Aims

Basic research in many areas of physics and chemistry is dominated by the phenomena of quantum mechanics. Due to enormous progress  in structuring, manipulation and analysis on an atomic level, controllable quantum phenomena for technological applications have also moved to the center of attention.

At Tübingen University, a lot of research groups in the fields of physics and chemistry are working on this topic. The CQ members, who already have worked together on projects in different teams in the past, for example within several projects funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg, have decided  to further concentrate and develop the existing expertise to advance the research of collective quantum phenomena in a synergy of theory and experiment and to make it usable for the development of new types of measuring methods.

The participating groups do not only profit from synergetic effects concerning their respective methods (nano structuring, surface sensor technology, quantum optics). They also aim at creating hybrid systems in particular that combine for example solid state devices and ultracold atoms. Thus, superconducting quantum systems are coupled with ultracold atoms, firstly to study fundamental questions of basic research and secondly to develop new highly sensitive measuring methods. These measuring methods range from research on dark matter to recent questions of surface physics and the development of sensitive gravitometers and sensors for forces of inertia (rotations, accelerations). Examples are cryodetectors for elementary particles, but also the matter-wave holography of structured surfaces with Bose-Einstein condensates. It is from this range that the CQ research center gets its highly interdisciplinary nature with interrelations from cosmology to physical chemistry.