TriesteQuantum

Blog

  • Fundamental Problems in Quantum Physics 2025

    Date: 17th to 19th June 2025

    Fifth school on quantum foundations dedicated to Prof. GianCarlo Ghirardi.

    Quantum Mechanics is extremely successful in predicting experimental results and has a vast range of applications. Nonetheless, many unanswered questions remain. The school will introduce Master and PhD students to the still outstanding problems in our understanding of quantum foundations.
    To give a deep look into the foundations of quantum mechanics, lectures will be given by experts in the field. An extensive time will be dedicated to selected contributed talks.

    Link to the school website: www.qmts.it/conferences/fpqp2025/

    The conference is supported by the University of Trieste, INFN and QUCOM. 

  • Trieste and Udine Universities Connected by a Quantum Link

    As of today, the Universities of Trieste and Udine are connected by a quantum link running over optical fiber.

    The official presentation of the quantum connection took place today at UniTS in the presence of Rector Roberto Di Lenarda; Alessia Rosolen, Regional Councillor for Labor, Training, Education, Research, Universities, and Family; Sebastiano Callari, Regional Councillor for Heritage, State Property, General Services, and IT Systems; Pier Luca Montessoro, Rector’s Delegate for IT Networks and Websites at the University of Udine; Angelo Bassi, project representative for UniTS; and Gian Luca Foresti, project representative for UniUD.

    This quantum link between the two universities enables ultra-secure communication through Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a protocol that leverages the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics to generate encryption keys. Unlike classical key exchange methods, QKD ensures that any attempt to intercept the transmission irreversibly alters the quantum states being exchanged, making eavesdropping immediately detectable and guaranteeing an unprecedented level of security.

    The realization of this connection required both the acquisition of quantum communication devices and access to the optical fiber linking the two universities. The purchase of the necessary equipment was made possible through the Quantum FVG project, supported by the Regional Councillorship for Labor, Training, Education, Research, Universities, and Family of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. Meanwhile, the optical fiber infrastructure was provided with the support of the Regional Councillorship for Heritage, State Property, General Services, and IT Systems.

    The initiative has a dual purpose: advancing research in cybersecurity while also studying the requirements for a stable and long-term quantum connection, paving the way for future operational services. A key aspect of this study will be the coexistence of classical and quantum signals on the same infrastructure. If successful, this project will mark a significant step toward the practical implementation of quantum communication networks.






  • Recent developments in quantum communication and quantum randomness

    Within the last two decades, Quantum Technologies have made tremendous progress, from proof of principle demonstrations to real life applications, such as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNGs). We will discuss the results that we have recently obtained in our group at the University of Padova towards the realization of secure QRNGs and mature and efficient QKD systems.

  • Polariton Superfluids

    It is possible to engineer the properties of photons in an optical medium to have an effective mass and repulsive interactions, so that they act like a gas of atoms These “renormalized photons” are called polaritons In the past decade, several experiments have demonstrated many of the canonical effects of Bose Einstein condensation and superfluidity of polaritons In this talk I will review some of the physics of polaritons and present recent results with polaritons that have very long lifetime, including our recent results on persistent circulation of a polariton condensate.

  • Polaron physics in ultracold matter

    The study of strongly correlated matter is a central focus in quantum many-body physics. Despite the inherent complexity of systems with numerous interacting components and degrees of freedom, such as Fermi liquids and superfluids, these systems can often be described by relatively simple and elegant quasiparticle models. A key example of this is the polaron, which represents a mobile impurity interacting with the low-energy excitations of its host medium. Originally introduced to explain the behavior of electrons in crystals, the concept of polarons has since gained broad relevance across various fields, ranging from condensed matter physics to quantum simulations and computing. Recent experimental advances with neutral ultracold atoms have provided a powerful framework for investigating both Fermi and Bose polarons, where impurity atoms interact with a degenerate Fermi sea or a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).

    In this talk, I will begin by reviewing the recent theoretical and experimental advancements in the quantum simulation of polarons. As a concrete example, I will discuss a recent development arising from the crossroad of cold atoms and ions, with potential applications in quantum technologies. Finally, I will connect this research to established solid-state platforms where quasiparticles also play a significant role, such as polaritons and polarons-polaritons, and explore the remaining open problems in this field.

