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European Research Council awards Dr. Philippe Faist nearly two million euros for research on quantum complexity
Dr. Philippe Faist is a quantum physicist at Freie Universität Berlin, where he studies the fundamental laws of physics in the context of their future applications for quantum computers. The European Research Council (ERC) is awarding him an ERC Consolidator Grant worth almost two million euros to fund his research project “Quantum Physics beyond the Low-Complexity Regime (QPhysComplex)” over the next five years. The aim of the project is to study the physical phenomena that appear in states with intricate forms of entanglement, which remain difficult to analyze with present-day methods. Faist is currently a senior researcher at the Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Freie Universität Berlin.
Quantum complexity is a quantity that characterizes how difficult it is to prepare a given quantum state with simple physical operations. The QPhysComplex project will leverage new techniques based on the concept of quantum complexity to better understand how to design reliable quantum computers with error-correcting codes as well as to better grasp the foundations of quantum chaos.
Dr. Philippe Faist’s research examines the structure of quantum states beyond the low-complexity regime and how these structures behave. “Quantum complexity is a key concept for the future of quantum computing and the development of higher performing quantum computers, but it is also at the center of fundamental questions in modern physics,” he explains. “At the heart of QPhysComplex are two main goals: One, we want to find out what the limits to engineering quantum complexity on quantum hardware are, and what possibilities this might have in practical contexts. Two, we are developing new theoretical methods that will transform our understanding of many-body phenomena beyond low-complexity scales.”
The research team will seek to define the minimal overheads required to process information that is encoded in a quantum error-correcting code, for example, as measured in the required number of qubits for this type of processing. They will also work to establish a stronger tie between quantum complexity and quantum chaos. By drawing on expertise in quantum error correction, quantum thermodynamics, and quantum complexity, they will more fully comprehend the role that quantum complexity plays in the laws of physics. Ultimately, the project will enable new approaches that will help scientists describe phases of quantum matter that have remained elusive in the past. Faist and his team hope that their findings will lead to design breakthroughs in the architecture of quantum computers, making them more reliable and stable, so that quantum computers might become more practically useful in the near future.
About Dr. Philippe Faist
Dr. Philippe Faist studied physics at ETH Zurich, where he received his master’s degree in 2011. He also completed his PhD thesis there in 2016 under the supervision of Professor Renato Renner. His dissertation investigated fundamental connections between thermodynamics and quantum information theory. From 2016 to 2019, Faist worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Quantum Information and Matter at the California Institute of Technology (USA), where he broadened his areas of expertise to include quantum error correction and quantum many-body physics. Following his postdoctoral research at Caltech, Faist joined the Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems at Freie Universität Berlin, where he was named tenured Senior Researcher in 2024. Faist’s research combines basic research in physics with concrete applications for quantum computing, thereby contributing to scientists’ understanding of complex quantum systems.
Further Information
• List of all ERC Grants awarded at Freie Universität Berlin: https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/forschung/kommunikation/preise/erc/index.html
• ERC news page: https://erc.europa.eu/news
• More information on Dr. Philippe Faist can be found on his homepage: https://phfaist.com
• The Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems website: https://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/forschung/dahlem-center-for-complex-quantum-syst...
Dr. Philippe Faist, Dahlem Center for Complex Quantum Systems, Department of Physics, Freie Universität Berlin, Email: philippe.faist@fu-berlin.de
https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/forschung/kommunikation/preise/erc/index.html
https://phfaist.com
https://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/forschung/dahlem-center-for-complex-quantum-syst...
https://erc.europa.eu/news
Philippe Faist
Copyright: Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (Caltech)
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Informationstechnik, Physik / Astronomie
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Philippe Faist
Copyright: Institute for Quantum Information and Matter (Caltech)
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