News and Events
Quantum simulation of low temperature metallic liquid hydrogen
The nature of dense hydrogen is a central problem in physics and its abundance, for example, in gas giants such as Jupiter and Saturn means that it is critical to our understanding of the universe. More...
Prof. Jon Butterworth: Recognised in the Institute of Physics awards
Two UCL physicists have been recognised by the Institute of Physics today. More...
Prof. Andrew Fisher: Recipient of a Provost's Teaching Award
The prestigious Provost’s Teaching Awards celebrates those staff who have shown particular commitment to innovation in teaching and whose work has had significant impact on students. Professor Andrew Fisher was one of 6 members of staff selected from the Experienced Academic Staff category. More...
Quantum engines must break down
Our present
understanding of thermodynamics is fundamentally incorrect if applied to small
systems and needs to be modified, according to new research from University
College London (UCL) and the University of Gdańsk. The work establishes new
laws in the rapidly emerging field of quantum thermodynamics. More...
Should we fret about FRET?
When certain molecules get close
together, a few nanometers apart, energy can be transferred between them. If
one molecule is electronically excited, this energy can be transferred to the
other by a process known as Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). FRET has
been referred to as the “nanometre ruler” and allows the measurement of
intermolecular distances and conformational change without recourse to invasive
techniques such as electron microscopy.
More...
Prof. Jonathan Oppenheim: Recipient of a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award
Congratulations to Professor Jonathan Oppenheim on receiving a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. Awarded to Jonathan for his work on "Quantum information science: Tools and applications for fundamental physics", he is one of three members of UCL staff to receive the annual prize for 2013. More...
'Statistical physics: an entropic approach' by Professor Ian Ford-out now!
This book grew out of the lecture notes for Professor Ford's course taught at UCL. Rather than following the usual appeal to the growth of disorder and decay; the notion that everything is crumbling away or in some sense going wrong, the idea of entropy is firmly anchored to the development of uncertainty in an underspecified dynamical system. Irreversible, entropy-generating processes are the norm; it is reversibility which is exceptional. More...
RAS Michael Penston Thesis Prize for 2012: Runner-up prize awarded to Dr Stephen Feeney
Dr Stephen Feeney has been awarded the runner-up prize for the Michael Penston Thesis Prize 2012. This Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) prize is awarded to the best doctoral thesis in Astronomy and Astrophysics; Stephen's thesis was entitled ‘Novel Algorithms for Early Universe Cosmology'. More...
European Network 'Thermodynamics in the quantum regime' Launched
The kick-off of a large-scale European network
for research in 'Thermodynamics in the Quantum Regime' was celebrated
in Brussels on Tues 30 April 2013. The successful proposal for one of the prestigious COST
network grants, funded by the ESF, was led by UCL's researcher Dr Janet Anders.
More...
ESA selects instruments to be flown on its icy moons mission
The JUpiter ICy moons Explorer mission (JUICE) will study Jupiter and its large, ice/ocean-bearing moons. JUICE is planned to launch in 2022 and arrive in 2030. Dr Nick Achilleos (Astrophysics) is part of the J-MAG Consortium, an international team of investigators who have successfully proposed one of the 11 scientific experiments to be flown on board this mission. More...
Multiband optical absorption controlled by lattice strain in thin-film LaCrO3
The absorption of light by materials is one of the major steps
in converting light energy into electrical energy.
The Sun is abundant in visible light and being able
to convert sunlight into electricity leads to a free,
clean energy source that leaves no carbon footprint.
Such energy sources are essential to a safe,
secure, and environmentally friendly energy future.
More...
Investigating complex oxide films and multilayers for use in electronic device technology
Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates at the end of the last century, complex oxide films and multilayers have been of significant interest in condensed-matter physics and materials science, as well as electronic device technology, because of their wide range of physical properties. More...
Quantum Magic
In a recent STFC newsletter, UK news from CERN, Dr Stephen Hogan describes how he, and a team of international collaborators are investigating the properties of antimatter. The AEGIS experiment at the Antiproton Decelerator, in CERN has been designed to exploit techniques Stephen developed to accelerate antihydrogen atoms in excited states; to transport them and make beams suitable for measurements of the acceleration of antimatter in the Earth's gravitational field. More...
Evidence for a T-Shape Break-Up Pattern in the Triple Photoionization of Li
According to Wannier's law, when a single
photon is absorbed with energy just above the fragmentation threshold, the
electrons in a multi-electron atom break-up in the most symmetric way.
More...
UCL researchers win INCITE supercomputer award
UCL researchers investigating non-covalent
bonding in complex molecular systems have been awarded time on leading US
supercomputers worth an estimated £5.5m by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
More...
Betelgeuse braces for a collision
However you pronounce its name*, the star Betelgeuse is hard to miss on a clear winter's night. Representing the top left shoulder of Orion the Hunter it blazes a bright red colour. At over 600 light years away Betelgeuse is not particularly close, but it shines 100,000 times as brightly as our Sun. More...
Mathematical breakthrough sets out rules for more effective teleportation
New protocol advances solutions for more efficient teleportation - the transport of quantum information at the speed of light. More...
Magic-State Distillation in All Prime Dimensions Using Quantum Reed-Muller Codes
A quantum computer
exploits the nonclassical aspects of quantum mechanics, but its extreme
sensitivity to noise makes fault-tolerant techniques a must for it to operate
reliably. A key component in high-threshold fault-tolerance schemes is the
preparation of magic states, quantum states in a superposition of classical
states, that are required to exploit quantum effects. However, the slightest of
experimental imperfections results in the preparation of flawed magic states,
unsuitable for immediate use in quantum computers.
More...
Dust Factory in the Crab Nebula revealed by the Herschel Space Observatory
Herschel has produced an intricate view of the remains of a star that died in a stellar explosion a millennium ago. It has provided further proof that the interstellar dust which lies throughout our Galaxy is created when massive stars reach the end of their lives. More...
Quantum control of hybrid nuclear–electronic qubits
Members of the UCL AMO group and their collaborators
have demonstrated quantum control of a hybridised nuclear-electronic spin
system. The group has been investigating the magnetic resonance properties of
bismuth-doped silicon, and the potential of such a system as a platform for
quantum computing.
More...
A new artificial material approach for flat THz frequency lenses
UCL and Cardiff University collaborators have pioneered a prototype for a new microwave optical device. Designed, built and tested by the collaboration, this device could provide a practical solution for many manufacturing concepts which have previously been limited to theoretical speculation. More...
Watch: BBC FOUR- Order and Disorder
Dr Janet Anders talks to Professor Jim Al-Khalili on the BBC Four documentary "Order and Disorder". Their discussions focus on information theory and Maxwell's demon. More...
£4.3m awarded for experimental particle physics
The UCL High Energy Physics (HEP) research group in UCL Physics & Astronomy has been awarded £4,340,016 from the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) for experimental particle physics research through to 2016. More...
Events
Physics Colloquium, 09 October 2013
Weds 2 Oct 2013
More...
Science Lectures for Schools
Weekly event during term time More...
University of London Observatory (ULO) Open Days
Bi-monthly event, October - March
More...
