Aarhus University Seal

Two out of 13 to receive new grants from Carlsbergfondet are from IFA

It is Thomas Pohl and Jeffrey Hangst, who are both to receive one of the prestigious "Semper Ardens" grants.

[Translate to English:] Carlsbergfondets bomærke
[Translate to English:] Carlsbergfondets bomærke

Thomas Pohl's research project is named 'Quantum Control of Light'. Transmission and detection of light are widely applied in physical sciences and have become key elements in modern communication and information technologies. Much of these achievements derive from the fact that photons – the elementary quanta of light – are normally devoid of interactions and can therefore carry information in virtually ideal fashion. Yet, the possibility to induce interactions between photons, like the ones between electrons in electronic circuits, may have profound implications and open up new horizons for science and technology. The present project aims at reaching this ultimate form of optical control, that will make it possible to manipulate and even build up light quantum by quantum. The research is carried out in collaboration with Klaus Mølmer at IFA, and Sebastian Hofferberth at the University of Southern Denmark, who will realise the new concepts of this project in experiments. Further description of the project can be found at the Carlsbergfondets webpage.

Jeffrey Hangst's "The ALPHA-3 Project" recieves the second Semper Ardens grant. The ALPHA-3 project is a new initiative to make very precise studies of antimatter at CERN in Geneva. The ALPHA Collaboration is the only group in the world that can study the properties of antihydrogen, the simplest atom of antimatter. Current theory holds that antimatter - which mysteriously disappeared from the Universe sometime after the Big Bang - must have identical properties to 'normal' matter. The ALPHA-3 project aims to test this assumption with precision measurements of the spectrum of antihydrogen. The hydrogen spectrum was famously elucidated by Niels Bohr's quantum theory of the atom, and today hydrogen is one of the most well-understood systems in science. ALPHA researchers, after more than 25 years of effort, are determined to reach hydrogen-like precision in antimatter. Description of the application is available at the Carlsbergfondets webpage.