Dive into the world of quantum physics with Kitty Q, the cute, half-dead cat who adores cold chips and quantum puzzles. This freaky feline is the main character and namesake of the first quantum physics-themed escape room in Germany for youngsters, currently being set up at the Dresden Museum of Science and Technology in partnership with the Dresden-Würzburg Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat. Join us for an exclusive sneak peek at the SPIN2030 Science Festival in Dresden on March 8 and 9, 2024, and be among the first to try out the cold chips puzzle table from the quantum kitchen.
In a groundbreaking development, researchers at the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat have engineered a protective film that shields quantum semiconductor layers just one atom thick from environmental influences without compromising their revolutionary quantum properties. This puts the application of these delicate atomic layers in ultrathin electronic components within realistic reach. The findings have just been published in Nature Communications.
Dresden physicists discover the source of unique surface superconductivity, published in the journal Nature.
The cute, half-dead cat Kitty Q is proving to be a global sensation, boasting over 500,000 downloads. The game app Kitty Q – A Quantum Adventure, starring the charming feline, demonstrates the appeal of quantum physics to children and teenagers. The gamification initiative is set to continue in 2024 with the launch of Germany’s first-ever quantum physics escape room for kids.
A significant breakthrough has been achieved by quantum physicists from Dresden and Würzburg. They’ve created a semiconductor device where exceptional robustness and sensitivity are ensured by a quantum phenomenon. This topological skin effect shields the functionality of the device from external perturbations, allowing for measurements of unprecedented precision. Published in Nature Physics.
Elena Hassinger, a renowned low-temperature physicist, has been awarded €2.7 million in funding by the European Research Council. This ERC Consolidator Grant will support her pioneering work on unconventional superconductors, which could lead to a breakthrough in topological quantum computing.
For the first time, experimental physicists from the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat have demonstrated a new quantum effect aptly named the “spinaron.” This revelation challenges the long-held Kondo effect – a theoretical concept which has been considered the standard model for the interaction of magnetic materials with metals since the 1980s. These groundbreaking findings were published in the esteemed journal Nature Physics.
Giorgio Sangiovanni specializes in the computational analysis of quantum materials. He now heads the recently established Chair in Computational Quantum Materials at ct.qmat’s Würzburg branch, backed by €1.5 million in funding from the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts.
The European Physical Society presented this award to celebrate the “seminal contributions to the classification, prediction, and discovery of novel topological quantum materials.” Claudia Felser is one of the 25 principal investigators of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat.
A team of five, headed by quantum physicist Professor Ronny Thomale of the Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat based at two universities in Würzburg and Dresden, secured second place in the international IBM Quantum Open Science Prize. The research group devised an algorithm enabling IBM’s 16-qubit quantum chip to be trained to outperform conventional computing capabilities.
This summer, the Hubland Campus of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg became a hub for female quantum physicists from around the globe. From July 31 to August 2, 2023, they gathered at the behest of the Grete Hermann Network, part of the Würzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmat.
Dresden-based cluster professor Elena Hassinger has received TU Dresden’s 2023 Diversity-Aware Teaching Award for her interdisciplinary seminar “The Big Bang Theory Syndrome: Why should we care about stereotypes?” The English-language seminar aims to raise students‘ awareness of gender stereotypes, sharpen their perception, and professionalize their interactions.
