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 research fields 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 comprises a cross-disciplinary network of expertise from physics, mathematics, engineering and natural sciences, to push the boundaries of measurement with new technologies in the most minute and significant detail. This will lay the foundations for navigation, time synchronisation and cryptography of tomorrow.

Together with Hannover Institute of Technology (HITec), a new comprehensive research infrastructure for quantum technologies is available from 2018, which, in addition to a fibre-drawing facility for producing radiation-resistant optical high performance fibres and a 10-metre-long atom fountain (VLBAI - Very Large Baseline Atom Interferometer) for fundamental research into atom interferometry, also includes an Einstein Elevator for experiments under zero-gravity conditions.

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