The Dynamite consortium consists of six partners from five EU member states. This project crosses disciplinary boundaries and spans multiple physics subfields. In order to ensure the success of the project, the Dynamte brings together experts with distinct scientific, technical, and operational expertise in high energy physics and condensed matter.
The Institute of Photonic Sciences (coordinating partner) was founded in 2002 by the Government of Catalonia and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, both of which are members of its board of trustees along with the Cellex and Mir-Puig Foundations, philanthropic entities that have played a critical role in the advancement of the institute. Located in the Mediterranean Technology Park in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the institute currently hosts 500 people, organized in 25 research teams in 80 state-of-the-art research laboratories. Research lines encompass diverse areas in which photonics plays a decisive role, with an emphasis on basic and applied themes relevant to medicine and biology, advanced imaging techniques, information technologies, a range of environmental sensors, tunable and ultra-fast lasers, quantum science and technologies, photovoltaics and the properties and applications of nano- and quantum materials such as graphene, among others. In addition to two consecutive accreditations of the Severo Ochoa national program for research excellence, ICFOnians have been awarded 16 elite ICREA Professorships and 42 European Research Council grants. ICFO participates actively in the European Technological Platform Photonics21 and is very proactive in fostering entrepreneurial activities, spin-off creation, and creating collaborations and links between industry and ICFO researchers. To date, ICFO has helped create 11 start-up companies.
PhD at Universität Essen (1983); Post-doc in Essen and Harvard; Member of faculty of Center of Theoretical Physics Warsaw (1986-1994); CEA Saclay (1995-1998); Leibnitz Universität Hannover (1998-2004); ICFO (since 2005). His research interests include quantum optics, quantum physics, quantum information, many body theory, attosecond science, statistical physics and machine learning. He has published 559 papers, 7 in print, 18 preprints, 20 reviews, 32 book articles/conference proceedings, and 6 books, with over 38000 citations and H-index 98 (WoS). He has been awarded several research awards including three successive ERC Advanced Grants. Lewenstein will coordinate the theoretical aspects of the project and contribute to all WPs.
Leticia is the leader of the Ultracold Quantum Gases Experimental Group at ICFO since 2013. Ph.D. at ENS Paris (2008); Post-doc at ETH Zurich (2008-2012); Chargée de Recherche CNRS at Institut d’Optique Bordeaux (2012-2013). Her research focuses on experimental quantum simulation with ultracold quantum gases, including fermionic bulk and optical lattice systems, and mixtures of Bose-Einstein condensates. She is the author of 27 publications, including 2 in Nature and 2 in Science. She has received >15 grants as PI since 2014, including an ERC Consolidator grant.
Alessio Celi is an academic researcher from Autonomous University of Barcelona. The author has contributed to research in topic(s): Quantum simulator & Gauge theory. The author has an hindex of 26, co-authored 76 publication(s) receiving 3109 citation(s). Previous affiliations of Alessio Celi include Austrian Academy of Sciences & Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information.
Since December 2021 I have been a tenured scientist at the CSIC, the Spanish National Research Council. Previously my research took me all over the world. As a lecturer I started in Glasgow at the University of Strathclyde (2015-2019), then moved to the University of Barcelona (2018-2021) and then to CSIC where I am currently. As a Post-Doc, I started at the University of Barcelona, then moved to the University of Queensland in Brisbane, and then to the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Barcelona. I have two PhD degrees, one from the Politecnico di Torino and one from the University of Barcelona.
Luca Barbiero is a junior assistant Professor at Politecnico di Torino and a visiting scientist at ICFO in the Quantum Optics Theory group. His research focuses on the quantum simulation of strongly interacting problems of interest for condensed matter and high energy physics with special attention on lattice gauge theories, topological states of matter and out-of-equilibrium physics
Javier Argüello Luengo holds a degree in Physics and Mathematics at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and a PhD in Photonics from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (2022). After working at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (Waterloo, 2016-2017) and the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics (Garching, 2017-2018), he is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO). There, he develops quantum technologies based on light-matter interaction, and investigates their application in the analog simulation of quantum problems. Awarded with the first National End of Degree prize, the Caixa Foundation and the Spanish Royal Society of Physics, he participates in various outreach activities with Big Van Ciencia.
I am a postdoctoral researcher working in the Quantum Optics Theory group at ICFO. I did my Ph.D. in the same research group, using different numerical techniques to study quantum many-body systems. My current research is focused on the study of interacting topological phases of matter with tensor networks, motivated by the perspective of simulating these exotic systems in cold atom quantum simulators.
