An all-optical transistor, a molecule-sized sensor and a new kind of single-photon source for quantum communication. All dreamed applications of fundamental physics that are one step closer thanks to Robert Smit. On 12 June, he defended his PhD thesis with distinction.

Making the most vibration-free, cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope in the world. A bold mission, but one that PhD candidate Irene Battisti successfully executed together with the Fine Mechanical Department. The new microscope might shed light on how unconventional superconductivity works. PhD Defence…

In this thesis we study quantum transport phenomena on the nanometer scale, in two classes of materials: topological insulators with induced superconductivity and graphene superlattices.

String theory has come under fire in recent years. Promises have been made that have not been lived up to. Leiden theoretical physicists have now for the first time used string theory to describe a physical phenomenon. Their discovery has been reported this week in 'Science'.

The Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) is the coordinating partner in the Qluster research project, which was awarded a 2,9 million euro FET Open grant by the European Union. The three-year project, which started on 1 December 2019, aims to produce many photon entanglement to aid quantum communication…

Research at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) is foundational and curiosity driven. All our scientists share a desire to increase the knowledge of the world around us, in an open atmosphere of inquiry from which innovative ideas emerge that provide applications and value for society.

To strenghten ties with the public, press, other academics and wider society, LION employs an outreach officer.

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. Zaanen & Prof.dr. K.E. Schalm

Jan Zaanen, Professor in Theoretical Physics of condensed material, has been awarded a Spinoza prize. His pioneering ideas about the collective behaviour of quantum particles and high temperature superconductivity have often given him the reputation of being something of a rebel.

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Resolution 1325, this introduction discusses the state of the field in the women peace and security (WPS) agenda and outlines the challenges to implementation. It begins by ntroducing the current gaps we see in WPS practice, many of which are driven by…

As of 1 June, Leiden University has appointed Sense Jan van der Molen as Professor Physics of Condensed matter. He investigates the unique electronic properties that arise when atomic thin layers are stacked on top of each other into new materials.

On this page you will find an overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2023, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

Advanced sensing techniques require graphene with high quality and well-controlled surface chemistry.

Majorana fermions in superconductors are the subgap quasiparticle excitations that are their own antiparticles.

Find out how to apply for Physics and Classical/Quantum Information at Leiden University by following our step-by-step guide.

This thesis describes the implementation and on-sky demonstration of high-resolution integral-field spectroscopy for extreme adaptive optics systems that are used to find and characterize exoplanets.

The LED3 hub, consisting of researchers from the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC), the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) and the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR), is very excited to organize the “LED3 Lectures”. This lecture series brings world-leading researchers in the field of…

To improve our teaching and reward excellent teaching assistants, the institute offers a Teaching Assistant Prize to the best teaching assistant of the semester.

This thesis describes the use of bioorthogonal proteins in immunological settings. It provides an introduction towards the field of protein modification, which was used throughout the thesis for the expression of proteins containing unnatural amino acids.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.W. Lenstra

Everything you need to know about the minor American Studies.

Learn more about the minor Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence.

In the Netherlands, people probably grew up with De Fabeltjeskrant (a children’s show, ed.), but in France an introduction to fables plays a much more important role in a child's upbringing. PhD candidate Céline Zaepffel studied the role of fables in French education and teaching methods. It turns out…

The master's specialisation Bioinformatics at Leiden University focuses on research, development and application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral and health data.

The government is investing 646 million euros and has set aside a further 3.5 billion to drive economic growth in the Netherlands. Much of the National Growth Fund will be used for scientific innovations. Leiden University is involved in three of the projects.

The project has been done in the Quantum Matter Optics group under the supervision of Dr. Wolfgang Löffler and Prof.dr. Carlo Beenakker. The title of the presentation is:

Tonight 20:25, Julia Cramer, expert in quantum information and communication science, is a guest in the television science programma Atlas

When the government introduced its corona measures, the future of EL CID suddenly looked uncertain. But this annual introduction week will start on 5 August after all. How did the EL CID board pull this off? A glimpse behind the scenes through the eyes of chair Mirte Haanappel.

Conferences, Workshops and Lectures showcasing research and tools in Digital Humanities.

To be eligible for Physics and Classical/Quantum Information at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

The Research in Physics, Classical/Quantum Information specialisation is an excellent stepping stone for pursuing a PhD degree in projects that involves Physics and Data Science This specialisation also prepares you for a broad array of career prospects in research and industry, including software engineer,…

The portal for prospective Indonesian Students contains information about the possibilities to study at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Truth is stranger than fiction. In 1997 Juan Maldaceña discovered a remarkable dictionary that translates equation for equation the physics of black holes in string theory into the more conventional physics of quantum mechanics of interacting particles. The remarkable possibility exists that…

The correctness of computational systems is of great importance to our society, since it becomes ever more reliant on the benefits of computing.

If you replace the standard hydrogen atoms in ice with a heavier variant, something odd happens. The volume occupied by the molecules increases by 0.1 per cent. Leiden chemist Jörg Meyer and his colleagues have created a theoretical model that describes this behaviour. Their research appeared on the…

Cryptographer Max Fillinger developed new methods to analyse a group of algorithms called commitments schemes. These schemes are building blocks for cryptographic protocols, which enable multiple parties that do not trust each other to work together safely. His PhD Defence is on 19 March.

PhD defence

In Leiden, light particles march into Wolfgang Löffler’s experiments one by one. His research focuses on acquiring the fundamental knowledge needed to develop quantum computers and networks.

One of the key limitations of the direct imaging of exoplanets at small angular separations are quasi-static speckles that originate from evolving non-common path aberrations (NCPA) to which the primary adaptive optics system is inherently blind. The main focus of this thesis is the development and…

A century ago, it was unclear whether the stars in the sky were clustered in groups, or widely spread in the universe.

This thesis aims to demonstrate how the achromatic nature and design flexibility of liquid-crystal optics can be used to improve high-contrast imaging instruments to facilitate detailed exoplanet characterization.

In this thesis, we use low-frequency and high-frequency radio observations to address the following questions regarding quasars: is the radio loud/quiet quasar dichotomy real?

Workshop

In this dissertation, matching, entropy, holes and expansions come together. The first chapter is an introduction to ergodic theory and dynamical systems.