Can we use quantum computers in a way that is also relevant to society? With the help of a 2-million-euro NWA grant, Leiden University will work with partners such as Surf, Google and Volkswagen to demonstrate that quantum computers are also of value outside the lab.

With defending his thesis ‘Applications of topology to Weyl semimetals and quantum computing’, the Leiden theoretical physicist Tom O'Brien has gained the rare 'cum laude' qualification. The freshly minted PhD has started a five year research programme on quantum algorithms for quantum chemistry, funded…

In the weekly magazine “Mare” from Leiden University, an interview with the Leiden statistics prof. dr. Richard Gill has been published recently about his contribution to the Delfts quantum-experiment.

The small quantum world and our world of perception obey different laws of nature. Leiden physicists search for the border between both worlds. In an article published soon in Physical Review Letters they set an upper limit.

Proving a quantum computer to be quicker than a normal one is one step closer. After a breakthrough in speeding up classical algorithms, researchers Vedran Dunjko and Casper Gyurik showed that only one quantum algorithm could beat its classical counterpart. They discuss their discovery in Quanta Mag…

With his ice-cold nano force sensor, Tjerk Oosterkamp searches for the boundary between the quantum world and the everyday world. The Leiden physicist has received an NWO subsidy of 600,000 euros.

Researchers found a way to run programmes that should be impossible to carry out on an imperfect quantum computer. Such programmes are very computationally demanding and the quantum computers that currently exist are not yet up to that task. Unless you use a clever trick, Simon Marshall and Vedran Dunjko…

State secretary Mona Keijzer received the National Agenda on Quantum Technology from Robbert Dijkgraaf on 16 September. With this agenda, Dutch knowledge institutes and high-tech companies identify what is needed to maintain and strengthen the Dutch pioneering role in this area. Researchers from Leiden…

Computer scientist Tim Coopmans uses pen, paper and regular computers to simulate the best possible quantum computer. He tells about his research and how this helps make a useful quantum computer a reality a little bit sooner. ‘I hope I will get to see quantum computers contributing something really…

Three quantum-safe cryptography methods have been standardised for worldwide use since this week. Léo Ducas co-designed the two primary PQC methods selected for this standardisation. Ducas is part of the Cryptology group at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) and is also professor of Mathematical cryptology…

No less than six Leiden projects received a grant for quantum research from the national growth programme Quantum Delta NL and the NWO. After all, in order to boost quantum technology not only industry is needed, but also science. Research towards new sensors, faster algorithms and quantum materials,…

Goldband, Skrillex, Róisín Murphy and... quantum: the latter may not be a band but is part of the Lowlands line-up nonetheless. Scientists from Leiden University are using the festival for research on the very smallest particles.

Opening van het Quantum Delta NL (QDNL) Talent & Learning Centre (TLC) Leiden-Delft.

Leiden physicists have managed to detect a single molecule called dibenzoterrylene in a new crystal, and found that it is a candidate component for a quantum network. Future quantum computers will need such a network to work together while maintaining their advantages. Publication in ChemPhysChem jo…

Only 35 years old and already a research group leader, on his way to tenure. And: numerous papers, grants and fellowships to his name. Leiden physicist Jordi Tura i Brugués receives today the Young Scientist Prize for his outstanding contributions to quantum research.

Leiden physicists Carlo Beenakker and Bas Hensen receive 35 million euros in a consortium with researchers from QuTech and Delft University of Technology. They will investigate the fundamental limits of quantum physics.

The elementary excitations of magnets are called spin waves, and their corresponding quasi-particles are known as magnons. The rapidly growing field of Magnonics aims at using them as information carriers in a new generation of electronic devices, (almost) free of electric currents.

Tic tac toe, but with quantum effects. That makes learning the principles of quantum technology a piece of cake. This is the aim of a new start-up founded by researcher Evert van Nieuwenburg: QuantumPlayed. ‘Quantum is all around us and everyone should be able to learn about it.’

Three researchers from Leiden University have received awards in the Quantum Technology programme within the National Growth Fund, organised by NWO in collaboration with Quantum Delta NL. Read more about these three futuristic projects.

Much of the work of Serge Fehr, Professor of Quantum Information Theory, is abstract and theoretical and comprehensible to very few people. But his work helps make the digital world safer so that in future our internet banking will still be problem free, for instance. He will explain more in his inaugural…

This thesis is a collection of experimental attempts to enhance photoluminescence of fluorescent molecules and quantum dots with single gold nanorods (GNRs) and relevant applications.