I obtained my Ph.D. in 2015 from IAP RAS (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), where I studied ultracold 2D-fermi gas of atoms. In 2017-2019, I worked at the Collège de France in Paris as a postdoctoral researcher, where I studied nonclassical spin states of ultracold dysprosium atoms for quantum-enhanced metrology and quantum simulations. Since 2019, I have been a senior postdoctoral researcher at the Ultracold Quantum Gases Experimental Group at ICFO, and a Beatriu de Pinos (MSCA COFUND) fellow since 2020. I work on the experiments of strontium quantum gas microscope and ultracold potassium experiments. In our research, we experimentally study the physics of various quantum many-body systems using ultracold bulk and lattice gases.
I was born in Valencia, Spain. I obtained my Bachelor in Physics in 2019 by the Universitat de València, and my Master in 2021 by the Universität zu Köln. I have worked on many levels of theoretical physics, matching my many interests: from a more close-to-experiment approach (stay at Frank Koppens group at ICFO, specialized on 2D materials, like graphene), to a more analytical approach (master thesis with Achim Rosch at Uni Köln, on self-organised phases of cold atoms in a cavity). Currently I am a PhD candidate under the supervision of Prof. Luca Tagliacozzo, working on new approaches to computationally tackle the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of quantum many-body systems with tensor networks.
I am a PhD student working in a collaboration between the Quantum Gases Experiment at ICFO and the Quantum Optics group at UAB. At present time, my research focuses on the quantum simulation of topological gauge theories with light-dressed ultracold atoms.
Project manager at ICFO. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics and a master’s degree in Physics of Complex Systems. She is currently completing her PhD in Physics at the Universitat de Barcelona. Since November 2021, she has been part of the Projects Unit at ICFO, where she has been managing European coordinated proposals and projects, particularly in the quantum portfolio, such as the ICFO-coordinated QSNP SGA or the CIVIQ project, which belongs to the Quantum Flagship (one of the largest scientific research initiatives in the European Union). Together with the Coordinator, she will ensure the progress and quality of the Dynamite project.
Judith Salvador holds a degree in Economics from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and a master’s degree in Project Management from IL3-Universitat de Barcelona. She started in ICFO in 2018 in the project unit where she works for European Projects.
Jordi Cortes holds a degree in Journalism from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and a masters degree in Scientific, Medical and Environmental Communication from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). He started his career as a radio journalist. He has also worked as a video journalist for several TV stations. In 2015 he became the Communications Manager at GEO3BCN-CSIC (formerly known as ICTJA-CSIC), a geosciences research center of the Spanish National Reseacrh Council in Barcelona. He joined ICFO Communication Unit in 2021 to create content for the European funded research projects.
Alina Hirschmann obtained her PhD in Astrophysics in 2009 and worked as an associate professor in the Dept. of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (ETSEIB) of the UPC. From 2009 to 2013, she was the communications and outreach manager at the Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC). Since 2013, she is the Science Communicator Officer at ICFO. She has obtained a master’s degree in Communication Management in 2018 and has, among other tasks, coordinated the communication actions for the Quantum Flagship CSA project as well as several coordinated European projects of the institute.
Marta Martín holds a BSc in Biology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, an MSc in Neurosciences from the University of Barcelona and a postgraduate degree in Science Communication. She started her career as a researcher in evolutionary biology and animal behaviour. Having communicated and disseminated science both in research institutes and at the university level, she has a postgraduate degree in Science Communication. She joined ICFO as a Communications Officer for European Projects.
As one of Europe’s leading research universities, LMU Munich is committed to the highest international standards of excellence in research and teaching. Building on its more than 500-year-tradition of scholarship, LMU covers a broad spectrum of disciplines, ranging from the humanities and cultural studies through law, economics and social studies to medicine and the sciences. 18 percent of LMU‘s 50,000 students come from abroad, originating from 130 countries worldwide. The know-how and creativity of LMU’s academics form the foundation of the University’s outstanding research record. This is also reflected in LMU‘s designation as a “university of excellence” in the context of the nationwide Excellence Strategy to promote top-level university research
Fabien is Professor at LMU Munich since 2021, where is research focuses on quantum simulations of strongly correlated quantum matter and lattice gauge theories. He received his PhD from the TU Kaiserslautern in 2015, after which he joined Harvard’s physics department as a Moore Postdoctoral Fellow. Following a short postdoc at TU Munich, he started his research group with a Start fellowship awarded by Munich’s Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST), where he received an ERC Starting grant in 2020.
