve an outstanding visibility and assume a leading position in QST research.

• DFG Programme: Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Co-Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Participating Institution: Deutsches Museum (DM); Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik (MPQ); Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften; Walther-Meißner-Institut für Tieftemperaturforschung
• Spokespersons: Professor Dr. Immanuel Bloch; Professor Dr. Juan Ignacio Cirac; Professor Dr. Rudolf Gross
• Participating Researchers: Professorin Dr. Monika Aidelsburger; Dr. Mari Carmen Bañuls; Professor Dr.-Ing. Holger Boche; Professor Dr. Jan von Delft; Professor Dr. Georgi Dvali; Professor Dr. Jonathan J. Finley; Professor Dr. Rupert Frank; Professor Dr. Steffen Glaser; Professor Dr. Wolfgang M. Heckl; Professor Dr. Alexander Walter Holleitner; Professor Dr. Theodor W. Hänsch; Professor Dr. Hans Hübl; Professorin Dr. Sabine Jansen; Professor Dr. Viatcheslav Mukhanov; Professor Dr. Christian Pfleiderer; Professor Dr. Lode Pollet; Professor Dr. Frank Pollmann; Professor Dr. Gerhard Rempe; Professor Dr. Ulrich Schollwöck; Professorin Dr. Simone Warzel; Professor Dr. Harald Weinfurter; Professor Dr. Michael Wolf