We Bring the
Quantum
World to Life
We manipulate the quantum behavior of matter
Over the past century, quantum mechanics has revolutionized our understanding of matter, leading to technological advances such as transistors, lasers, quantum sensors, superconductors, quantum computers and quantum materials. However, predicting and creating new materials with desired properties remains a challenge due to the complexity and probabilistic nature of their quantum behavior.
At the cluster “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter”, we develop unique state-of-the-art tools—based on ultrafast lasers, X-ray technology, and advanced material synthesis—to observe and manipulate the quantum behavior of matter. Rather than conventional measurements of static properties, we bring quantum matter to life! Our innovative approaches open up efficient designs of new materials and drugs, addresses critical issues like sustainable energy and medical advancements, ultimately benefiting the society and the economy.
For Society and a Sustainable Future
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By cooling and trapping atoms using light fields, we create new entangled quantum states of matter with collective properties. These can act as qubits that we use to test designs and behaviors of quantum computers.
Reaching zero resistance in a material at room temperature has been a long-held dream that would revolutionize transportation and power transmission. We can now transiently produce superconductivity by controlling key dynamical modes of a material using ultrafast pulses, and we aim to stabilize it.
Pharmaceutical compounds inhibit viruses or bacteria by binding to proteins associated with those pathogens. Discovering such compounds requires precise knowledge of the protein structure, but typically only frozen samples can be analyzed. By using ultrafast X-ray lasers, we uncover how the protein looks and behaves at physiological temperature, vastly improving drug design.
The synthesis of many of the essential chemicals for society requires high temperatures, accounting for significant use of the world’s energy. By using tailored light pulses or by coupling quantum states of reactants with optical cavities, we aim to guide chemistry along preferred pathways in efficient ways.
When downsizing matter to nanometer scales where quantum effects dominate, many materials undergo profound changes in their physical and dynamical properties. We design new nanomaterials that can help to better catalyze chemical reactions, transmit or store energy, emit specific colors of light, and respond to the environment. Their applications span from hydrogen-generating electrolysis, supercapacitors to high-performance TV displays.
Increases in computer processing must be matched with faster storage and information retrieval, currently limited by the switching speed of magnetic media. New topological magnetic states called skyrmions can be efficiently switched in picoseconds. We study new ways to manipulate and control skyrmions that could potentially store the entire internet on a hard drive.
Breaking Barriers
We drive technological progress
The Cluster “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter” acts as a catalyst for technological progress by leveraging Hamburg's unique integration of a vibrant research environment and cutting-edge large-scale infrastructure to significantly accelerate both fundamental discoveries and innovation. We substantially contributed to topics that are key for a sustainable future of humankind, and we will use our advanced understanding of the quantum world to keep driving innovative solutions.
The next generation of scientists
We train the next generation of multidisciplinary scientists who bring our new developments and discoveries into society. Over 400 early career scientists were trained in the cluster, who have taken leading positions and responsibilities in academia, industry, and society.