Markus Hennrich’s research interest is quantum information with trapped ions. Here, each ion stores one quantum bit of information and a string of ions is used as the register of a quantum computer. Quantum calculations are performed by laser pulses which manipulate the ions’ internal state. This technique currently allows to entangle up to 14 ions and to perform small quantum algorithms. A new direction in Markus Hennrich’s research is the experimental realization of Rydberg ions ─ giant, highly-excited trapped ions. This novel system will be a step forward towards more powerful quantum computers, mainly due to increased interaction distance and speed.
