Postdoc in theory of dynamics of topological defects in quantum environments

The Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences calls for applications for an open

Postdoc position in the OPUS 21 research project funded by the National Science Centre

(NCN).

The Postdoc will be involved in the development of theoretical understanding of the

dynamics of topological defects, such as Majorana fermions in nanowires and quantum

spin chains in the presence of quantum environments, such as photons and magnons.

Job Description:

Topology has found a route from purely mathematical concepts to physics applications.

The discovery of the quantum spin Hall effect and topological insulators more than a

decade ago has revolutionised modern condensed matter physics. One of the most exciting

application is topological quantum computation with topological qubits such as the

Majorana fermions emerging as excitations in topological superconductors. It is thus of

great importance to investigate the dynamics of these excitations in the presence of the

surrounding environments, such as photons or magnons. In the project, the postdoc will

investigate theoretically the interplay between the geometry and/or topology of the

braiding trajectories and the environmental degrees of freedom. The postdoc will also

exploit such effects to construct long-range quantum gates between topological qubits

and/or conventional qubits, and possibly simulating them on the IBM Quantum devices