Book tip: Teaching International Law
In a world characterised by growing international conflicts and existential threats to humanity, international law is becoming increasingly important. The book "Teaching International Law" sheds light on this urgency and offers profound insights into the challenges and opportunities of teaching international law.
The Secret Diary of Karl Benedikt Hase
Karl Benedikt Hase (1780–1864) is recognised as one of the foremost Greek scholars in the French academia of his time. The LAGOOS project has at its core the discovery of 9 volumes of the private diary of Hase, written in Ancient Greek and preserved at the Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv, Weimar. Specialists of Late Antique and Byzantine history and literature applaud the outstanding value of his work as an editor and commentator. They have also, however, identified him as the perpetrator of a series of forgeries on documents of Byzantine history.
Bacteria in motion
In a joint effort with various international institutions, researchers from the University of Innsbruck have described the movement patterns of the bacterium Escherichia coli. To do so, they used an engineered bacterial strain, experiments under the microscope and complicated functions.
Buchtipp: Rohstoffe – Menschen – Wissen
Band 35 der Reihe „Innsbrucker Historische Studien“, herausgegeben von Elena Taddei und Georg Neuhauser, befasst sich mit der Ressourcengeschichte des historischen Tirols vom Spätmittelalter bis ins 20. Jahrhundert. Vieles fällt dabei unter „Ressourcen“ – von Rohstoffen wie Holz, „Humanressourcen“ wie Söldner bis hin zu Wissensressourcen.
Compression may cool
An international research team from Innsbruck and Geneva has developed a new thermometry method to measure temperatures for low-dimensional quantum gases. With this method it was found that compressing a gas may lead to cooling. The results on this counterintuitive phenomenon have just been published in the prestigious journal Science Advances.
Weighing Galaxy Clusters
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics have published the cosmological results of the first X-ray sky survey of the Western Galactic Hemisphere by the eRosita space telescope. The working group for Extragalactic Astrophysics at the University of Innsbruck was also significantly involved in the calculations. The results provide new insights into dark energy, the nature of the Universe and confirm a rejected hypothesis of Albert Einstein.
The “superradiance” revisited
Theoretical physicist Farokh Mivehvar has investigated the interaction of two collections of atoms emitting light inside a quantum cavity – an optical device consisting of two high quality, tiny mirrors facing each other that confines the light within a small area for an extended time. The model and predictions can be implemented and observed in state-of-the-art cavity/waveguide-quantum-electrodynamics experiments and might have applications in the new generation of so-called “superradiant lasers”.
Biomarkers of Aging
A new study proposes a framework to standardize biomarkers of aging and accelerate clinical use. Co-author Chiara Herzog from the European Translational Oncology Prevention and Screening Institute at the University of Innsbruck explains how this could improve the life expectancy and health of the population.
Successful Laser Cooling of Positronium
An international team of scientist including Giovanni Cerchiari from the University of Innsbruck demonstrated laser cooling of positronium, a matter-antimatter system composed of an electron and a positron, which is the antimatter counterpart. This milestone marks a pivotal advancement in our understanding and manipulation of antimatter establishing a foundation for forthcoming experiments and technological advancements.
US ski industry suffered a $5 billion hit from climate change
For the first time, a study has estimated the economic damage of climate change to the ski industry. The study by the University of Innsbruck and the University of Waterloo in Canada reveals that the economic losses to the US ski industry from human-caused climate change exceeded more than US$5 billion over the last two decades.
Network of quantum sensors boosts precision
Quantum sensor technology promises even more precise measurements of physical quantities. A team led by Christian Roos at the University of Innsbruck has now compared the signals of up to 91 quantum sensors with each other and thus successfully eliminated the noise caused by interactions with the environment. Correlation spectroscopy can be used to increase the precision of sensor networks.
International experts introduce new master's degree in pharmacy
Since the winter semester 2022/23, the University of Innsbruck and the Medical University of Innsbruck offer the joint master's programme "Pharmaceutical Sciences". International experts from industry and regulatory authorities were guests at the kick-off.
Gletscher in Gefahr: Jedes Zehntelgrad zählt
Ein internationales Forscher*innen-Team mit Beteiligung des Innsbrucker Glaziologen Fabien Maussion beschreibt im Fachmagazin Science mit bisher einzigartiger Genauigkeit das Schicksal aller Gletscher weltweit je nach Temperaturszenarien zwischen +1,5°C und +4°C Erhitzung. Aktuell steuert die Welt in Richtung +3°C, was zum Verlust von 75 Prozent der Gletscher bis 2100 führen würde. Die Forscher*innen appellieren: Jedes Zehntelgrad weniger zählt, um das Abschmelzen einzudämmen.
Quantum entanglement sharpens measurements
According to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, two complementary properties, for example single components of a magnetic field, cannot be determined with arbitrary precision at the same time. An international team of scientists has now tested a new method on about a dozen quantum computers with which multiple parameters can be optimally determined simultaneously using entangled copies of a quantum state.
Underlying assumptions of air quality need to be redefined
Long-term measurements in the urban area of Innsbruck, Austria, show that the fraction of ozone near the surface tends to be overestimated in atmospheric models. Consequently, a fundamental assumption for air quality forecasting has to be reinterpreted for urban areas. Measurements by an international team led by atmospheric scientist Thomas Karl of the University of Innsbruck also show that direct nitrogen dioxide emissions are overestimated.
Blast Chiller for the Quantum World
The quantum nature of objects visible to the naked eye is currently a much-discussed research question. A team led by Innsbruck physicist Gerhard Kirchmair has now demonstrated a new method in the laboratory that could make the quantum properties of macroscopic objects more accessible than before. With the method, the researchers were able to increase the efficiency of an established cooling method by an order of a magnitude.
