Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics goes to Eugene Demler
- Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP)
- Topic tags
- D-PHYS
- Quantum sciences
Eugene Demler, quantum researcher and professor at ETH Zurich, was honoured for his theoretical work on quantum fluids and solids, especially for his contributions to the study of ultracold atoms in optical lattices.
Eugene Demler has joined the Department of Physics at ETH Zurich in the summer of 2021. Before he was a physics professor at Harvard University (2001-2021). His research focuses on understanding strongly correlated quantum systems, from electrons in solids to dilute atomic gases to photons. His work has had a profound impact on diverse areas, such as magnetism and superconductivity, many-body physics with ultracold atoms in optical lattices, nonlinear quantum optics, and pump and probe experiments in solids. The prize was awarded to Demler on 10 November 2021 in Hamburg.
Many important impulses
The Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics has been awarded to internationally renowned researchers since 2010. It is one of the most highly endowed physics prizes in Germany. Dr. Henneke Lütgerath, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Joachim Herz Foundation, notes: “With Eugene Demler, we are honouring a researcher this year, who has rendered outstanding services to the application of his theoretical work in experimental physics. His thoughts have provided many important impulses for the development of new materials, for example, for energy transmission or data processing.”
Towards a better understanding of materials with quantum simulation
Eugene Demler is a world-renowned expert in theoretical quantum physics. He describes how electrons, atoms and other miniscule objects behave. Demler's work has also been instrumental in developing quantum simulators based on ultracold atoms that replicate fundamental models of condensed matter physics. When trying to understand complex materials, condensed matter theorists introduce simplified models, analyse them and try to relate their results to experimentally measured material properties.
Creating experimental systems by quantum simulators
However, basic models often struggle to accurately represent strong interactions between particles. When theoretical results disagree with experimental findings, it is not always clear whether the discrepancy is due to a model's computational inability to represent all interactions adequately, or whether the model is missing some important features. Quantum simulators address this problem by creating experimental systems that emulate fundamental models of condensed matter physics. Cold atom simulators use atoms arranged into periodic structures with laser beams to create artificial crystals.
Describing condensed matter systems
Experiments conducted on cold atom simulators will not only allow researchers to understand the properties of paradigmatic models, but will also to elucidate what they are missing for describing condensed matter systems. Experiments done on cold atom simulators have already delivered new insights into the properties of materials that arise from the complex interaction of thousands of particles that obey the laws of quantum mechanics. These include quantum magnets and topological insulators, as well as superconductors, which are materials that allow resistance-free transmission of electricity.
About Eugene Demler
Eugene Demler studied theoretical physics at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Subsequently, he transferred to Stanford University in California and published his first widely cited article on the interplay between antiferromagentism and superconductivity in high temperature superconductors while still working on his doctorate (awarded in 1998).
He was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows and became an assistant professor at Harvard in 2001, where he played a crucial role in starting a new field of research: solving long standing problems in the field of condensed matter physics using atoms in optical lattices. In 2005, he was appointed full professor. Demler analysed, among many other things, how the unique experimental tools of atomic physics can be used to gain insights into quantum many-body systems that are not possible in solid-state systems.
Demler was a member of the Harvard-MIT Centre for Ultracold Atoms and the Institute for Theoretical Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and has received several major awards.
external pageSee full article (The text above is based on a media release by the Joachim Herz Foundation: Prize Winner 2021)
The Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics
The Prize is awarded by the Joachim Herz Stiftung, in conjunction with the Wolfgang Pauli Centre (WPC) at the University of Hamburg, the German Electron Synchrotron (DESY), and the Cluster of Excellence “CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter” at the University of Hamburg. The prize is endowed with EUR 137,036 – a figure that plays on Sommerfeld’s fine-structure constant. This endowment is one of the highest German physics prizes. In addition to a grant, the prize also entails research visits to Hamburg during which the prize winner interacts with DESY, CUI's research groups, and especially with young researchers.