Massimo Inguscio, "Atoms from the cold: from the Measurement of Time to Quantum Computing"

by Massimo Inguscio (UCBM Rome)

Friday 28 Nov 2025, 10:00 → 11:00 Europe/Zurich

40/S2-C01 - Salle Marie Sklodowska-Curie (CERN)

A hundred years after the birth of quantum mechanics, atomic physics continues to drive discoveries and new technologies. Thanks to lasers, we can cool atomic gases of two-electron atoms down to billionths of a degree above absolute zero and optically trap them to perform extremely accurate measurements of atomic spectra, with relative uncertainties below 10^(-18) — the most precise measurements of all physics. With these, we create optical atomic clocks that enable an "exact" definition of time, with applications in multiple fields, from fundamental research to sensing and metrology. This extreme precision, ensured by the long coherence times and by the isolation from the environment, opens new avenues for quantum information processing. Today, we create registers of optically trapped atoms that can be individually detected and manipulated — ideal qubits, with metrological precision, for next-generation quantum computers.