Quantum physics with superconducting circuits

Content: The year 2025 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). Under the motto “Quantum2025 – 100 years is just the beginning…” various events and activities will take place around the world, and participation is highly encouraged. This year, our offerings include two student seminars on quantum physics, year-round access to the quantum physics laboratory for school classes, and a themed lecture on September 26, 2025.
You may have heard of transistors, capacitors, and inductors as components of a classical computer. But how do you turn those into a quantum computer? What does it have to do with superconductors? What can quantum computers actually do better than a classical computer, and why are Google, IBM, and Intel interested in this? In this talk, I will explain how to tease out quantum phenomena from electrical circuits using superconductors and how to build a quantum computer that can perform “certain tasks” better than a classical computer. Of course, Schrödinger's cat must not be missed in a lecture about quantum physics. Our systems can generate such states, and I will explain how we can implement this in experiments and what these states are useful for.

Speaker: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kirchmair, University of Innsbruck, Institute of Experimental Physics
Gerhard Kirchmair is a professor at the Institute of Experimental Physics at the University of Innsbruck and junior research director at IQOQI Innsbruck. His research interests include superconducting circuits, quantum optics, fundamental quantum physics, quantum information processing, and quantum simulation, as well as the use of quantum systems for advanced sensor applications. His group is currently focused on superconducting circuits to realize a quantum simulator of complex spin models in one and two dimensions. In a second experiment, his team is attempting to combine superconducting circuits with micromechanical oscillators to form a hybrid system aimed at cooling massive objects into the quantum realm.

Registration via the IAT website: www.akademietraunkirchen.com