To be eligible for Astronomy and Cosmology at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Astronomy and Instrumentation at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Astronomy and Business Studies at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Materials with strongly correlated electrons show some of the most mysterious and exotic phases of quantum matter, such as unconventional superconductivity, quantum criticality and strange metal phase.

Leading computer scientists from a variety of fields share their expertise and insights. Dive into the minds of these researchers and learn about real-world applications, the future of AI and related technologies and cutting-edge research. From chatbots to cybersecurity, from quantum to children's stories,…

Leiden alumnus and writer Tomas Lieske has published a novel which is set in the house of Paul Ehrenfest. Ehrenfest was a famous physicist who organized round table events every Wednesday evening at his home in Leiden in the early twentieth century. The big names from modern physics frequented these…

This year, two Leiden physicists have earned a prestigious ERC Starting Grant. With a budget of 1.5 million euros, this is one of the largest individual grants for scientists.

Research on quantum computers and Islamic charities: two Leiden researchers have received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council.

This dissertation is an experimental study of laser-generated, atmospheric pressure, transient toroidal helium plasmas.

A suitcase as a messenger of quantum science. That is the idea behind QuanTour, a project connecting researchers from 12 European universities. In December, the suitcase landed in Leiden. A month later, it is time to pass the baton to Copenhagen. But what happened to it in Leiden?

Four scientists from Leiden University have each been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant, worth up to two million euros, gives researchers the opportunity to head up a research team for five years.

Former PhD, Bachelor and Master students of the Van Exter Lab

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'.

A world-famous light experiment from 1801 has now been carried out with sound for the first time. Research by physicists in Leiden has produced new insights that could be applied in 5G devices and the emerging field of quantum acoustics.

Scientists need individual photons for quantum cryptography and quantum computers. Leiden physicists have now experimentally demonstrated a new production method. Publication in Physical Review Letters on July 23rd.

Physicists at Leiden University are developing smart chips that can be programmed with light. These chips are more energy-efficient than traditional chips because they do not require a constant power supply. For this research, they will receive funding in the coming years from the Dutch Research Council…

On the 2nd of June, Valentina Carraro gave a lecture on the complementarity of human rights reviewing mechanisms in the United Nations and presented an original framework to assess the extent to which institutions within regime complexes repeat or contradict each other when delivering recommendations…

In some condensed matter systems, such as the surface of a 3D topological insulator, the electrons are effectively massless and we must necessarily use the massless Dirac equation to describe them.

This thesis studies the geometry of representation varieties and character stacks. These are spaces parametrizing the representations of a finitely generated group, typically the fundamental group of a compact manifold, into an algebraic group G.

Five researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant of on average 1.5m euros enables researchers who show potential to start their own project, lead a research team and implement their best ideas.

The long-held desire - to link structure directly to function and to explain molecular mechanisms based on basic chemical or physical principles - is finally coming closer, satisfying not only our scientific curiosity but also offering new solutions to the many challenges in the field of health, energy…

Prof. Dr. Richard Gill has recently joined as a member of the Foundational Questions Institute (FQXi). FQXi is an international association of scientists who explore the foundations of physics and cosmology.

In the spirit of 'unity in diversity', our objective is to promote insight into and appreciation for the wonder that the same physical laws and mathematical concepts apply to the whole of nature, from the largest to the smallest energy and length scales. We strive for the application of abstract theoretical…

Jianfeng Ge and Milan Allen of Leiden University look for majorana quasiparticles using shot noise measurements

One of the most important correlation functions in physics, especially in cosmology, is the energy density, which describes how much energy is present at each point in spacetime due to matter fields. A key contribution to the energy density of the primordial universe comes from gravitational waves (GWs),…

Five consortia within the Perspectief programme that include Leiden researchers have received funding to start their research projects. These projects focus on (further) developing technological innovations, with societal and economic impact at their core.

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

The mechanism of the electrochemical reduction of dioxygen by a mononuclear pyridylalkylamine copper complex was investigated (see picture). It was shown that in neutral aqueous solution dioxygen undergoes stepwise reduction, wherein hydrogen peroxide plays a key role. The rate constants determined…

The “harpe organisée”, 1720-1840: Rediscovering the lost pedal techniques on harps with a single-action pedal mechanism, is the title of Maria Christina Cleary's PhD thesis. This is the first monographic study on harp pedal techniques, tracing the historical way to pedal on the early pedal harps with…

NWO has assigned Physics Vrije Programma grants to five collaborations of physicists. Leiden University is involved in three of them.

To be eligible for Astronomy at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Astronomy and Education at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Errors are everywhere, and mechanical failures are especially common: buckled grain silos and cracked support columns are, justly, seen as an issue to be avoided.

The Fine Mechanical Department's (FMD) new Wardjet A0612 will cut anything using a 4000 bar water jet. This enables the FMD to work faster, more accurately, and to perform more versatile jobs.

Mechanical metamaterials have been found to display surprising features, on top of their unusual properties such as shape morphing and programmability. When the materials are a step in size larger, new rules seem to apply. This was discovered by researchers at AMOLF and the universities of Leiden and…

Like a mixture of oil and water, lipid membranes separate into two liquid phases.

Lecture

This thesis focuses on amyloid proteins, a class of proteins that convert into amyloid fibrils.

Because thin systems can deform along the thickness with relative ease, the interplay between surface mechanics and geometry plays a fundamental role in sculpting their three-dimensional shape.

On Wednesday 5 June, Kalin Anev Janse, Secretary-General and Management Board Member of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), was invited to give a lecture on 'Bridging decision-making: a new direction for Europe? Prioritising financial stability: the European Stability Mechanism and the Banking U…

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking (76) passed away on 14 March at his home in Cambridge, having been a long-term sufferer of the muscular disease ALS. A number of Leiden scientists look back at the life and scientific career of this world-famous physicist. 'He was very approachable and extremely…

Using 2D materials, physics student Romme van der Kemp developed a nanochip that is extremely small ánd scalable. This is needed to make all kinds of technologies better, faster and smaller. He has been nominated for the FWN Young Talent Award 2023 for his research.

In a virtual game environment, one of the positive effects of anonymity is the absence of one's prejudice toward others, which can give a person the freedom to change and experiment (Bartle, 2003). This project will adopt anonymity to be added to online cross-cultural collaborative learning in higher…

Tjerk Oosterkamp of the Leiden Institute of Physics managed to do the first-ever measurement of gravity on a tiny particle - just 0.43 milligrams - where the quantum regime starts. He explains in Physics World why this is so challenging.

Arts and culture, Pianoconcert

Spectroscopic studies on fluorescent single molecules in organic condensed matter does not only provide information about the molecule itself, but also its near environment. By suppression of phonon-induced broadening of spectral lines through cooling to low temperatures, small changes in the spectral…

Physicists have manipulated light with large artificial atoms, so-called quantum dots. Before, this has only been done so well with actual atoms. It is an important step towards light-based quantum technology. Publication on August 30th in Nature Communications.

The "Van Marum Colloquia" are a collaborative lecture series between the LION and LIC institutes, focusing on fundamental and applied surface science.

In analogy to mathematical proofs, the goal of a proof system is for a prover to convince a verifier of the correctness of a claim.

Leiden biophysicists have found a new possible way to attack cancer cells. They have located ‘sinkholes’ on the cells where receptor proteins disappear from the surface. If a drug could push these proteins towards those areas, it would kill the cancer cell.