The 2013 Wolf Prize in Physics has been awarded to Juan Ignacio Cirac of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Munich, Germany, and Peter Zoller of Innsbruck University in Austria for “groundbreaking theoretical contributions to quantum-information processing, quantum optics and the physics of quantum gases”. The duo will share the $100,000 prize, which will be presented by the president of Israel at the Israeli parliament (Knesset) in May.

We theoretically investigate the properties of a double-well bosonic Josephson junction coupled to a single trapped ion. We find that the coupling between the wells can be controlled by the internal state of the ion, which can be used for studying mesoscopic entanglement between the two systems and to measure their interaction with high precision. As a particular example we consider a single 87Rb atom and a small Bose-Einstein condensate controlled by a single 171Yb+ ion.

A procedure is discussed for creating coherent superpositions of motional states of ion strings. The motional states are across the structural transition linear-zigzag, and their coherent superposition is achieved by means of spin-dependent forces, such that a coherent superposition of the electronic states of one ion evolves into an entangled state between the chain's internal and external degrees of freedom. It is shown that the creation of such an entangled state can be revealed by performing Ramsey interferometry with one ion of the chain.

We analyze a quantum reservoir engineering method, originally introduced by [Sarlette et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 010402 (2011) -- arXiv 1011.5057], for the stabilization of non-classical field states in high quality cavities. We generalize the method to the protection of mesoscopic entangled field states shared by two non-degenerate field modes. The reservoir is made up of a stream of atoms undergoing successive composite interactions with the cavity, each combining resonant with non-resonant parts.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2012 was awarded jointly to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland "for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems".

Read the official announcement on nobelprize.org.

The Charles Hard Townes award was established in 1980 to honor Charles Hard Townes, a pioneer in the field of masers and lasers, whose contributions led to the development of quantum electronics. It is awarded to a researcher or a group of researchers for outstanding experimental or theoretical work within the field of optics and quantum electronics.

A team of scientists at MPQ realizes a first elementary quantum network based on interfaces between single atoms  and photons.

S. Ritter, C. Nölleke, C. Hahn, A. Reiserer, A. Neuzner, M. Uphoff, M. Mücke, E. Figueroa, J. Bochmann, and G. Rempe, An elementary quantum network of single atoms in optical cavities, Nature 484, 195 (2012)

The link to the article is the following: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11023

Read the full story (in German).

This is the traditional QIPC cluster reviews. The program is as follows:

Professor Klaus Mølmer receives the Villum Kann Rasmussen Annual Award for Technical and Scientific Research.

For further details, please visit the following link:

http://www.au.dk/en/about/news/single/artikel/kvantemekanikkens-stemme-faar-danmarks-stoerste-forskerpris/