Prof. Dr. Tobias Schaetz

CV

I have studied physics at the Technical University of Munich (extended by a master at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris) and focussed in my Diploma thesis on measuring the flow of extraterrestrial dust into the archives of ice and crusts of the deep sea. Exploiting mass spectrometry at an accelerator to suppress the terrestrial isotopes, I was stunned to learn, that guiding particles during their flight is based on identical principles as trapping ions, where alternating fields can be understood as a “flight-simulator” for a particle at rest. Since laser cooling permits to freeze trapped ions to form dilute crystalline structures, I investigated during my PhD thesis, whether ions in storage rings could get laser cooled to form crystalline ion beams. For my Postdoc, I had the privilege to get kindly included in the group of Dave Wineland and Didi Leibfried at NIST/Boulder, to learn more about the possibilities to further improve the control on electronic and motional degrees of freedom of (molecular) ions on the quantum level. Enriched with the novel tools, I have been friendly included with an independent research group into the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, to demonstrate that trapped ions are well suited to provide an experimental quantum simulator. In this inspiring environment, my group was capable to additionally show that ions can be also trapped by light had had the pleasure to perform ultra-short pulsed spectroscopy on single molecules. In 2011, we joined the University of Freiburg and are eager to explore, in close collaboration with theorists, chemists and applied physicists, under which conditions the intriguing effects of quantum mechanics might survive while affected by a “natural” environment.  

Publikationen (Auswahl)

• Simulating a quantum magnet with trapped ions A. Friedenauer, H. Schmitz, J. Glueckert, D. Porras and T. Schaetz Nature Physics 4, 757 - 761 (2008).
• Optical Trapping of an Ion Ch. Schneider, M. Enderlein, T. Huber and T. Schaetz, Nature Photonics 4, 772 (2010).
• The quantum Walk of a trapped Ion in phase space H. Schmitz, R. Matjeschk, Ch. Schneider, J. Glückert, M. Enderlein, T. Huber, and T.Schaetz Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 090504 (2009).
• Controlled delivery of single molecules into ultrashort laser pulses:a molecular conveyor belt S. Kahra, G. Leschhorn, M. Kowalewski, A. Schiffrin, E. Bothschafter, W. Fuß, R. de Vivie-Riedle, R. Ernstorfer, F. Krausz, R. Kienberger, T. Schaetz Nature Physics 8, 238 (2012).
• Crystalline Ion Beams T. Schätz, U. Schramm and D. Habs Nature 412, 717 (2001).

FRIAS-Projekt

Designed quantum transport in complex materials

Recent research strongly suggests that microscopic transport processes in nature and in technology are fundamentally similar in many respects, such that results from either side await to be mutually communicated and explored. To make progress, a dedicated joint effort by physicists, chemists, material scientists and engineers is needed. This is the present Research Focus' (RF) very purpose.