28.08.2024 | Quantum physics

President Faßmann: “OeAW has made a significant contribution to making Austria the land of quantum.”

Austrian quantum research has been on the rise for years. The fact that Austrian quantum researchers are among the world's avant-garde in the field also has to do with the country's outstanding infrastructure. The Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) conducts basic quantum physics research in Innsbruck and Vienna and is now celebrating a milestone anniversary: the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) was founded 20 years ago, in close cooperation with the universities in Innsbruck and Vienna. Since then, the institute has been researching the fundamentals of quantum physics and thinking beyond its application.

“Austria has taken on a leading role in quantum research worldwide. This has been made clear by the Nobel Prize awarded to Anton Zeilinger,” says OeAW President Heinz Faßmann. “Such a leading position in international research does not come out of the blue. Zeilinger and his colleagues in Innsbruck, Rainer Blatt, Hans Briegel, Rudolf Grimm and Peter Zoller, have achieved outstanding results in theoretical and experimental physics over decades. And as teachers, they have helped train the next generation of Austrian quantum researchers. An excellent location where the best minds can develop the best ideas with the best infrastructure was and is important for this success. Our institutes are such a place. They have made a significant contribution to making Austria the land of quantum.”

Pioneers of Quantum Physics in Austria

In 1997, Anton Zeilinger published a paper on the first teleportation of a particle in the journal Nature. Further world records in quantum entanglement followed. In Innsbruck, the foundations for the quantum computer were laid.

In 1995, Peter Zoller and his colleague Ignacio Cirac made the first proposal for the realisation of a quantum computer using ions in Paul traps, while Rainer Blatt constructed the basic building blocks of such a computer in the laboratory. In 2003, Rudolf Grimm realised the world's first Bose-Einstein condensate of caesium atoms which provided new insights into the quantum mechanical properties of atoms. The founding team of scientific institute directors was joined by Hans Briegel, whose idea for quantum repeaters laid the foundation for a future quantum Internet.

The Next Generation Looks to the Future

Today, world-class pioneering work continues in Innsbruck and Vienna - now in eleven research groups, shoulder to shoulder with the next generation of quantum physicists. Research currently revolves around the open questions of the field, from new quantum states of matter to the philosophical foundations of quantum phenomena, which often contradict everyday understanding. A new research focus on the quantum physics of gravity and space-time has recently been established at the OeAW Institute in Vienna to investigate the interface with Einstein's general theory of relativity and the role of space and time in quantum theory, since it is still unknown whether the laws of quantum physics also apply to gravity.

In Innsbruck, researchers are working to push the boundaries of understanding in quantum optics, quantum simulation and quantum information, which has already led to significant results such as the identification of exotic super-solid states of matter or the control of so-called many-body dark states. “The synergy between theory and direct experiment is a particular hallmark of our research approach. Within our institute, we promote collaborative structures and the exchange of ideas between groups, which creates a very lively and effective research environment,” says Francesca Ferlaino, who has been the institute's scientific director since 2014.

National and international awards, such as the participation in the Cluster of Excellence of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) as well as grants from the European Research Council (ERC) to IQOQI researchers such as Francesca Ferlaino, Oriol Romero-Isart, Markus Aspelmeyer, Gerhard Kirchmair and Hannes Pichler show the institutes’ promising scientific future.

“Out-of-the-Box” Thinking as a Success Factor

“We have created an atmosphere in which unconventional thinking is explicitly allowed and encouraged. It is important to think 'out of the box',” says Markus Aspelmeyer, managing director at IQOQI Vienna. “A key factor for us is the work with young scientists. We support several junior groups which conduct independent research with us for up to five years and benefit from the unique environment for their future careers.” For example, Marcus Huber of IQOQI Vienna is now head of the Atomic Institute at TU Wien. Oriol Romero-Isart of IQOQI Innsbruck has become director of the ICFO in Barcelona, one of Spain's leading quantum research institutes.
“IQOQI has gained great international visibility in recent years and has become a role model for many similar institutes around the world. As a flagship of Austrian quantum research, it not only offers ideal conditions for basic research in this pioneering field, but also attracts many outstanding minds as students, visiting researchers and employees. That is a very important factor for its success,” says Rudolf Grimm, currently managing director of IQOQI Innsbruck.

High Economic Potential

No longer in its infancy of basic research, quantum physics is today being applied in lasers, magnetic resonance tomographs, GPS and cell phones. “And we all benefit from it,” says Gerhard Kirchmair, who will be managing director of IQOQI Innsbruck from September. “With our current research, we are laying the foundations for new quantum technologies.”

This fundamental work is increasingly being translated into new commercial applications. Several start-ups and spin-offs have emerged from quantum research at OeAW, including ParityQC, qtlabs and Alpine Quantum Technologies (AQT). ParityQC is the world's first and only quantum architecture company in the field of quantum computing, qtlabs is responsible for the technical implementation of quantum encryption and AQT has developed the most powerful quantum computer currently available in Europe.

“It is always breath-taking to see completely new technologies emerging from blue skies research. At the same time, these developments allow us to address previously inaccessible research questions,” says Caslav Brukner, scientific director at IQOQI Vienna. “Our research is dedicated to the most fundamental questions of modern physics and could one day be the starting point for the next quantum revolution.”

Anniversary Programme

On the occasion of the anniversary, the institutes’ successes will be celebrated together with the scientific community and the public. The two OeAW institutes are organising a summer school, two conferences as well as an open day on 20 September in order to get to know the IQOQI Innsbruck.