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…

The 18.8 million euro NWO Zwaartekracht grant for quantum software which Amsterdam, Delft and Leiden landed collectively, means for Leiden University among others the appointment of two new permanent scientific staff members, who will each form their own research group, divided among Computer Science,…

Recently, Austrian physicists succeeded in placing minuscule metal spheres with a diameter of 0.000008 millimetres into superposition.

This thesis considers multi-prover commitment schemes whose security is based on restrictions on the communication between the provers.

In cryptography, generic transformations are often used to strengthen simpler but weaker schemes, into more sophisticated and stronger ones.

Promotor: E.R. Eliel, Co-Promotor: M.J.A. de Dood

Do you have any questions about the master’s specialisation programme Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics? Please contact us.

The Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics specialisation is an excellent stepping stone for pursuing a PhD degree.

Leiden physicist Julia Cramer receives 50 thousand euros in funding for 'Let's talk about quantum', a research project on communication about quantum computing. A project for high school students by education expert Henk Buisman is also included in the NEWA ELSA funding.

Find out how to apply for Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics at Leiden University by following our step-by-step guide.

The studies in this thesis are focused on the physical effects in the flat band materials. The results contain the discovery of strong enhancement of RKKY spin-spin interactions with specific geometric arrangement and dynamical generation of excitonic order parameter with high magnitude.

An important discovery makes it possible to communicate complex information among multiple people without the message being cracked. The communication can also relate to complex information.

Quantum critical metals at vanishing fermion flavor number.

Quantum Delta NL, a research programme in which Leiden University participates, has been awarded 615 million euros from the National Growth Fund to help develop the Netherlands into a top player in quantum technology. This has been announced at the presentation of the honoured proposals in The Hague…

In this work we describe three methods to improve the performance of Quantum Field Theory calculations.

Former PhD, Bachelor and Master students of the Van Exter Lab

The Physics and Quantum Matter and Optics specialisation is one of the two programmes Leiden offers in experimental physics. The programme can be tailored to individual needs and interests.

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.

The programme guarantees a thorough experience on the frontline of physics research with a practical training of communicative and computer skills.

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.

This dissertation is an experimental study of laser-generated, atmospheric pressure, transient toroidal helium plasmas.

Friday afternoon, 1 October. Location: one of the most vibration-free places in the world. In this setting, Leiden top scientists launched Quantum Leiden. For decades, researchers at the Faculty of Science have been investigating quantum technology at the highest level and also have been brainstorming…

This thesis focuses on amyloid proteins, a class of proteins that convert into amyloid fibrils.

The main objective of this thesis was to develop clinically relevant survival models for patients with high-grade soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities, in particular the development and validation of prediction models for use in clinical practice.

The standard approach to build a quantum computer with Majoranas as building blocks is to convert them into qubits. However, a promising application of quantum computing—quantum chemistry—would require these qubits to be converted again into so-called fermions. Physicists from Leiden and Delft suggest…

The Western Mediterranean is a key region to understand human dispersal events within and out of the African continent as well as for the eventual replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans during the Pleistocene. Central to any conclusive interpretation of archaeological and palaeoclimatic…

Leiden professors Dirk Bouwmeester and Irene Groot are jointly investigating the concept of a circular power plant. Research that contributes to new solutions for storing surplus renewable energy, generating electricity during periods of power shortage, and recycling CO₂.

The specialisation consists of 120 European Credit Transfer System (EC) points and includes mandatory courses and electives (60 EC) and two research projects (60 EC).

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.

‘We hope our paper highlights the possibilities and benefits of including artificial intelligence in quantum physics to do new discoveries.’ Vedran Dunjko of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science contributed to a paper that was published in PNAS last year and now received a Cozzarelli Prize…

Photonics, quantum research and semiconductor technology: Leiden University welcomed a high-level international delegation from Taiwan, to explore new opportunities for working together on innovations for future photonic quantum computers.

Quantum games aren’t just a fun way to explain quantum physics — they may also unlock new discoveries. According to physicist Evert van Nieuwenburg, these games create structure and clear rules. Simply playing them can even contribute to better quantum software.

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.

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 first larger quantum computers will soon be available. These computers need new software. Researchers at Leiden University have been awarded a Gravitation grant to develop the necessary software. They will be collaborating with colleagues from other research institutions.

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.

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.

Physicists understand little about quantum matter, which is a building block of future quantum computers. Theorists have now discovered that black holes with ‘dreadlocks’ harbor a similarly exotic order pattern, which makes calculations on quantum matter easier. Publication in Physical Review Letter…

The van Exter group has an extensive history of prior research in classical and quantum optics. As former part of the group of Han Woerdman, we have studied topics as diverse as:

This research focuses on the (Quantum) Dynamics (QD) of the reactive scattering of H2 from metal surfaces.

The MSc programme Physics offers 5 research-oriented specialisations where you can focus on Theoretical Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics, Biological and Soft Matter, or Cosmology. You can also combine Physics with education, management or science communication.

An international collaboration, including Leiden physicist and computer scientist Vedran Dunjko, showed that quantum technology can speed-up the learning process of artificial intelligence (AI). To prove this, the physicists and computer scientists used a quantum processor for single photons. Their…

The interest of this thesis lies in spin transport in normal metals and superconducting half-metallic junctions.

In this thesis we use Josephson and noise scanning tunneling microscopy for the study of conventional, unconventional (iron-based) and disordered superconductors. On the one hand, Josephson scanning tunneling microscopy allows us to directly visualize the superfluid density with high spatial resolut…

Systems with local constraints is a new finding in recent researches on complex systems. The heterogeneous spatial interactions and the temporal dependencies among those numerous units make it difficult to describe by traditional statistical physics.