news 2018

All matter is composed of atoms, which are too small to see without powerful modern instruments including electron microscopes. The same electrons that form images of atomic structures can also be used to move atoms in materials. This technique of single-atom manipulation, pioneered by University of Vienna researchers, is now able to achieve nearly perfect control over the movement of individual silicon impurity atoms within the lattice of graphene, the two-dimensional sheet of carbon.

A wave manipulation concept developed at TU Wien has now been tested for the first time in an experiment. The technique allows sound waves to be guided effortlessly through complex structures. We are constantly dealing with waves that are deflected in complex ways: this could be a light beam passing through a glass of milk and being dispersed in all directions, or electromagnetic waves from mobile phone masts being dispersed or absorbed, causing us to complain about poor reception in indoor areas.

Summer is the high season for thunderstorms and their resulting lightning and hail storms. TU Graz researchers Stephan Pack and Helmut Paulitsch get to the bottom of this summer phenomenon in their research work. No sooner has the temperature gone up, than the probability of thunderstorms increases.

A team at TU Wien now has the proof behind the speculations that water molecules can form complex bridge-like structures when they accumulate on mineral surfaces. Water is an extremely complex liquid. The way in which separate water molecules accumulate on various materials has a crucial impact on a great many processes, including corrosion and weathering, and is key in ensuring that catalysts function optimally.

Magnetic sensors play a key role in a variety of applications, such as speed and position sensing in the automotive industry or in biomedical applications. Within the framework of the Christian Doppler Laboratory "Advanced Magnetic Sensing and Materials" headed by Dieter Süss novel magnetic sensors have been realized that surpass conventional technologies in performance and accuracy in a cooperation between the University of Vienna, the Danube University Krems and Infineon AG.

Electrically charged particles from the sun strike moons and planets with great force. The consequences of these impacts can now be explained by scientists from TU Wien. The planets and moons of our solar system are continuously being bombarded by particles hurled away from the sun. On Earth this has hardly any effect, apart from the fascinating northern lights, because the dense atmosphere and the magnetic field of the Earth protect us from these solar wind particles.

How can quantum information be transferred from one atom to another? A team of researchers from TU Wien and Harvard University has proposed using phonons - the quanta of sound. Quantum physics is on the brink of a technological breakthrough: new types of sensors, secure data transmission methods and maybe even computers could be made possible thanks to quantum technologies.

A new strategy to investigate quantum entanglement up to thousands of particles A team of physicists from ICTP-Trieste and IQOQI-Innsbruck has come up with a surprisingly simple idea to investigate quantum entanglement of many particles. Instead of digging deep into the properties of quantum wave functions - which are notoriously hard to experimentally access - they propose to realize physical systems governed by the corresponding entanglement Hamiltonians .

In chemistry, atoms can usually only affect their immediate neighborhood. At TU Vienna, a novel effect with astonishing long-range action has been discovered, which can make automotive catalytic converters more effective. Team (left to right): top: Yuri Suchorski, Sergey M. Kozlov, Ivan Bespalov, Martin Datler.

A team led by Austrian experimental physicist Rainer Blatt has succeeded in characterizing the quantum entanglement of two spatially separated atoms by observing their light emission. This fundamental demonstration could lead to the development of highly sensitive optical gradiometers for the precise measurement of the gravitational field or the earth's magnetic field.

Experiments with ultra-cold atoms at the TU Wien have shown surprising results: coupled atom clouds synchronize within milliseconds. This effect cannot be explained by standard theories. When atoms are cooled down to almost zero temperature, their properties change completely. They can turn into a Bose-Einstein-Condensate, an ultra-cold state of matter, in which the particles lose their individuality and can only be described collectively - as one single quantum object.

Electrodes for longterm monitoring of electrical impulses of heart or muscles in the form of temporary tattoos produced using an ink-jet printer. An international research group involving TU Graz presents this novel method in Advanced Science. available at the end of the text In the case of diagnostic methods such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and electromyography (EMG), gel electrodes are the preferred method of transmitting electric impulses from the heart or muscle.

Combining two ultra-thin material layers yields new possibilities for quantum electronics. A research team with members from TU Wien presents strongly tunable quantum systems. Two novel materials, each composed of a single atomic layer and the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope - these are the ingredients to create a novel kind of a so-called "quantum dot".

An Innsbruck team of experimental physicists, in collaboration with theorists from Innsbruck and Hannover, has for the first time observed so-called roton quasiparticles in a quantum gas. Empirically introduced by Landau to explain the bizarre properties of superfluid liquid Helium, these quasiparticles reflect an "energy softening" in the system as precursor of a crystallization instability.

How do you combine different elements in a crystal? At TU Wien, a method has now been developed for incorporating previously unattainably high proportions of foreign atoms into crystals. When you bake a cake, you can combine the ingredients in almost any proportions, and they will still always be able to mix together.

Scientists from TU Wien (Vienna, Austria) and the USA have provided proof for a new state of matter: an electron orbits a nucleus at a great distance, while many other atoms are bound inside the orbit. The electron (blue) orbits the nucleus (red) - and its orbit encloses many other atoms of the Bose-Einstein-condensate (green).

Quantum entanglement is a key feature of a quantum computer. Yet, how can we verify that a quantum computer indeed incorporates a large-scale entanglement? Using conventional methods is hard since they require a large number of repeated measurements. Aleksandra Dimić from the University of Belgrade and Borivoje Dakić from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Vienna have developed a novel method where in many cases even a single experimental run suffices to prove the presence of entanglement.

Storing information in a quantum memory system is a difficult challenge, as the data is usually quickly lost. At TU Wien, ultra-long storage times have now been achieved using tiny diamonds. At some locations in the crystal lattice, a carbon atom (white) is missing, and at the neighbouring site there is a nitrogen atom (yellow).

Spectacular electron microscope images at TU Wien lead to important findings: Chemical reactions can produce spiral-like multi-frequency waves and thus provide local information about catalysts. They appear almost hypnotic, like a lava lamp. The waves made visible at TU Wien using a photoemission electron microscope cover the surface of rhodium foil with bizarre patterns which dance around on the surface.

Researchers succeed in controlling multiple quantum interactions in a realistic material Materials with controllable quantum mechanical properties are of great importance for the electronics and quantum computers of the future.