Peter Zoller

Austrian theoretical physicist

Peter Zoller

Born|  (1952-09-16) 16 September 1952 (age 71)

Innsbruck, Austria

Alma mater| University of Innsbruck
Known for| Trapped ion quantum computer
Awards| John Stewart Bell Prize (2019)
Herbert Walther Award (2016)
Wolf Prize in Physics (2013)
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2008)
Benjamin Franklin Medal (2010)
Dirac Medal (2006)
Max Planck Medal (2005)
Scientific career
Fields| Physicist
Institutions| University of Innsbruck
Doctoral advisor| Fritz Ehlotzky

Peter Zoller (born 16 September 1952)[1] is a theoretical physicist from Austria. He is professor at the University of Innsbruck[1] and works on quantum optics and quantum information and is best known for his pioneering research on quantum computing and quantum communication and for bridging quantum optics and solid state physics.[2]

## Biography

[edit]

Peter Zoller studied physics at the University of Innsbruck,[1] obtained his doctorate there in February 1977, and became a lecturer at their Institute of Theoretical Physics. For 1978/79, he was granted a Max Kade stipend to research with Peter Lambropoulos at the University of Southern California. In 1980, he stayed at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, as a researcher with the group around Dan Walls. In 1981, Peter Zoller handed in his book "Über die lichtstatistische Abhängigkeit resonanter Multiphoton-Prozesse"[3] at the University of Innsbruck to qualify as a professor by receiving the "venia docendi". He spent 1981/82 and 1988 as visiting fellow at the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) of the University of Colorado, Boulder,[4] and 1986 as guest professor at the Université de Paris-Sud 11, Orsay. In 1991, Peter Zoller was appointed Professor of Physics and JILA Fellow at JILA and at the Physics Department of the University of Colorado, Boulder. At the end of 1994, he accepted a chair at the University of Innsbruck, where he has worked ever since. From 1995 to 1999, he headed the Institute of Theoretical Physics, from 2001 to 2004, he was vice-dean of studies. Peter Zoller continues to keep in close touch with JILA as Adjoint Fellow. Numerous guest professorships have taken him to all major centers of physics throughout the world. He was Loeb lecturer in Harvard, Boston, MA (2004)[5] and Yan Jici chair professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, chair professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing (2004), Lorentz professor at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands (2005),[6] Distinguished Lecturer at the Technion in Haifa (2007),[7] Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech (2008/2010)[8] and Arnold Sommerfeld Lecturer at LMU München (2010).[9] In 2012/13 he was "Distinguished Fellow" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics[10] in Garching, Munich. In 2014 he has been elected as an "External Scientific Member" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics.[11] In 2015 he held the International Jacques Solvay Chair in Physics at the University of Brussels .[12] Since 2003, Peter Zoller has also held the position of Scientific Director at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.[13]

In 2018, Peter Zoller co-founded Alpine Quantum Technologies, a quantum computing hardware company.[14]

## Research

[edit]

As a theoretician, Peter Zoller has written major works on the interaction of laser light and atoms.[1] In addition to fundamental developments in quantum optics he has succeeded in bridging quantum information and solid state physics. The model of a quantum computer,[15] suggested by him and Ignacio Cirac in 1995, is based on the interaction of lasers with cold ions confined in an electromagnetic trap. The principles of this idea have been implemented in experiments over recent years and it is considered one of the most promising concepts for the development of a scalable quantum computer.[16] Zoller and his researcher colleagues have also managed to link quantum physics with solid state physics. One of his suggestions has been to build a quantum simulator with cold atoms[17] and use it to research hitherto unexplained phenomena in high temperature superconductors.[18] Zoller's ideas and concepts attract widespread interest within the scientific community and his works are highly cited.[19][20]

## Books

[edit]

Peter Zoller and Crispin Gardiner have jointly written the books

* C W Gardiner and Peter Zoller: Quantum Noise; Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, 2nd ed. 1999, 3rd ed. 2004 ISBN 3540223010
* Crispin Gardiner and Peter Zoller: The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book I: Foundations of Quantum Optics, Imperial College Press, London and Singapore 2014. ISBN 9781783264605
* Crispin Gardiner and Peter Zoller: The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book II: Physics of Quantum Optical Devices, Imperial College Press, London and Singapore 2015. ISBN 9781783266166
* Crispin Gardiner and Peter Zoller: The Quantum World of Ultra-Cold Atoms and Light Book III: Ultra-Cold Atoms, World Scientific, London and Singapore 2014. ISBN 9781786344175

## Awards

[edit]

Peter Zoller has received numerous awards for his achievements in the field of quantum optics and quantum information and especially for his pioneering work on quantum computers and quantum communication. These include:

* the John Stewart Bell Prize (2019)[21]
* the Norman F. Ramsey Prize (2018) of the American Physical Society
* the Micius Quantum Prize (2018)[22]
* the Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics (2018)[23]
* the Herbert Walther Award from the OSA (2016)[24][25]
* the Wolf Prize in Physics (with Juan Ignacio Cirac) (2013)[2]
* the Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics (2011)[26][27]
* the Blaise Pascal Medal in Physics of the European Academy of Sciences (2011)[28]
* the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics (2010) of the Franklin Institute (with Juan Ignacio Cirac and David Wineland)[29]
* the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2008), in the Basic Sciences category (ex aequo with Ignacio Cirac)
* the Dirac Medal of the ICTP (2006)[30]
* the 6th International Quantum Communication Award (2006)[31]
* the UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal (2005)
* the Max Planck Medal (2005) of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft[32]
* the Humboldt Research Award (2000)
* the Schrödinger Prize (1998) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
* the Max Born Award (1998) of the Optical Society of America[33]
* the Wittgenstein Award (1998),[34] Austria's highest scientific accolade
* the Ludwig Boltzmann Prize (1983) of the Austrian Physical Society.

