Research groups in the Quantum Matter & Optics programme investigate electronic properties of matter and light-matter interactions with emphasis on quantum information.

The quantum nature of matter and light has grown into a broad and fruitful research field for theorists and experimentalists alike. It combines foundational research with toward applications, the most well known of which is the quantum computer.

The master’s specialisation Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics at Leiden University offers a thorough experience on the front line of physics research with a practical training of communicative and computer skills. The programme focuses on Condensed Matter problems, such as Molecular Electronics,…

Astronomer Koen Kuijken and physicist Tjerk Oosterkamp have each been awarded a major subsidy by NWO. The funding will allow them to construct new research facilities.

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The research program of the QO group has three leading themes: Optical Physics, Quantum Optics, and Photon-Matter Interactions. We work mostly at the boundaries between these themes with entanglement as a bridging and binding agent.

The worldwide race to the quantum computer is in full swing. This computer can take on computing tasks that we can only dream of today, such as finding proteins that can be used as medicines in seconds flat. Leiden physicists have discovered how the Majorana particle can be used as a building block…

Bouwmeester

Quantum computers deserve their own quantum internet. This is a network that dispatches information not in the form of bits - ones and zeros - but rather as qubits, just like in the quantum computer itself. In the view of Dirk Bouwmeester, a professor in Leiden’s Quantum Matter & Optics research group,…

Promotor: Prof.dr. M.A.G.J. Orrit

Advancing the understanding of the interaction of light and matter on the single-quantum level is important for near-future quantum technologies but also to answer fundamental questions.

The 'Van Exter Lab' studies research topics in the field of quantum optics and light-matter interaction. Our current research focuses on surface plasmon lasers, quantum dots in optical cavities, superconducting single-photon detectors and optical scattering.

Promotor: Prof.dr. D. Bouwmeester, Co-Promotor: M.J.A. de Dood

Find out how to apply for Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics at Leiden University by following our step-by-step guide.

Do you have any questions about the master’s specialisation programme Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics? Please contact us.

The research in my group addresses a range of topics related to quantum many-body physics.

Promotor: Prof.dr. D. Bouwmeester, Co-promotor: M.P. van Exter

The Research in Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics specialisation is an excellent stepping stone for pursuing a PhD degree.

How can we develop a new microscope that can distinguish individual atoms in proteins?

The Physics and Quantum Matter and Optics specialisation is one of the two programmes Leiden offers in experimental physics. The programme can be tailored to individual needs and interests.

The Clinical Epidemiology department at the LUMC has set up a series of lectures for asylum seekers. The series has become a huge success.

The project has been done in the Quantum Matter & Optics group under the supervision of Prof.dr.ir. Tjerk Oosterkamp.The title of the presentation is: "New methods to improve the usability in Magnetic Resonance Frequency Microscopy."The presentation will take place on Monday 29 January @ 13:30 hrs…

The project has been done in the Quantum Matter Optics group under the supervision of Dr.ir. Sense Jan van der Molen. The title of the presentation is: ''A Technique for Studying Surface Profiles of Two-Dimensional Materials in LEEM." The presentation will take place on Wednesdag 6 December @ 09:15…

The specialisation consists of 120 European Credit Transfer System (EC) points and includes mandatory courses and electives (60 EC) and two research projects (60 EC).

The programme guarantees a thorough experience on the frontline of physics research with a practical training of communicative and computer skills.

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: "Polarized quantum dot cavity QED." The presentation will take place on Thursday 24 August @ 16:00 hrs in room DM 119 of the Gorlaeus…

The project has been done in the Quantum Matter Optics under the supervision of Dr.ir. Sense Jan van der Molen and Dr. Johannes Jobst. The title of the presentation is: "Effects of stacking domains in bilayer graphene." The presentation will take place on Wednesday 23 August @ 16:00 hrs in room 276…

This thesis covers various applications of topology in condensed matter physics and quantum information.

The project has been done in the Quantum Matter Optics group under the supervision of Prof. dr. Tjerk Oosterkamp and Dr. L. Bossoni. The title of the presentation is: "Quantifying Iron in the Brain." The presentation will take place on Friday 8 September @ 14:00 hrs in room 276 of the Oort building.…

Why do black holes emit thermal radiation? And how does a closed quantum system thermalize?

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Scattering of light in the presence of nano-structured materials, i.e. with features in the order of the wavelength of the light or smaller, reveals details of how light interacts with matter at the nanoscale.

Leiden Institute of Physics regularly has vacancies for staff, postdocs and PhD positions.

Promotor: Prof.dr.ir. J.W.M. Hilgenkamp, Prof.dr. J. van den Brink

The MSc programme Physics offers 5 research-oriented specialisations where you can focus on Theoretical Physics, Quantum Matter and Optics, Biological and Soft Matter, Cosmology or Casimir pre-PhD. You can also combine Physics with education, management or science communication.

Top scientists of three Dutch universities are working on software and systems for quantum computers. Researchers of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) and the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) are developing new algorithms to make those super computers work. The coming years,…

Leiden physicists have created a light source that emits individual particles in an identical state through optical fibers. Using this setup, their measurements can last longer and are more efficient, meaning they can perform more in-depth research on bizarre quantum effects, such as interference and…

Physicist Martin van Exter works with light at nanoscale, at the forefront of nanocomputer research. But as Director of Education he also has a vision for physics teaching. Inaugural lecture 18 November.

Leiden University offers you several services related to career orientation and job application skills.

With his ice-cold nano force sensor, Tjerk Oosterkamp searches for the boundary between the quantum world and the everyday world. The Leiden physicist has received an NWO subsidy of 600,000 euros.

We are a dynamic research group at the Leiden Institute of Physics. Our aim is to explore and understand quantum materials, including strange metals, high-temperature superconductors, and quantum critical electron matter.

Since the early 1990s, one can isolate the optical signal of a single molecule and single-molecule spectroscopy has quickly grown into an important research field.

State secretary Mona Keijzer received the National Agenda on Quantum Technology from Robbert Dijkgraaf on 16 September. With this agenda, Dutch knowledge institutes and high-tech companies identify what is needed to maintain and strengthen the Dutch pioneering role in this area. Researchers from Leiden…

Physicists understand little about quantum matter, which is a building block of future quantum computers. Theorists have now discovered that black holes with ‘dreadlocks’ harbor a similarly exotic order pattern, which makes calculations on quantum matter easier. Publication in Physical Review Letter…

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Physicists at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) conduct fundamental research into physical phenomena. They are inspired by curiosity and the desire to know more about the world in which we live. This research has always paved the way for new practical applications. These are something that the…