Research
Quantum Information Theory at Low Energies
Studies of quantum phenomena and its numerous manifestations are a very active field of research in physics. Our main research lines focus on the study of quantum dynamics of bipartite and multipartite systems encountering different dimensions at different energy scales, at low energies. This research spans from very mathematical aspects over theoretical aspects to experimental aspects.
We are interested in single particle systems and systems consisting of few particles, but as well to those that could be considered to be macroscopic (many body systems). Though our focus is of theoretical nature we are give priority to studies that can be put to reality.
Quantum Information Theory at High Energies
Studies of quantum phenomena and its numerous manifestations are a very active field of research in physics. Our main research lines focus on the study of quantum dynamics of bipartite and multipartite systems encountering different dimensions at different energy scales, at low energies and at high energies (that I am pioneering).
In turned out that entanglement in high energetic systems reveals differently. For example, we showed that finding a conclusive and experimentally feasible test for proving correlations stronger than those predicted by any classical system (Bell inequalities) for entangled K-meson systems is not straightforward. But it offered also a new insight into physics by connecting two seemingly unconnected problems. Neutral K-mesons are a well-investigated systems since here in this system it was firstly revealed that there is a small difference between a world made out of matter or antimatter, a fact that surprised the physics community in 1964. Since then devoted accelerator facilities have been built (e.g. DAPHNE (Italy), KEK (Japan)) that have shown this puzzling symmetry breaking also for other neutral meson systems. Our group showed that that a Bell inequality is connected to this breaking. This is also remarkable since the breaking is connected to the big open question in cosmology, why do we live in a universe dominated by matter, where did the antimatter slip off?
Our findings connect the imbalance of matter and antimatter in our current universe with the security of quantum cryptography!
Towards Applications
The detection of the two high energetic photons coming from the annihilation of an electron and a positron is a well-established successful technology to image metabolic processes in living bodies (PET: Positron Emission Tomography). Positronium atoms, however, can also decay into three photons which have never been experimentally proven (due to several technical reasons). A new tomography build by the J-PET collaboration, which I have jointed 2016, has proven to meet all the requirements to observe these frequent decays based on new cutting-edge technology coming from Particle Physics. My very recent publication “Genuine Multipartite Entanglement in the Three-Photon Decay of Positronium”, a joint publication with Prof. Pawel Moskal the father of the J-PET, shows that the surprising survival of genuinely multipartite entanglement -- a very powerful type of entanglement -- even under strong mixing. This may offer a new potential possibility, i.e. we can deduce quantum information from metabolic processes, a marker for e.g. cancer or changes in the structure of the considered material/tissue based on a quantum phenomenon. In addition to the local information of a standard PET-image (as e.g. the one of my brain) for each pixel we want to record the quantum entanglement via designed entanglement witnesses from positronium. Thus quantum information on (strong) correlations could one day serve as a biomarker for medicine, i.e. doctors may not only obtain classical information but also quantum information of metabolic processes.
