PhD Position in San Sebastian

PhD Position in San Sebastian

Apply now for building a powerful new platform for quantum simulation with dysprosium atoms in programmable optical tweezer arrays. More information in the Openings 2025 Section!

“Dance your PhD 2025” contest by Science and AAAS

“Dance your PhD 2025” contest by Science and AAAS

Congratulations to our PhD student Arfor, who turned our research topics into a dazzling music video!

Long-Range Interactions Workshop 2025

Long-Range Interactions Workshop 2025

Register now for the Long-Range Interactions Workshop 2025!

2025 Group Openings!

2025 Group Openings!

We are happy to announce that our dipolar quantum gas group has an Academy Scientist + Postdoc and PhD positions open for 2025!

Vortices in a supersolid

Vortices in a supersolid

2024’s Biggest Breakthroughs in Physics: Our research on the observation of vortices in a dipolar supersolid featured by Quanta magazine!

Austrian of the Year 2024

Austrian of the Year 2024

Francesca was crowned as the ‘Austrian of the Year’ in the research category at the Austria 24 gala by Die Presse!

Summer BBQ

Summer BBQ

Our 2024 Summer BBQ took place on the 24th of June and celebrated the many different achievements of the group!

Murder Mystery Dinner

Murder Mystery Dinner

Our 2024 group dinner took place on the 18th of January at CasoinN da Giorgio restaurant, with a 1920’s Murder Mystery theme!

Glitches in supersolids: links between neutron stars and quantum matter

Glitches in supersolids: links between neutron stars and quantum matter

By emulating the connection between a rotating supersolid phase and an external solid phase, we were able to replicate “glitches” – sudden jumps in the solid angular momentum driven by quantum vortices leaving the supersolid.

Cluster of Excellence Quantum Science Austria granted

Cluster of Excellence Quantum Science Austria granted

Three Clus­ters of Excel­lence in Inns­bruck have been funded! With highly endowed clusters of excellence, the Austrian Science Fund FWF creates Austrian flagships of basic research. The University of Innsbruck will coordinate the Cluster of Excellence for Quantum Sciences.

Our group studies dipolar quantum gases made of  Erbium (Er) and Dysprosium (Dy) atoms. These extraordinarily magnetic species are a powerful new resource for reaching quantum simulation with strong connectivity, in which each atom is coupled to the other over long distances, and exploring exotic phases of matter that have no classical counterpart.

We have three labs: the ERBIUM LAB, where Er was Bose condensed for the first time ever, the Er-Dy LAB which studies quantum dipolar mixtures under a quantum-gas microscope, and the T-REQs LAB, where we trap Er atoms in arrays of optical tweezers for Rydberg physics. Recently, we have established a Theory Group aimed at studying and predicting dipolar phenomena in dipolar quantum gases and mixtures.

The group, led by Francesca Ferlaino, is jointly located at the  Institute for Experimental Physics (IExP) of the University of Innsbruck and at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and it is part of  the Innsbruck Center for Ultracold Atoms and Quantum Gases

Follow our group’s updates on Bluesky and LinkedIn !

News from the labs

Now published! Together with Thomas Pohl and others from Aarhus University we explore the role of temperature has on the supersolid formation, matching beautifully with our Er-Dy lab results!
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We investigate the possibility of supersolidity in a binary anti-dipolar condensate!
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We review the experiments of dipolar ultracold atoms, and highlight key discoveries over the past decade.
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Group news

On the 14 of April 2024, Francesca received the Grade of honor “Commendatore - Ordine della Stella d’Italia” at the Italian Embassy in Vienna by the Ambassador Pugliese. 
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Atom*innen, the brainchild of group leader Francesca Ferlaino, grew from the need for an online, user-interactive platform for women in (quantum) physics.
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Our latest research on the observation of vortices in a dipolar supersolid has been featured in NewScientist!
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Welcome and goodbye

Welcome to Riccardo Donofrio, who has joined the T-REQS lab as a PhD student. Riccardo joins us from the University of Pisa, Italy where he worked with Professor Oliver Morsch for his Master thesis.
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We bade farewell to Manfred Forstinger from the administrative staff on the 28th of February, 2024. We wish you the very best in the new chapter of your life, Manfred!
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Welcome to Unai Trujols González, who is joining Eribum lab for his Masters' internship.
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