Project Details

Description

The establishment of quantum mechanics one century ago has had far-reaching consequences for science, technology, and society. One of its most intriguing aspects is entanglement, which describes an ensemble of particles for which the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently of the state of the others, regardless of the distance between particles. At the end of the last century, groundbreaking results showed that entanglement could be harnessed, giving rise to the birth of the field of quantum information.

The purpose of the project is to study the ultrafast time evolution of entanglement and decoherence of electrons in atoms, molecules and solids, working at the atomic scale, using electron spectroscopy and microscopy. Electron spectroscopy is key to the study of the electronic properties of matter and, following the seminal work of Kai Siegbahn, is today a well-established analytical tool in both physics and chemistry. Building on recent breakthroughs in attosecond science at Lund University, we plan to push our understanding of electron emission far beyond the level achieved today, by characterizing the electron(s) quantum state with its density matrix, thereby directly measuring the coherence and entanglement in matter. We aim to address the following fundamental questions:

- What are the signatures of entanglement in electron spectroscopy?
- How fast can decoherence be in small systems after a perturbation?
- What is the interplay between entanglement and decoherence in condensed matter?

We will do this by combining unique and newly developed state-of-the art experimental capabilities in X-ray attosecond light sources, electron spectroscopy and microscopy with advance theoretical modelling. Equally important, this project will create a portfolio of experimental and theoretical methods to study entanglement/decoherence, real-time photoexcitation and charge dynamics in matter in a completely new realm
StatusActive
Effective start/end date2023/07/012028/06/30

Funding

  • Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

UKÄ subject classification

  • Natural Sciences
  • Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Nano Technology