Max Planck Research Group Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics

The Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) is a research site funded by federal and state governments.

The MPQ provides training for young scientists, ranging from temporary assignments for undergraduates and practicals for students on completion of their intermediate diploma, through allocation and supervision of diploma and doctoral theses, to the presentation of comprehensive courses of graduate study with seminars, colloquia and study visits abroad within the framework of the two Research Schools.

High-school students with a graduation such as 'mittlere Reife' or 'Abitur' can be offered an apprenticeship for several professions.

Welcome to the World of Quantum Optics

Research at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics concentrates on the interaction of light and matter under extreme conditions. One focus is the high-precision spectroscopy of hydrogen. In the course of these measurements Prof. Theodor W. Hänsch developed the frequency comb technique for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2005. Other experiments aim at capturing single atoms and photons and letting them interact in a controlled way, thus paving the way towards future quantum computers. Theorists on the other hand are working on strategies to communicate quantum information in a most efficient way. They develop algorithms that allow the safe encryption of secret information. MPQ scientists also investigate the bizarre properties quantum-mechanical many-body systems can take on at extremely low temperatures (about one millionth Kelvin above zero). Finally light flashes with the incredibly short duration of several attoseconds (1 as is a billionth of a billionth of a second) are generated which make it possible, for example, to observe quantum-mechanical processes in atoms such as the 'tunnelling' of electrons or atomic transitions in real time.

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