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.
Recent News
Solid-state quantum memory for polarization qubits
Our work on the storage of polarization qubits encoded on heralded single photons has just been published in Physical Review Letters. In the same issue, two other groups report similar results, putting into evidence the importance of the results. Additionally, Physics has dedicated a synopsis to the three articles.
Two crystals linked by quantum physics
For years, physicists have managed to entangle elementary particles of light. Recently, our team successfully demonstrated that entanglement can also link two macroscopic crystals that are each visible to the naked eye. This constitutes an important step towards the realization of quantum repeaters. Our work has been published in the latest issue of Nature Photonics.
Prof. Gisin explique la crypto quantique
In a recent interview with Quadrivium Radio, Prof. Nicolas Gisin explains quantum cryptography. You can use the player below to listen to the interview (in French).
18 months of real-world quantum key distribution
In a recently published article, researchers from our group, other Swiss research facilities and Id Quantique report the results of the Swiss Quantum network. The network used quantum key distribution for secure communication between the University of Geneva, CERN and the University of Applied Sciences in Geneva. The network has been running reliably for more than 18 month in real-world conditions, which proves that the technology can live up to commercial requirements. The Swiss news paper Le Temps also published an article (French) about these findings.
Coherent Schrödinger's cat still confounds
A collaboration between our group and the group of Christoph Simon at the University of Calgary recently resulted in an article on the requirements for detecting micro-macro entangled states. The article has not yet been published, but an arXiv version is already available. Nevertheless, PhysicsWorld considers it a top physics story from around the world, and discusses the article in depth.
