New research consortium aims to explain quantum measurement

Posted on: 07 February 2023

A kick-off meeting was held last week to launch a prestigious grant in the field of quantum foundations.  

An international research consortium between Trinity College Dublin, TU Wien in Vienna, and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh was awarded the $600k grant by the John Templeton Foundation to tackle one of the longest-standing unsolved questions in physics: how does the everyday world we see emerge from microscopic quantum physics? 

The project is jointly led by Maximilian Lock and Nicolai Friis in Vienna and Felix Binder, who leads the Quantum Information Theory Group in Trinity’s School of Physics in Dublin. 

The kick-off meeting was held in the Atominstitut in Vienna. Over three days, the researchers shared initial results and constituted working groups for the coming two years. The project will culminate with an international scientific conference at Trinity College Dublin in summer 2024. 

The consortium (pictured above) will address the problem by taking a thermodynamic perspective.  

The ‘measurement postulate’ at the core of quantum theory is seemingly in conflict with the laws of thermodynamics which lie at the core of physics as a whole. This raises the question: why does this ‘measurement’ postulate seem to not only be verified by quantum experiments in laboratories around the world but moreover give rise to modern quantum technologies such as quantum computing? 

This makes it all the more important to address the problem with a thermodynamic perspective and the modern tools of quantum and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The team will not only attempt to reconcile measurement with thermodynamics but in fact reveal measurement as a natural consequence of thermodynamic processes.  

The team includes two internationally-leading experimental researchers: photonics expert Mehul Malik at Heriot-Watt University and cold-atoms specialist Jörg Schmiedmayer at TU Wien, as well as the experienced theorist Marcus Huber (also TU Wien), and consultant philosopher of physics Lina Jansson at the University of Nottingham. 

The results of this project will be of immense value to our most fundamental understanding of physics and will also bear direct impact on emerging quantum technologies and on thermodynamics at the nanoscale. 

Felix Binder said: “Now is the moment to address this important question at the core of quantum physics. With modern advances in the field of Quantum Thermodynamics and renewed interest in quantum foundations (as exemplified by last year’s Nobel and Breakthrough prizes in physics), we are excited to use these tools and this enthusiasm to finally reconcile quantum theory with thermodynamics.” 

Nicolai Friis said: “We are excited to be given this opportunity to address a foundational question connected to the infamous so-called measurement problem and view it through the lens of modern quantum thermodynamics, which we believe will bring about long-term progress. Bringing together experts from three countries – Ireland, the UK, and Austria – reflects the high scientific ambition of this project.” 

Maximilian Lock said: “It is unusual to be bringing together theorists and experimentalists from the beginning when tackling foundational problems. Working alongside the outstanding experimental teams in Edinburgh and in Vienna will allow us to test our predictions in two of Europe’s leading quantum laboratories.” 

ENDS

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