In 2001, Peter Zoller became full member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.[35] In 2008 he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences[36] and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences,[37] in 2009 to the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences,[38] in 2010 to the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina,[39] in 2012 to the European Academy of Sciences, in 2013 to the Academia Europaea,[40] and in 2023 in the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.[41] In 2019 he has received the honorary doctorate of the University of Colorado Boulder[42] in 2012 one of the University of Amsterdam.[43]

## See also

[edit]

* Open quantum system
* Quantum jump method

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Biography Peter Zoller" (PDF). University of Innsbruck. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
2. ^ a b "Prof. Peter Zoller Winner of Wolf Prize in Physics – 2013". Wolf Foundation. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
3. ^ "Über die lichtstatistische Abhängigkeit resonanter Multiphoton-Prozesse". University of Innsbruck. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
4. ^ "Peter Zoller". JILA. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
5. ^ "The Boston Area Physics Calendar". Brown University. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
6. ^ "Lorentz Chair". Leiden University. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
7. ^ "The Lewiner Institute for Theoretical Physics Distinguished Lecture Series". Technion. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
8. ^ "Physicists propose quantum entanglement for motion of microscopic objects". California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
9. ^ "Eighth Arnold Sommerfeld Lecture Series". Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
10. ^ "Prof. Peter Zoller becomes "Distinguished Fellow" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics". Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
11. ^ "Prof. Peter Zoller is elected as "External Scientific Member" at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics". Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
12. ^ "Chairs". International Solvay Institutes. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
13. ^ "Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information". IQOQI. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
14. ^ "Austria promotes quantum computing spin-off". Invest in Austria. March 7, 2018.
15. ^ Cirac, Ignacio; Zoller, Peter (1995). "Quantum Computations with Cold Trapped Ions". Physical Review Letters. 74 (20). APS: 4091–4094. Bibcode:1995PhRvL..74.4091C. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.74.4091. PMID 10058410.
16. ^ Monroe, Christopher; Kim, Jamie (2013). "Scaling the Ion Trap Quantum Processor". Science. 339 (6124). AAAS: 1164–1169. Bibcode:2013Sci...339.1164M. doi:10.1126/science.1231298. PMID 23471398. S2CID 206545831.
17. ^ Jaksch, Dieter; Bruder, Christoph; Cirac, Ignacio; Gardiner, Crispin; Zoller, Peter (1998). "Cold Bosonic Atoms in Optical Lattices". Physical Review Letters. 81 (15). APS: 3108–3111. arXiv:cond-mat/9805329. Bibcode:1998PhRvL..81.3108J. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.3108. S2CID 55578669.
18. ^ Cirac, Ignacio; Zoller, Peter (2012). "Goals and opportunities in quantum simulation". Nature Physics. 8 (4). Nature Publishing Group: 264–266. Bibcode:2012NatPh...8..264C. doi:10.1038/nphys2275. S2CID 109930964.
19. ^ "Highly Cited Research". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
20. ^ "Google Scholar Citations". Google Scholar. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
21. ^ "Ignacio Cirac and Peter Zoller awarded the sixth Bell Prize". cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
22. ^ "The Micius Quantum Prize". miciusprize.org. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
23. ^ "The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics". Physics of Quantum Electronics (PQE) conference. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
24. ^ "The Optical Society and DPG Name Peter Zoller Winner of the 2016 Herbert Walther Award". The Optical Society. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
25. ^ "Herbert Walther Award". The Optical Society. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
26. ^ "Peter Zoller erhält Hamburger Preis für theoretische Physik" (PDF). University of Hamburg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
27. ^ Stiftung, Joachim Herz. "Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics - Joachim Herz Stiftung". www.joachim-herz-stiftung.de. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
28. ^ "The Blaise Pascal Medals 2011". European Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
29. ^ "Franklin Laureate Database – Peter Zoller". The Franklin Institute. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
30. ^ "Dirac Medallist 2006". Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP). Retrieved 10 April 2014.
31. ^ "2006 International Quantum Communications Award". National Institute of Information and Communications Technology. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
32. ^ "DPG Preisträgerinnen und Preisträger 2005". Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
33. ^ "Max Born Award". The Optical Society. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
34. ^ "Wittgenstein Award Laureate 1998 Univ. Prof. Dr. Peter Zoller". Wittgensteinpreis TrägerInnen Club. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
35. ^ "Member Directory: Peter Zoller". Austrian Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
36. ^ "Member Directory: Peter Zoller". United States National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
37. ^ "Foreign Members: Peter Zoller". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
38. ^ "Académicos Correspondientes Extranjeros". Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
39. ^ "List of Members: Peter Zoller". German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
40. ^ "Peter Zoller". The Academy of Europe. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
41. ^ "Nuovi Soci 2023 | Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei". www.lincei.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-11-13.
42. ^ "Everything you need to know about the May 9 commencement ceremon". University of Colorado Boulder. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
43. ^ "Honorary doctorate for Prof. Peter Zoller". University of Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Peter Zoller at Wikimedia Commons
* Biography Peter Zoller Archived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
* Peter Zoller at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI)
* Quantum Optics Theory Group, University of Innsbruck
* Peter Zoller’s Thomson Reuters RESEARCHERID

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