  • New Quantum Computing Unit in Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste

    Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste has established the SciQC unit for Scientific and Quantum Computing. The unit is part of its IT Group and consists of a diverse team of scientists and engineers from various disciplines. SciQC builds on prior experience in data analysis and mathematics and is tasked with exploring practical applications of quantum computing for synchrotron and FEL applications, including X-ray imaging and spectroscopy.

    The SciQC unit is located at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, in the Area Science Park (Basovizza), and is led by George Kourousias (Elettra).

  • Fundamental Problems in Quantum Physics 2024

    Date: 10th to 12th September 2024

    Fourth school on quantum foundations dedicated to Prof. GianCarlo Ghirardi.

    Quantum Mechanics is extremely successful in predicting experimental results and has a vast range of applications. Nonetheless, many unanswered questions remain. The school will introduce Master and PhD students to the still outstanding problems in our understanding of quantum foundations.
    To give a deep look into the foundations of quantum mechanics, lectures will be given by experts in the field. An extensive time will be dedicated to selected contributed talks.

    Link to the school website: https://www.qmts.it/conferences/fpqp2024/

    The conference is supported by the University of Trieste, INFN and QUCOM. 

  • Recent Trends in Quantum Computing and Quantum Technologies

    Date: 19th September 2024
    We are pleased to invite you to the one-day Symposium on “Recent Trends in Quantum Computing and Quantum Technologies” at the University of Trieste (Aula Stasi, Leonardo Building ICTP) on September 19th. This event marks the conclusion of this year’s “Colloquium Series in Theoretical and Computational Physics” which has featured a range of seminars exploring active directions of research in quantum matter and their applications. The symposium will bring together young researchers from Trieste’s research institutes and renowned external experts to present their latest findings. Open to everyone (especially students) this symposium offers a unique opportunity to strengthen collaborations in the Trieste quantum community and establish new connections.
    On behalf of the organising committee (Andrea Trombettoni, Francesco Scazza) at the Physics Department of the University of Trieste.

  • Charge and Exciton Dynamics in Hybrid Materials Probed by Time Resolved Soft X-Ray Spectroscopies at ELETTRA Synchrotron

    In the fields of optoelectronics and photochemistry there is growing interest in studying the response to optical excitation of organic molecules, films and interfaces, as these systems are of fundamental relevance for the development of the next generation of environmentally sustainable optoelectronic devices and catalysts. In order to probe the charge and exciton dynamics in such materials down to the sub-nanosecond timescale we developed a setup at the ALOISA beamline of the Elettra synchrotron that exploits the chemical selectivity of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray photoemission (XPS) in an optical pump/X-ray probe experiment. In this talk, I will present our recent results on tracking triplet dynamics in pentacene and perylene thin films. The role of the film morphology will be discussed by comparing the response of perylene molecules with different terminations. Finally, I will show how the developed setup can be used to follow a structural transition in few examples of 2D-materials.

  • Prime suspects and lucky numbers

    Prime numbers play a crucial role in mathematics being the key elements for the factorization of the integers. The idea to use them for designing a quantum abacus has recently received a new support from the experimental realization of a single-particle quantum Schrodinger Hamiltonian whose eigenvalues are given by the first N prime numbers. Such an experimental set-up consists of light intensities profiles, tuned by a computer-generated holography, able to create an optical trap for ultracold atoms. The statistical properties of the primes, such as their asymptotic scaling law for the 𝑛-th prime 𝑝! ≃ 𝑛 log 𝑛, besides being the key to implement such a quantum potential, are also shared by other sequences of integers obtained by means of sieves. This is the case of the so-called “lucky numbers”, originally studied by Stan Ulam, for which there exists indeed an associated quantum Hamiltonian. Integrated with other considerations, these two examples pave the way toward the possibility to set up quantum systems able of performing arithmetic manipulations, including the factorization of integers.

    Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/98397895198?pwd=V0pDemkxaStRQjFHcUpzdCtUeW5hZz09