Quantum power: The Hebrew University is opening a unique research center in Israel for quantum information

The research in the field is expected to help the development of advanced computing and communication systems

The field of quantum information, based on the wave nature of matter and light, is taking its first steps, but is already at the forefront of the exact sciences. Controlled quantum systems are becoming more and more complex in the research labs, and within them a deep and wonderful set of connections is created between the quantum components, the understanding of which will allow the development of advanced systems for communication and calculation that are thousands of times greater than the systems we know today. Therefore, the field of quantum information is one of the main topics in the world of science and technology of the 21st century.

Now the university is lifting the glove and opening a unique research center in Israel for quantum information ((QISC) which will bring together the best minds working at the university and will work to promote research in the field. In the first phase, about 20 researchers from the university will work in the center from a variety of fields, such as physics, computer science, mathematics, chemistry, engineering and even philosophy. Among the members of the center, which will be headed by Dr. Nadav Katz from the Rakah Institute of Physics, are Fields Medal winner for mathematics Prof. Elon Lindenstrauss, Wolf Prize winner for physics Prof. Jacob Beckenstein, Rothschild Prize winner for mathematics Prof. Gil Kalai, and Prof. Dorit Aharonov and Prof. Michael Ben-Or who are considered the founders of quantum information research.

According to Dr. Nadav Katz, "We believe that the only way to fundamentally deepen our theoretical and applied understanding in the field of quantum information is through a combination of a variety of research fields and different languages ​​of science. Only in this way can we achieve significant breakthroughs in the field. The university already has a unique group of excellent researchers who examine in their work various aspects of quantum information and now the new center will serve as a meeting point for them and accelerate research in the field." Along with promoting and funding research in quantum information, the center will work to train graduate students in the field, to recruit more leading researchers to the center and to conduct international collaborations with similar centers around the world.

A team headed by Prof. Hagai Eisenberg belonging to the new center already managed to stir up a storm in the world of science last month when they were able to prove for the first time that there is a connection between quantum particles that exist at different times. The research published in the prestigious journal of the American Physical Society refutes the claim of the renowned scientist Albert Einstein that this type of connection is not possible.

The center was inaugurated a few days ago at an international conference held at the Edmond Y. Safra campus in Givat Ram, with the participation of world-renowned researchers in the field of quantum information from the Hebrew University and other universities in Israel and the world, including researchers from MIT, McGill University, the National University of Singapore and the University of Berkeley.