Monika received her PhD in 2015 from the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich, where she developed novel experimental techniques to realize topological lattice models with ultracold atoms in optical lattices. She then joined Collège de France in Paris as a Marie-Curie postdoctoral fellow, where she studied homogeneous 2D Bose gases out-of-equilibrium. In 2017 she returned to LMU as a group leader, where she worked on topological Floquet systems and many-body localization. She has received an ERC Starting Grant from the European Commission for simulating lattice gauge theories with ultracold fermions. Since 2019 she is a professor at LMU for Synthetic Quantum Matter.
National and international rankings place the University of Trento among the best Italian universities. Founded in 1962, UniTrento has always invested in building relationships and alliances. It is one of the most international universities in Italy and stands out for the quality and quantity of its international relations. Trento is a dynamic university that offers quality education with over 16,000 students, 700 faculty and as many staff members: the ideal environment for study and research in a wide range of disciplinary areas. With 11 departments and 4 university centres, Trento offers 70 undergraduate and master’s degree courses, many first and second level master’s degrees and lifelong education, a school of advanced studies, and 17 doctoral programmes. The University participates in over 450 study and research agreements with universities in Europe and around the world. Trento is home to facilities that develop some of the most advanced quantum devices in Italy through Q@TN, Quantum Science and Technology in Trento. Q@TN was created in Trento in March 2018 through an agreement by the University of Trento, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, the National Research Council, and the National Institute of Nuclear Physics. This joint laboratory, that makes the most of the knowledge and expertise of the members of four research institutions, is a national and European point of reference for research and innovation in quantum science and technologies and an ideal platform to design quantum devices, secure communication protocols, quantum sensors, as well as quantum algorithms and supercomputing prototypes.
Philipp Hauke studied Physics at TU Munich and EPF Lausanne. He received his PhD in 2013 from ICFO. Afterwards, he held positions as University Assistant at the University of Innsbruck and as group leader at Heidelberg University, funded by an ERC Starting grant. In fall 2019, he moved to the Pitaevskii BEC Center and the Physics Department of the University of Trento, first as Associate Professor and since spring 2023 as Full Professor. His research focuses on developing the theoretical basis for novel quantum technologies. The vision of the research in his group is to harness the pristine control available in synthetic quantum systems such as cold atoms, trapped ions, superconducting qubits, or photonic devices for solving outstanding problems of practical relevance. Philipp Hauke’s group develops methods to characterize and measure entanglement as a quantum resource, derives algorithms to solve hard NP-complete problems through quantum annealing, and designs quantum simulations of strongly-correlated systems, in particular topological models and lattice gauge theories.
Gabriele Ferrari studied physics at the University of Pisa and SNS Pisa. He received his PhD in 2000 from ENS Paris. Afterwards, he was a researcher at the National Institute of Matter Physics and then National Institute of Optics-CNR. Since 2018 he is associate professor at the Pitaevskii BEC Center and the Physics Department of the University of Trento. His research focuses on the experimental study of the properties of ultracold atomic gases with regard to open problems in fundamental physics (quantum many-body dynamics, quantum simulation, superfluidity) and applications to quantum sensors with ultimate sensitivity.
Dr. Roberto Verdel Aranda studied Physics at the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico City, Mexico. After his bachelor’s degree, he pursued an Erasmus Mundus Master in the field of computer simulation of physical, chemical and biomolecular systems (AtoSiM 2.0), based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Rome, Italy; and Lyon, France. During his master’s, he did an internship at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, working in Sara Bonella’s group. Afterward, he carried out his PhD work at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, Germany, where he did research on nonequilibrium dynamics in lattice gauge theories and quantum spin models in Markus Heyl’s group. He’s currently a postdoctoral fellow in Marcello Dalmonte’s group at The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. Presently, his main scientific interest is focused on applications of machine learning and network theory in quantum many-body systems, for example to understand and characterise outcome of quantum hardware throughout powerful data mining techniques.
Marcello Dalmonte is staff scientist at the International Center for Theoretical physics in Trieste. He has long-standing experience in the field of quantum science and technologies. Some of his recent interests include the use of quantum simulators to tackle long-standing problems in theoretical physics, to the development of novel, highly interdisciplinary approaches to deepen the understanding of such complicated devices.
Emanuele Tirrito studied Physics at the University of Pisa, Italy. He received his PhD in 2020 from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) where he worked in the Quantum Optics Theory group led by Prof. Maciej Lewenstein. There, he investigated topological phases of matter in quasi-1D and 2D systems and he developed MPS and PEPS algorithms. Afterwards, he joined the Condensed Matter group at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste as a postdoctoral fellow where he studied dynamics in confined 1D models and the projective measurement induced phase transitions.
Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher in Marcello Dalmonte’s group at The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. Presently, his main scientific interests are focused on Abelian and non-Abelian lattice gauge theories and on the development of methods to measure entanglement and magic as quantum resources for the universal quantum computation.
Freedom and individual responsibility, entrepreneurial spirit and open-mindedness: ETH Zurich stands on a bedrock of true Swiss values. Our university for science and technology dates back to the year 1855, when the founders of modern-day Switzerland created it as a centre of innovation and knowledge. At ETH Zurich, students discover an ideal environment for independent thinking, researchers a climate which inspires top performance. Situated in the heart of Europe, yet forging connections all over the world, ETH Zurich is pioneering effective solutions to the global challenges of today and tomorrow. 568 professors teach around 24,500 students – including nearly 4,500 doctoral students – from over 120 countries. Their collective research embraces many disciplines: natural sciences and engineering sciences, architecture, mathematics, system-oriented natural sciences, as well as management and social sciences. The results and innovations produced by ETH researchers are channelled into some of Switzerland’s most high-tech sectors: from computer science through to micro- and nanotechnology and cutting-edge medicine. Last year ETH registered around 100 patents and almost 200 inventions. Since 1996, the university has produced a total of 496 commercial spin-offs. ETH also has an excellent reputation in scientific circles: 22 Nobel laureates have studied, taught or researched here, and in international league tables ETH Zurich regularly ranks as one of the world’s top universities.
Tilman Esslinger is Professor of Quantum Optics at the Physics Department of ETH Zurich. He received his PhD from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich and an honorary degree from Heriot-Watt University. He pioneered the superfluid- to Mott-insulator transition in a quantum gas and studies together with his team at ETH Zurich key Hamiltonians describing the inner workings of nature at the quantum level. Major breakthroughs were the realizations of the first fermionic Hubbard model, the observation of the Dicke phase transition in matter-light interaction, the observation of quantized conductance in neutral matter, the creation of Haldane’s model for a topological Chern insulator, the realization of a supersolid, as well as the engineering of density dependent gauge fields.
The Jagiellonian University in Krakow founded 1364 is one of two leading polish universities with around 40000 students. Institute of Theoretical Physics emerged from Marian Smoluchowski Institute of Physics in 2020. 8 Departments cover all main areas of physics with Atomic Optics Department specializing in theoretical quantum optics,quantum chaos, quantum information, condensed matter theory.
Jakub Zakrzewski born 1957, graduated from Jagiellonian University, Kraków, 1981, PhD from Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, 1985, habilitation 1990 Jagiellonian University, professor there since 1996, Atomic Optics Deopartment Head since 2009. former member of Atomic and Molecular Division Board of EPS, former Vice-Chairman of ICO, corresponding member of Polish Academy of Art and Sciences.Scientific interests include quantum chaos, quantum optics, disordered many body systems, cold atoms, quantum simulators, art. Around 210 papers published, supervised 11 PhD thesis with 3 currently being supervised.
I am Arindam Mallick, a theoretical physics researcher. Quantum simulation and localization phenomena in condensed matter physics are the main fields of my research interest. I finished my Ph.D. in April 2019 from The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, India, and later joined as a research fellow at Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, South Korea. At present, I am working as a postdoc in the group of professor Jakub Zakrzewski at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
I obtained my BSc and MSc in Physics at Federal University of Alagoas, Brazil, where I was supervised by Prof. Dr. Marcelo Lyra. I then became a PhD student at Jagiellonian University in October 2022, where I am being supervised byProf. Dr. Jakub Zakrzewski. My research interests consist in understanding phenomena that exhibit a nonergodic behavior, such as many-body localization, disorder-free localization, and quantum many-body scars.
Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany’s oldest university and one of the strongest research universities in all of Europe. The successes in both rounds of the Excellence Initiative and in internationally recognised rankings prove that Heidelberg’s excellent reputation and leading role in the scientific community are well deserved. In terms of educating students and promoting promising early-career academics, Heidelberg relies on research-based teaching and an outstanding, well-structured training for doctoral candidates. Heidelberg University is a comprehensive university, offering the full spectrum of disciplines in the humanities, law and the social sciences alongside the natural and life sciences, including medicine. As a comprehensive university, Heidelberg aims to continue to strengthen the individual disciplines and to further interdisciplinary cooperation, as well as to carry research results over into society and industry. With its aspiration of connecting traditional academic values with future-oriented scientific concepts in research and teaching, the university is building bridges to the future.
This project was funded within the QuantERA II Programme that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101017733