Anton Zeilinger awarded honorary doctorate
Today, quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger was awarded an honorary doctorate in the Aula auditorium of the University of Innsbruck. The Nobel Prize winner of 2022 was honored for his outstanding scientific achievements. Zeilinger was a professor at the Department of Experimental Physics at the University of Innsbruck from 1990 to 1999, where he carried out much of the work recently honored with the Nobel Prize.
A Quantum Video Reel
When it comes to creating ever more intriguing quantum systems, a constant need is finding new ways to observe them in a wide range of physical scenarios. JILA Fellow Cindy Regal and JILA and NIST Fellow Ana Maria Rey have teamed up with Oriol Romero-Isart from the University of Innsbruck and IQOQI to show that a trapped particle in the form of an atom readily reveals its full quantum state with quite simple ingredients, opening up opportunities for studies of the quantum state of ever larger particles.
Entangled atoms across the Innsbruck quantum network
Trapped ions have previously only been entangled in one and the same laboratory. Now, teams led by Tracy Northup and Ben Lanyon from the University of Innsbruck have entangled two ions over a distance of 230 meters. The experiment shows that trapped ions are a promising platform for future quantum networks that span cities and eventually continents.
Tracing the origin of life
A team of scientists from France and Austria has discovered a new abiotic pathway for the formation of peptide chains from amino acids - a key chemical step in the origin of life. The current study provides strong evidence that this crucial step for the emergence of life can indeed occur even in the very inhospitable conditions of space.
High-performance computer with quantum coprocessor
With 9 million euros in funding from the NextGenerationEU recovery plan for Europe, the University of Innsbruck will combine a quantum computer with a supercomputer in the coming months. The novel system will be used in various fields such as computer science, physics, mathematics and beyond and will be open to all scientists in Austria for research and teaching.
Quantum Chemistry: Molecules caught tunneling
Physicists led by Roland Wester of the University of Innsbruck have now for the first time observed a quantum mechanical tunneling reaction in experiments. The observation can also be described exactly in theory. With the study published in Nature, the scientists provide an important reference for this fundamental effect in chemistry. It is the slowest reaction with charged particles ever observed.
Three Clusters of Excellence in Innsbruck
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 and is involved in two Clusters of Excellence on political, social and cultural developments in Eurasia and on materials for energy conversion and storage.
Turbulence: Decades-old theory gets a major remake
Turbulence plays an essential role in weather and climate, and correctly representing its effects in numerical models is crucial for accurate weather forecasts and climate projections. However, the theory describing the effect of turbulence has not changed since its conception in 1950s, despite the fact that it is not representative for the majority of the Earth’s land surface, especially over mountains and polar regions. The Innsbruck meteorologist Ivana Stiperski has now extended the turbulence theory to complex atmospheric conditions. The researcher thus paves the way for the first generalized turbulence theory over complex terrain.
Collaboratively exploring vital calcium channels
Innsbruck is an internationally renowned center for voltage gated calcium channel research. A new generation of scientists at the University of Innsbruck and the Medical University Innsbruck continues this successful path. Based on the FWF-funded doctoral program CavX, the researchers are investigating together a wide range of calcium channel properties and functions in health and disease using the most state-of-the-art methods.
Stowaways in the Genome
At the University of Innsbruck, scientists have discovered over 30,000 viruses by using the high-performance computer cluster “Leo” and sophisticated detective work. The viruses hide in the DNA of unicellular organisms. In some cases, up to 10% of microbial DNA consists of built-in viruses.
Quantum liquid becomes solid when heated
Solids can be melted by heating, but in the quantum world it can also be the other way around: In a joint effort, an experimental team led by Francesca Ferlaino in Innsbruck, Austria, and a theoretical team led by Thomas Pohl in Aarhus, Denmark, show in Nature Communications how a quantum liquid forms supersolid structures by heating. The scientists obtained a first phase diagram for a supersolid at finite temperature.
Best Paper Award for Adam Jatowt
Computer scientist Adam Jatowt was awarded the Best Paper Award at the European Conference on Information Retrieval (ECIR) this year in Dublin for the article "Temporal Natural Language Inference: Evidence-Based Evaluation of Temporal Text Validity".
EU Flagship project Millenion launched
The Millenion project focuses on modular scalability and accessibility aspects of trapped-ion quantum computers, tackling the transition from current laboratory-based experiments to industry-grade quantum computing technologies. 14 academic and industrial leaders across Europe are joining forces to deliver a modular and scalable quantum computing suite with high performance cluster integration and a fault-tolerant register of up to 1000 qubits.
Two qudits fully entangled
Recently quantum computers started to work with more than just the zeros and ones we know from classical computers. Now a team at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, demonstrates a way to efficiently create entanglement of such high-dimensional systems to enable more powerful calculations.
Quantum computer in reverse gear
Large numbers can only be factorized with a great deal of computational effort. Physicists at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, led by Wolfgang Lechner are now providing a blueprint for a new type of quantum computer to solve the factorization problem, which is a cornerstone of modern cryptography.
Great Basin: History of water supply in one of the driest regions in the USA
An international team including Simon Steidle from the Quaternary Research Group at the Department of Geology at the University of Innsbruck has reconstructed the evolution of groundwater in the Great Basin, USA – one of the driest regions on Earth – up to 350,000 years into the past with unprecedented accuracy. The results shed new light on the effects of climate change on water supply and provide important insights for the sustainable use of groundwater resources. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment.