The CERN-MPQ-UIBK school on Quantum Simulation of Fundamental Physics 2026 is a three-week advanced training program dedicated to quantum simulation methods and their applications to high-energy and many-body physics.
The first edition will take place at CERN from August 17th to September 4th, 2026, and will be held in person.
The school combines morning lectures with afternoon exercise sessions and supervised group projects.
Core topics include lattice gauge theory (introductory and advanced), quantum simulation platforms (AMO systems, trapped ions, cold atoms, superconducting qubits), tensor networks and classical simulation methods, basics of heavy-ion physics, and quantum algorithms for real-time evolution.
The aim will be to introduce key concepts and develop an understanding of important topics in this field.
It will consist of six courses:
First week.-
• Pilar Hernández (IFIC, Valencia) — Introductory LGT
• Juan José García-Ripoll (CSIC, Madrid) — Quantum simulator implementations
Second week.-
• Harvey Meyer (CERN-TH, Geneva) — Advanced topics on LGT
• Stefan Kühn (DESY, Zeuthen) — Tensor networks
Third week.-
• Aleksas Mazeliauskas (Heidelberg) — Introductory HI and QCD thermalization
• Yuan Su (Amazon, t.b.c.) — Quantum algorithms for real-time evolution
The school is open to PhD students and junior postdoctoral researchers, with a maximum of 50 participants.
There will be a school fee of 50CHF.
Organizers: Mari Carmen Bañuls and Rahul Trivedi (MPQ, Munich), Torsten Zache (UIBK), Michele Grossi, and Enrique Rico (CERN)
Conference information
Application
Application for this event is currently open.