Professor Hendrik Ulbricht

Professor Hendrik Ulbricht

Professor of Physics

Research interests

  • Hendrik's main research interests concern experimental tests of fundamental theories of Nature by table-top experiments but also in space. Some tests are concerned with the large mass limit of the quantum superposition principle, which forms the basis of quantum mechanics. Other experiments are concerned with testing the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravitation in the low energy limit.
  • The Ulbricht group performs quantum experimental research on the preparation and analysis of massive systems in non-classical states by various techniques. They pioneer so-called levitated opto- and magneto-mechanics experiments, where light and magnetic fields are used to both trap and control nano- and micro-particles in vacuum. Please see the Ulbricht group webpages for more details.

More research

Accepting applications from PhD students.

Connect with Hendrik

About

The Quantum Nanophysics and Matter Wave Group are an experimental physics research group located at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. Our work is devoted to the foundations of physics and to provide empirical evidence to explore new physics by using non-classical properties such as superposition and entanglement of massive particles at mesoscopic and possibly even macroscopic scales. Our expertise is in matter-wave interferometry experiments with large molecules and nanoparticles, optical trapping and cooling techniques for nanoparticles in vacuum, e.g. by parametric feedback as well as magnetic trapping. Such experiments hold promise to test possible limitations of quantum theory such as predicted by collapse models, gravity induced collapse of the wavefunction, and eventually the interplay between quantum theory and relativity.