Astronomer Koen Kuijken and physicist Tjerk Oosterkamp have each been awarded a major subsidy by NWO. The funding will allow them to construct new research facilities.

Physicist Kaveh Lahabi’s research on quantum materials led to the launch of a new company: QuantaMap. With his colleagues, he developed a sensor that will improve the production of quantum computer chips. ‘It turns out that what I need for my fundamental physics research is also very useful for the…

This year's Nobel Prize in Physics goes to quantum physics research. The prize will be awarded on December 10 in Stockholm. Physicist Bas Hensen explains why this is important and how his research in Leiden relates to it.

How do we know what a quantum computer is good for when it hasn't been built yet? That's what PhD candidate Casper Gyurik investigated by combining two terms you often hear: quantum computing and machine learning.

Quantum technologies are in demand worldwide, but until now Leiden students could not specialise in them. The new master’s program QIST (Quantum Information Science and Technology) is going to change that. Researcher and professor Jordi Tura i Brugués: ‘We need to train the next generation of quantum…

Watching and analysing hundreds of TEDx talks, that too can be research. That becomes clear from the work of PhD student Aletta Meinsma, who is studying potential problems in popular communication about quantum technologies. She explains how she approaches this and why it is so important.

Telling sensationalised stories, exaggerating benefits and understating the risks: creating ‘hype’ about something doesn't sound like something a responsible scientist would indulge in. Or could we also use hype in a ‘good way'? What could we achieve by opening up quantum futures for wider discussions,…

Quantum technology, statistics and a survey with memes: definitely not your everyday research. Julia Cramer (Leiden Institute of Physics) and Sanne Willems (Institute of Psychology) investigate how people perceive quantum.

Prof. Dr. Richard Gill has recently joined as a member of the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi). FQXi is an international association of scientists who explore the foundations of physics and cosmology.

Jianfeng Ge and Milan Allen of Leiden University look for majorana quasiparticles using shot noise measurements

Using 2D materials, physics student Romme van der Kemp developed a nanochip that is extremely small ánd scalable. This is needed to make all kinds of technologies better, faster and smaller. He has been nominated for the FWN Young Talent Award 2023 for his research.

Conference

Tjerk Oosterkamp of the Leiden Institute of Physics managed to do the first-ever measurement of gravity on a tiny particle - just 0.43 milligrams - where the quantum regime starts. He explains in Physics World why this is so challenging.

Atoms and molecules are the basic units of matter. If we keep dividing a bar of gold or a glass of water into smaller parts, at the end we are left with a single gold atom or a water molecule.

Physicists have manipulated light with large artificial atoms, so-called quantum dots. Before, this has only been done so well with actual atoms. It is an important step towards light-based quantum technology. Publication on August 30th in Nature Communications.

Tjerk Oosterkamp's group is conducting what is perhaps the coldest research in the world. The researchers have cooled a sensor to below 2 millikelvin - almost as cold as absolute zero. This allows them to make extremely sensitive measurements. PhD candidate Jaimy Plugge helped build the setup: ‘We are…

PhD candidate Lieuwe Vinkhuijzen received the VERSEN Master Thesis Award 3rd prize for his master’s thesis on quantum computing. ‘A forward-looking thesis that solves problems in software engineering; not in the next decade, but beyond’, according to the jury.

Lecture, Studium Generale

Carlo Beenakker has been appointed a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the organisation behind the journal Science. Among the Fellows, he is the third Dutch person and first Leiden researcher.

The government is investing 646 million euros and has set aside a further 3.5 billion to drive economic growth in the Netherlands. Much of the National Growth Fund will be used for scientific innovations. Leiden University is involved in three of the projects.

Matthias Flór receives the KHMW Graduation Prize in Theoretical Physics for his master's thesis. His research on exotic superconductors at Leiden University and TU Delft struck a chord with the jury. The jury unanimously chose to award Flór noting that ‘he demonstrated impressive technical abilities…

For many years, he was active in various management positions at the LION and even after his retirement he is still very involved. Professor Jan Aarts leads the Leiden hub of the Quantum Delta NL growth fund and is now temporarily responsible for national educational activities. In this way, he is helping…

Leiden scientists and companies receive 1.37 million euros to develop technology for the Einstein Telescope. This underground telescope will measure gravitational waves and must therefore be extremely sensitive. To that end, the consortium conducts research on the damping of vibrations at temperatures…