The prestigious award from the European Union will enable the QuantumFrontiers member over the next five years to build a research team that will explore the limits of quantum entanglement. The ERC project bridges the gap between basic research and cutting-edge applications in areas such as quantum computers and quantum simulators.
With its Starting Grants, the European Research Council supports excellent and visionary research by outstanding young scientists with up to €1.5 million each. The Starting Grants cover a funding period of five years. The aim is to support scientific independence by establishing an independent research group. Dr Henrik Wilming is currently conducting research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Leibniz University Hannover.
His ERC project, ‘Large-Scale Structure of Entanglement,’ begins where, even 100 years after its discovery, numerous questions of quantum mechanics remain unanswered. It aims to explore the limits of quantum entanglement. This entanglement describes a strong correlation between particles that can only be explained by quantum theory – a key resource for future quantum technologies such as quantum computers and quantum cryptography.
However, entanglement not only serves as the foundation for technologies, but also as an important theoretical concept in modern physics for understanding complex quantum systems. Examples include solids near absolute zero, where understanding their entanglement properties is crucial for understanding their other physical properties.
Henrik Wilmings' previous research has shown that, in principle, entirely new forms of entanglement can occur in systems with a large number of particles. The ERC project investigates when and how these collective entanglement properties arise. It combines methods from quantum information theory and condensed matter physics with advanced mathematical techniques.
