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Introduction
Physics is fascinating
because of the intellectual excitement it provides and because of the
applications it offers. In the Group
of Applied Physics (GAP) at Geneva
University we get our inspiration from both of these motivations.
Optics, in this respect, has a privileged place. Indeed, in modern optics,
experiments and theory progress hand-in-hand, and practical applications
are close behind. Consequently, we can work both on conceptual issues
and on applications. Moreover, it is a very good time for optics! The
fascinating new insight about quantum mechanics brought about by recent
quantum optics experiments on one side, and the tremendous development
of optical communications on the other, illustrates our privileged position!
The American Research
Council has recently declared optics as the technology of the 21st century.
In contrast, a famous physicist, Michael Berry, has declared that the
21st century will be shaped by quantum physics, in a way similar to
electrodynamics, which shaped the 20th century. Our position in GAP-Optique,
at the crossroads between optics and quantum physics, ensures our participation
to both challenges.
Prof. Nicolas Gisin
Group leader
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SwissQuantum @ ITU Telecom World Trade Show
October 2009
The ITU TELECOM WORLD show, held every three years, is an unrivalled event for the
global telecommunication and information communication technology (ICT) sector. It attracts all stakeholders from around the world for a
truly global, world-class event and networking platform to address shared global challenges in today’s information society.
SwissQuantum will present its activities and results at the ITU Telecom World 2009 with demonstrations on the Lake Geneva Region booth
during the whole duration of the show and a conference presenting the SwissQuantum project on October 8, from 4pm to 7pm.
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Seeing Entanglement
September 2009
A recent proposal by the Group of Applied Physics
(Sekatski et al)
has captured the imagination not only of the physics community as it looks to close the gap between the human observer and the quantum
domain.
Physorg has a nice story on this work.
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Prof. Nicolas Gisin awarded the First Bell Prize
August 2009
The First Biennial John Stewart Bell Prize for Research on Fundamental Issues in Quantum Mechanics and their Applications is awarded to Prof. Nicolas Gisin for his theoretical and experimental work on foundations and applications of quantum physics, in particular: quantum non-locality, quantum cryptography and quantum teleportation. With sources of single and entangled photons at telecommunications wavelength, he has implemented these quantum effects on a commercial optical fibre network in the 10-100 km range.
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SwissQuantum publically launched
July 2009
The SwissQuantum website has been officially launched and providing an insight into the quantum key distribution testbed running in the Geneva metropolitan area. This testbed consists of three nodes located at CERN, the University of Geneva (UniGE), and the HEPIA of Geneva in a triangular configuration. The objective of this project is to provide the community with a platform on which the validity of quantum telecommunications can be tested and demonstrated. SwissQuantum will showcase Geneva and the Lake Geneva region as the unchallenged quantum communication capital of the world.
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Nicolas Gisin, l’homme qui intrique les photons
April 2009
In the Tribune de Genève, Nicolas Gisin was chosen to be profiled in a full-page feature in a series on one of the top 20 ideas developed in 450 Years of the University of Geneva. Nicolas Gisin était choisit à l’occasion du 450e anniversaire de l’Université de Genève ou la «Tribune de Genève»
et l’alma mater présentent la genèse de 20 idées nées dans la région et qui ont changé le monde.
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Nicolas Gisin, Fellow of the European Optical Society
March 2009
Nicolas Gisin has been appointed as a Fellow of the European Optical Society, rewarding: outstanding research contributions to optics and photonics and serving the optics and photonics community by teaching & training.
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Bouncing ideas around
March 2009
The Economist highlights some of the group's recent work on Quantum Memories. They claim that a chip that can store light, if only for a microsecond, could be an important step towards lightning-fast optical computers. For a more accurate view of what is going on please see the previous Nature publication below.
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OFMC 2009
Organised by the National Physical Laboratory
16 - 18 September 2009
OFMC is Europe's leading conference on measurements for optical fibres and optoelectronics. OFMC brings together scientists, technologists, metrologists and industry specialists to discuss issues and developments in measurements for guided wave optical technologies. Papers describing original work within the scope of the conference are invited. Abstract submission deadline is 29th May 2009.
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A solid-state light–matter interface at the single-photon level
December 2008
Another world first in the GAP optic's labs in Geneva.They demonstrate the coherent and reversible mapping of a light field with less than one photon per pulse onto an ensemble of 10^7 atoms naturally trapped in a solid before being released
in a well defined spatio-temporal mode as a result of a collective interference. The results represent the first observation of collective enhancement at the single photon level in a solid
and open the way to multimode solid state quantum memories as a promising alternative to atomic
gases.
Read the article in Nature. or if you don't have access, here is a pre-publication version.
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Quantum Physics vs Telecommunication revisited
November 2003
We missed this Nature News & Views back in 2003 but thought that it was worth a mention now that we found it again! Nicolas Brunner and co-workers show how standard processes in fibre-optic networks embody fundamental features of quantum logic and could provide telecommunication engineers with a simple quantum-based formalism for understanding what happens to their light signals.
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The first live QKD network demonstration
October 2008
The first live demonstration of a working quantum key distribution (QKD) network recently took place in Vienna. Eight QKD-links were combined in a novel quantum-back-bone network physically deployed within a typical metropolitan area network to connect different company sites from SIEMENS Austria. Nicolas Gisin's Group of Applied Physics developed the prototype system for the longest (82km) link in the network.
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ERC Advanced researcher grant at the GAP
August 2008
Nicolas Gisin has been awarded one of the prestigous European Research Council (ERC) grants for advanced researchers in the domain, Physical Sciences and Engineering.
These grants are aimed at supporting fundamental research. Out of 997 applications, 105 have been successful, Switzerland received 9 of them.
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"For their outstanding theoretical and experimental studies on quantum entanglement"
August 2008
The NUS team, together with Dr Alexander Ling and some co-workers from the University of Geneva, have produced a series of studies on one of the most counter-intuitive consequences of entanglement: the fact that a joint system may have sharply defined properties, while none of its components have. For their outstanding theoretical and experimental studies on quantum entanglement, Associate Professor Christian Kurtsiefer, Assistant Professor Antia Lamas-Linares and Associate Professor Valerio Scarani (formerly in the GAP) were awarded the 2008 National (singapore) Science Award.
More information can be found here.
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Testing the speed of 'spooky action at a distance'
August 2008
Physicists at the University of Geneva's Group of Applied Physics have shown that two photons can be connected in a way that seems to defy the very nature of space and time, yet still obey the laws of quantum physics. This was achieved by creating a pair of ‘entangled’ photons, separating
them, then sending them down a fibre optic cable to the Swiss villages of Satigny and Jussy, some 18 kilometres apart.
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Testing quantum correlations versus
single-particle properties within
Leggett’s model and beyond
July 2008
Quantum theory predicts and experiments confirm that nature
can produce correlations between distant events that are nonlocal in the sense of violating a Bell inequality. A collaborative effort between Singapore and GAP addresses John Bell’s statement that ‘Correlations cry out for explanations’ and catch the eye of Nature Photonics.
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Quantum Cryptography Landmark
March 2008
The Group's 'Quantum key distribution over 67 km with a plug & play system' article in the New Journal of Physics
has been selected as one of the journal's 10th anniversary highlights.To accompany the shortlist they have put together an exclusive
collection of non-specialist summaries written
by the original authors themselves.
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Copyright (c) 2002 - 2009 GAP-Optique, University
of Geneva
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