Quantum Optics and Gravitational Physics

In the key research area Quantum Optics and Gravitational Physics, more than 350 scientists are researching current issues within the fields of quantum engineering, gravitational wave research, precision measurement of space and time, light and matter, as well as the development of laser systems and atomic clocks. QUEST Leibniz Research School brings together a cross-disciplinary network of expertise from physics, mathematics, engineering and natural sciences to use new technologies to shift the boundaries of measurement at the smallest and largest levels of detail. This work is laying the foundations for the navigation, time synchronisation and cryptography of tomorrow.

With the Hannover Institute of Technology (HITec), a new comprehensive research infrastructure for quantum technologies will be in place as of 2018. In addition to a fibre-drawing facility for the production of radiation-resistant optical high-performance fibres and a 10-metre-long atom fountain (VLBAI - Very Large Baseline Atom Interferometer) for fundamental research on atom interferometry, the facility also includes the Einstein Elevator for experiments under zero-gravity conditions.

As a result of close cooperation with strong university partners and non-university research facilities, the research on quantum optics and gravitational physics at Leibniz University Hannover is firmly embedded in a unique research environment. Its success is illustrated by its globally recognised accomplishments in research – for example, the proving of Einstein’s theory on gravitational waves, to which researchers from Leibniz Universität Hannover contributed significantly in collaboration with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics.