Jozef Stefan Institute, Department of Theoretical Physics

Position ID:
IJS-F1-ERCZALA2025 [#28945]
Position Title: 
"Weakly driven quantum symmetries" ERC positions
Position Type:
Postdoctoral
Position Location:
Ljubljana, Ljubljana SI-1000, Slovenia
Subject Area: 
Condensed Matter Physics / Theory
Appl Deadline:
2025/01/15 11:59PMhelp popup (posted 2024/10/18, listed until 2025/02/28)
Position Description:
   

A postdoc position is open at Jozef Stefan Institute, as part "Weakly driven quantum symmetries" (DrumS) ERC project lead by Zala Lenarcic. 

The DrumS project will establish a new paradigm for stabilizing exotic non-thermal states by weakly driving quantum many-body systems. Present research theoretically predicts peculiar non-thermal states in fine-tuned models with additional symmetries, for example, in integrable models with macroscopically many conservation laws. However, these models and their exact symmetries cannot be accurately realized in solid-state experiments and even quantum simulators. DrumS aims to show theoretically that weak driving can boost the underlying symmetries in realistic setups and have a substantial effect on quantities protected by approximate symmetries to realize exotic transport and other non-thermal quantum properties with potential use in quantum technologies. 

The research program will include
  • Demonstrating that a strong response to a weak drive is a generic property of setups where driving compensates for weak symmetry breaking perturbations and stabilizes large expectation values of potentially useful quantities.
  • Promoting the practical significance of fascinating idealized models, such as integrable, many-body localized, and lattice gauge theories. Driving protocols will compensate unavoidable integrability and gauge breaking to realize peculiar nonequilibrium phenomena.
  • Growing a new branch of non-linear phenomena, with exciting possibilities for realization in condensed matter experiments, synthetic quantum simulators and quantum computers.
  • We will employ and develop analytical as well as numerical (tensor and neural networks, machine learning) approaches for open driven systems, depending on the preference of the candidate. Previous knowledge on these techniques is advantageous.
The starting date is negotiable, preferably in the summer/autumn of 2025. 
The appointment is for 2+1 years.

The deadline for application is January 15th 2025, however, the applications will be considered as they are received until the positions are filled.

Further information about the research activities of:
Zala Lenarcic, http://www-f1.ijs.si/~zala/,
QuSiED consortium lead by Zala Lenarcic, https://www.qusied-quantera.ijs.si

Application Materials Required:
Submit the following items online at this website to complete your application:
  • Cover letter
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Research statement
  • Publication list
  • Two reference letters (to be submitted online by the reference writers on this site help popup)
And anything else requested in the position description.

Further Info:
http://www-f1.ijs.si/~zala/
email address
 
Jernej Mravlje
Department of Theoretical Physics
Jozef Stefan Institute
Jamova 39
SI-1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia