Today, the European Research Council (ERC) declared that six researchers from the Hebrew University secured grants at the Consolidator Grant level, three of them from the Racah Institute: Dr. Yonatan Anahory, Dr. Nicholas Stone, and Dr. Erez Zohar.
These individual grants, ranging from one and a half to two million euros each, cumulatively amount to 11.5 million euros (47 million shekels). This achievement positions the Hebrew University at the forefront among Israeli research universities, boasting the highest number of winners in this category.
Dr. Yonatan Anahory will be granted funding to develop a microchip designed to manipulate quantum entities known as "vortices" present in superconducting materials under magnetic fields. This breakthrough holds immense promise, serving as a cornerstone for encrypted communication and future computational advancements. The existing components employed to encode quantum states, forming the basis of this technology, lack the necessary stability, leading to errors induced by system noise. These errors impede accurate computational processes, hindering the practical application of quantum science in technology. Dr. Anahory, along with a team of researchers led by Prof. Hadar Steinberg from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the Hebrew University, aims to tackle this challenge. Their innovative solution revolves around harnessing quantum vortices within superconducting materials. In a groundbreaking achievement, they've successfully engineered a microchip capable of precisely controlling the movement of these vortices, allowing for their accurate positioning and manipulation at will. This groundbreaking capability is anticipated to revolutionize the reliability and speed of computational operations, marking a pivotal advancement in quantum technology.
Dr. Nicholas Stone is set to receive a grant for his groundbreaking research on tidal disruption events, rare explosions that offer insight into supermassive black hole properties such as mass and spin. Presently, there exists no consensus regarding the power source fueling the flares during these events. Dr. Stone's research aims to resolve this mystery, demonstrating that the enigma of tidal disruption events can indeed be unraveled. Through meticulous first-principles simulations encompassing the evolution and emission of stellar debris during these events, his work aims to provide a roadmap to measure the parameters associated with black holes. This project holds the promise of overcoming the limitations inherent in other techniques used to measure black holes, thereby placing critical constraints on the formation and growth history of supermassive black holes.
Dr. Erez Zohar will receive a grant to conduct his research centered on quantum information theory within many-body physics. Quantum mechanics currently serves as the established framework for delineating the structure of matter and the interplay between its constituent parts. Quantum information theory delves into the classification, manipulation, and utilization of information within quantum systems. Over recent decades, this field has witnessed substantial exploration, particularly amid the accelerated strides toward quantum computing. Zohar's research group focuses on quantum computers or simulators designed to emulate intricate multi-body systems—an avenue holding promise for tackling complex problems. In another key facet of their work, for which the grant is given, they utilize entanglement, an exclusive quantum phenomenon governing correlations among the various parts of a system. Zohar's team employs tensor networks, a tool leveraging entanglement, to explore intricate many-body systems, extending their application into the realm of elementary particle physics.