the delocalized chemist

If you are doing research on complex matter waves, such as atoms and molecules, the Frontiers of Matter Wave Optics conference is a must. This year’s edition is taking place at a lovely resort close to Pisa in Italy, where we will have ample time to discuss the latest advances in the field.

I was invited to give a talk at the 16th International Symposium on Atomic Level
Characterizations for New Materials and Devices ’26 in Taiwan this November. If you are also at the conference, please come by and let’s have a chat.

Measuring magnetic fields and their orientation in space reliably in a self-calibrated fashion is not an easy task. In our recently accepted patent, we show how highly-excited Rydberg atoms can provide exactly this in a compact fashion.

If you diffract electrons or neutrons through a material, they are typically interacting only weakly with the specimen. This is very convenient as it allows you to make a number of simplifying assumptions. However, as soon as you leave known grounds, things start to become more interesting. When studying the diffraction of helium through single-layer graphene, we just stumbled over such a case. In our latest study, we show that for this system the interaction of the particle with the material is two to three orders of magnitude stronger than in an electron microscope. This dramatically changes the shape of the diffraction and gives a first glimpse into a new quantum-to-classical transition.

Our magnetometers and how they may help detecting unexploded ordnance at sea have been showcased in German television.

Unexploded ordnance from the last world war are still a problem all over Germany and specialists have to dispose them on a regular basis. What many people do not know is that this is not only a problem on land, but also at sea. By the end of the war, an estimated amount of 1.6 million tons was dumped into the North Sea and the Baltic Ocean. Over the last decades, this ammunition started to decay and pollute the water – posing a big threat to the maritime ecosystem and the people living in these areas. To address this challenge, the DLR is running a large-scale project, combining the expertise of several institutes to demonstrate the safe and automatized clearance of these sites.

We are contributing to this goal by using quantum magnetometers that are integrated in autonomous underwater vehicles. This allows us to detect the magnetic signatures of the unexploded ordnance even when the they are hidden below sediments.

The progress of the project was showcased at the MARESEC26, an international conference in Bremerhaven. For more information can be found in this conference paper.

Only a few months after we published our breakthrough experiment of atom diffraction through materials, a French-Belgian collaboration affirmed our results by also diffracting hydrogen through graphene. The paper was published in Physical Review Letters.

We are presenting our latest results at the 25th International Workshop on Inelastic Ion-Surface Collisions in Frankenfels, Austria.

The conference on scattering of atoms and molecules from surfaces was a great success. We had many interesting talks and contributions, a poster session, and generally a good time. It was a great pleasure hosting this convention and meeting everybody!

I have the pleasure and privilege to organize the SAMS6 conference, which will take place at the University of Ulm from 8th to 11th of September 2025. This conference brings together international experts working on the scattering and diffraction of complex particles from surfaces. Additionally, we aim to establish a connection to the quantum technology community to establish fruitful exchange of ideas and foster new ideas.