508. WE-Heraeus-Seminar: Quantum meets Gravity and Metrology

The 508. Wilhelm and Else Heraeus-Seminar on

Quantum Meets Gravity and Metrology

is generously funded by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation and will be held from June 4th to June 8th, 2012 in the Physikzentrum in Bad Honnef near Bonn and Cologne / Germany.

This seminar will explore the frontiers between quantum mechanics, gravity and the state-of-art of quantum metrology. In the triangle of these three fields, very fundamental challenges excite scientists and drive them to advance our present knowledge in unknown territories. The following blend of very fundamental questions describes the mutual links:

How are the puzzling features of quantum systems affected by gravity? What are the consequences of the incompatibility of our theory of gravity with quantum mechanics? Is gravity the reason for the classicality of our world? Where are the limits of delocalisation and entanglement? How far can we test gravity with quantum sensors? Will quantum sensors test other aspects than their classical counterparts? How far can we advance quantum sensors? Will quantum metrology revolutionise quantum sensors? What is the status of quantum metrology? Can complex mesoscopic quantum systems explore the frontier between the classical world and the quantum world?

The scope of the conference therefore comprises the evolution of complex quantum states in gravity, the decoherence and collapse of superposition states, experiments with entangled states, the superposition principle of quantum mechanics as well as tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity. Naturally, the workshop will address the latest trends in quantum metrology with ions and neutral matter, quantum optics with matter, as well as the state of the art of classical and quantum sensors for space-time, clocks, matter wave interferometer, and Bell tests over large distances.

Topics

Quantum and Gravity
Einstein equivalence principle
Decoherence and entanglement
Quantum metrology with ions and neutral atoms
Gravity experiments with quantum systems
In each of these themes we have gathered scientists, whose scientific work provided us with novel and ground breaking insights during their career or in their latest work (see invited speakers)

The conference language will be English.

Please note that the total number of participants is limited.

The organizers invite PhD students for application and contributions to poster session.

Invited Speakers

Invited Speakers:

Prof. Dr. Hartmut Abele (Technische Universität Wien, Austria)
TBD
Prof. Dr. Eric Adelberger (University of Washington, Department of Physics, USA)
Torsion balance and lunar laser ranging tests of the equivalence principle
Prof. Dr. Markus Arndt (Universität Wien, Fakultät für Physik, Austria)
Quantum interferometry enhanced measurements of molecular properties and external force fields
Prof. Dr. Rainer Blatt (Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Experimentalphysik, Austria)
Quantum entanglement and information processing with trapped ions
Prof. Dr. Christian Bordé (Laboratoire de physique des lasers - Université Paris-Nord, France)
5D relativistic atom optics and interferometry. Implications for metrology and applications to gravito-inertial sensors
Prof. Dr. Philippe Bouyer (Laboratoire Photonique, Numérique et Nanosciences, Université Bordeaux, France)
TBD
Prof. Dr. Caslav Brukner (Universität Wien, Quantum Optics, Austria)
Tests with clocks, mirrors and Alice and Bob
Dr. Uwe Dorner (University of Oxford,Clarendon Laboratory, United Kingdom)
Quantum frequency estimation with trapped ions and atoms
Prof. Dr. Domenico Giulini (Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Germany)
Quantum systems under Gravity
Prof. Dr. Daniel Greenberger (The City College of New York, Physics Department, USA)
TBD
Prof. Dr. Michael Hohensee (University of California, Dep. of Physics, USA)
Quantum tests of gravity and metrology with matter-waves
Prof. Dr. Susana Huelga (Universität Ulm, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Germany)
Quantum metrology in noisy environments
Dr. David Hume (Universität Heidelberg, Kirchoff Institut für Physik, Germany)
Relativistic measurements with quantum logic clocks
Prof. Dr. Mark Kasevich (Stanford University, Physics Department, USA)
Precision atom interferometry
Prof. Dr. Claus Kiefer (Universität zu Köln, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Germany)
Quantum gravity - general introduction and recent developments
Dr. Carsten Klempt (Leibniz Universität Hannover,Institut für Quantenoptik, Germany)
The generation of entangled matter waves
Prof. Mikhail Lukin ( Harvard University, Department of Physics, USA)
TBD
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Müller (Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Erdmessung, Germany)
Lunar Laser Ranging for testing the equivalence principle
Prof. Dr. K. Nordtvedt (Montana State University, Bozeman, USA)
Energy, masses and equivalence in gravity
Dr. Roee Ozeri (Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Israel)
Quantum lock-in amplifier
Dr. Jorge Pullin (Louisiana State University, Theoretical Physics, USA)
Fundamental limitations in measurement and the structure of observable quantum mechanics
Prof. Dr. Achim Peters (Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, AG Optische Metrologie, Germany)
TBD
Prof. Dr. Serge Reynaud (Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, France)
Quantum time and mass observables
Prof. Dr. Christophe Salomon (Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Ecole Normale Supérieure, France)
Fundamental physics tests with space clocks
Dr. Augusto Smerzi (University of Florence and LENS (European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spektroscopy, Italy)
Entanglement and distinguishability of quantum states
Prof. Dr. Guglielmo Tino (University of Florence and LENS (European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spektroscopy, Italy)
Testing gravity with atom interferometry
Dr. Sike Weinfurtner (SISSA, Astrophysics sector, Italien)
Measurement of stimulated Hawking emission in an analogue system
Prof. Dr. Christoph Wetterich (Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Germany)
What can we infer from cosmology for the fundamental laws of physics
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Werner (Leibniz Universität Hannover, Theoretische Physik, Germany)
Detection time as a quantum observable
Prof. Dr. Samuel Werner (NIST, Gaithersburg, Physics Laboratory, USA)
Does a neutron know that the earth is rotating?
Prof. Dr. Clifford Will (Washington University, Physics Department, USA)
Principles of equivalence: An introduction
Dr. Peter Wolf ( SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris, France)
Tests of the Einstein equivalence principle: Clocks, atoms and macroscopic test-masses