News

One of the striking aspects of the quantum world is that a particle, say, an electron, is also a wave, meaning that it exists in many places at the same time. In a new study, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science make use of this property to develop a new type of tool – the quantum twisting microscope (QTM) – that can create novel quantum materials while simultaneously gazing into the most fundamental quantum nature of their electrons. Read more here

Prof. Thomas Vidick will receive the 2023 Michael and Sheila Held Prize. The Prize is presented annually to honor outstanding, innovative, creative, and influential research in the areas of combinatorial and discrete optimization, or related parts of computer science, such as the design and analysis of algorithms and complexity theory. Prof. Vidick is receiving the prize for his breakthroughs in quantum complexity and quantum cryptography that led to the proof that the class of languages in which membership may be established by quantum multi-prover interactive proof systems is equal to the class of recursively enumerable languages. 
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An online course on Topological Quantum Matter, prepared by members of the Department of Condensed Matter Physics of the Weizmann Institute, was launched in mid April 2022. This advanced course covers the fundamentals of the thriving field of Topological States of Matter. It discusses both theoretical and experimental aspects, and emphasizes the physical picture. Watch the trailer:

The exponential complexity that gives quantum computing its vast potential, however, also presents some fundamental challenges, chief among them the issue of whether results that are achieved can be trusted. Can these computations be verified, or is reliable testing restricted to classical systems? These are some of the questions that drive the research of Prof. Thomas Vidick, from the Department of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics.

Using interactive proofs and complexity theory to study these problems, Prof. Vidick aims to develop scalable, noise-resistant, and trustworthy protocols for verifying quantum devices. If successful, his work could go a long way toward realizing the potential of quantum computing for scientific discovery, security, and technology, and would lay the groundwork for future applications, such as a quantum internet. Read more here

“Dan, we have to talk.” These were the words Prof. Barak Dayan had for his old army buddy, high-tech entrepreneur Dan Harash, when they met at a class reunion three years ago. Dayan, head of the quantum optics laboratory at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, was excited. He had recently realized that a breakthrough achieved in his lab may remove key physical obstacles facing researchers and companies seeking to develop a quantum computer. Continue reading here. 

Building a working quantum computer is such a daunting venture that many believe it’s only for tech giants and superpowers, something on a scale beyond Israel’s reach. Prof. Roee Ozeri of the Department of Physics of Complex Systems, and the Weizmann Institute’s Vice President for Development and Communications, begs to differ: “One of the world’s first computers, WEIZAC, was built here in the 1950s. Today Israel is a technological empire; there’s no reason we shouldn’t be front-runners in the quantum computing race.” In a project reported in March in PRX Quantum, Prof. Ozeri’s team succeeded in building Israel’s first quantum computer—one of about 30 such machines in the world, and one of less than 10 to rely on an advanced technology known as ion traps. An even larger computer is now in the works and already has a name: In a tribute to WEIZAC, the scientists plan to call it WeizQC.

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Passwords, puzzles, encryptions, and keys—such have been the weapons used in battle between code makers and breakers for millennia. How do quantum physics and quantum computers change the world of cryptography? Read more here. 

Read here how Weizmann alumni are leading the quantum revolution, qubit by qubit.

Electron microscopes are indispensable in many branches of research. Using a beam of electrons to capture the image of an object, rather than a beam of light like their optical counterparts, these microscopes are able to reach atomic-scale resolutions, some 500,000 times smaller than what the human eye can see. But while the field of electron microscopy has advanced drastically in recent years, scientists still have to contend with many stubborn constraints that hinder their ability to image many biological specimens. Dr. Osip Schwartz, who is joining the Department of Physics of Complex Systems, is trying to solve these problems by using lasers to control the electron beams on a quantum level. Read more here.

Working in the field of quantum technology requires the ability to use tiny spinning electrons to encode information—quantum bits, also known as qubits. Now, there may be a new way to do it: creating qubits based on the vibrations of whole molecules. Molecules offer an exciting and novel platform to study how quantum mechanics—the physics governing the atomic-scale world—applies to larger-than-atomic systems. Dr. Ziv Meir, who is joining the Department of Physics of Complex Systems, plans to use these novel molecular qubits to explore scientific avenues and to develop technologies not possible with ‘ordinary’ qubits. Read more here.

A new study by Dr. Or Katz and Roy Shaham from Dr. Ofer Firstenberg’s group in the Physics of Complex System’s Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in collaboration with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., offers an innovative way to store data in qubits for much longer periods of time than was previously possible.

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