Quantum Technologies: A Deep Look into Dark Matter
Renowned physicist and Hector Fellow Wolfgang Wernsdorfer from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has been honored for his groundbreaking research in the field of quantum technologies. He plays a significant role in the international project "Quantum Technologies for Axion Dark Matter Search," known as DarkQuantum, and has been awarded the ERC Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).
DarkQuantum aims to experimentally confirm the existence of axions, hypothetical elementary particles considered promising candidates for dark matter. The project combines quantum technologies with particle physics infrastructures at CERN and DESY to detect axions in the galactic halo, i.e. in the outer Milky Way. Wolfgang Wernsdorfer stated, "If the new strategies of the DarkQuantum project succeed in experimentally proving the existence of axions, it would be a breakthrough in physics that would fundamentally influence our understanding of reality."
The DarkQuantum project involves eight European universities and research institutions. The Universidad de Zaragoza in Zaragoza/Spain is acting as coordinator; the leading researchers come from there as well as from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France and the University of Aalto in Finland. The project is scheduled to run for six years. The funding amounts to 12.9 million euros.