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Thursday, 01 April, 2010

Beyond the Quantum Limit

MPQ-LMU scientists create multi-particle entanglement of atoms in a Bose Einstein condensate on a microchip

The microcosm, the realm of quantum physics, is ruled by probability and chance. The behaviour of quantum particles cannot be predicted with certainty but only with certain probabilities given by quantum physics. This results in a so-called quantum noise, which fundamentally limits the  precision of the most refined atomic clocks and interferometers. The solution to this problem is the use of entangled atomic systems. A break-through has now been achieved by a team around Professor Theodor W. Hänsch and Professor Philipp Treutlein (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, Philipp Treutlein is Professor at the Universität Basel since February 2010). For the first time the scientists succeeded in generating multi-particle entanglement on an atom-chip (Nature, Advance Online Publication, DOI: 10.1038/nature08988). This technique opens a way to significantly enhance the precision of chip-based atomic clocks or interferometers and could also form the basis for quantum computers on microchips. The Munich experiments have been carried out in cooperation with theoretical physicists around Dr. Alice Sinatra from the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris. To complete press release

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