News
18th Dec, 2025
New publication: ‘Anyonization of Bosons in One Dimension: An Effective Swap Model’.
The CsIII team, in collaboration with researchers from the Collège de France, and the Université Libre de Bruxelles, has developed a simple yet powerful method to reveal anyons—exotic quantum particles that are neither bosons nor fermions—in one-dimensional systems.
Source: A Simple Spin Swap Reveals Exotic Anyons – Universität Innsbruck
Link to the article: Anyonization of Bosons in One Dimension: An Effective Swap Model | Phys. Rev. Lett.
12th Nov, 2025
New publication: ‘Spectroscopy and Ground-State Transfer of Ultracold Bosonic 39K133Cs Molecules’.
Researchers from Hanns-Christoph Nägerl’s group have produced the world’s first ultracold KCs molecules in their absolute ground state. Starting by mixing clouds of potassium and caesium atoms cooled almost to absolute zero temperature, they were able to use a combination of magnetic fields and laser beams to associate pairs of freely moving atoms into chemically stable molecules.
Source: Molecules assembled by hand – Universität Innsbruck
Link to the article: Spectroscopy and Ground-State Transfer of Ultracold Bosonic Molecules | Phys. Rev. Lett.
14th Aug, 2025
New publication: ‘Observation of many-body dynamical localization’.
A quantum system that defies classical expectations by resisting heating under continuous external driving has been observed by the CsIII team. The phenomenon, termed “many-body dynamical localization”, reveals how quantum coherence prevents energy absorption. The findings have now been published in Science.
Source: A Quantum Gas That Refuses to Heat – Universität Innsbruck
Link to the article: Observation of many-body dynamical localization | Science
ERC Advanced Grant
17th June, 2025
For the second time in his career, Hanns-Christoph has received an ERC Advanced Grant, the most highly funded award in European science. It will be used to study quantum transport and many-body localization in ultracold atomic systems, in particular in reduced dimensionality.
28th May, 2025
New publication: ‘Observing anyonization of bosons in a quantum gas’.
The CsIII team, in collaboration with Mikhail Zvonarev from Université Paris-Saclay, and Nathan Goldman’s theory group at Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) & Collège de France (Paris), has observed anyons – quasiparticles that differ from the familiar fermions and bosons – in a one-dimensional quantum system for the first time. The results, published in Nature, may contribute to a better understanding of quantum matter and its potential applications.
Source: Observing one-dimensional anyons – Universität Innsbruck
Link to the article: Observing anyonization of bosons in a quantum gas | Nature
24th May, 2024
Today Deborah Capecchi (RbCs) successfully defended her PhD title. Congratulations!
3rd May, 2024
New publication: ‘Bose-Einstein condensation of non-ground-state caesium atoms’.
In a pioneering effort, the CsIII team in collaboration with theorists from the University of Durham have for the first time achieved Bose-Einstein condensation of non-ground state caesium atoms. Published in Nature Communications, this research paves the way for new experiments with ultracold atomic gases and the study of many-body quantum physics.
Source: First condensation of non-ground state Cesium atoms – Universität Innsbruck (uibk.ac.at)
Link to the article: Bose-Einstein condensation of non-ground-state caesium atoms | Nature Communications
9th April, 2024
New publication: ‘Observation of the 2D–1D crossover in strongly interacting ultracold bosons’.
The CsIII team has, for the first time, probed the dimensional crossover for ultracold quantum matter. In the regime between one and two dimensions, the quantum particles perceive their world as being 1D or 2D depending on the length scale on which they are probed: On short distances, their world is 1D, but it is 2D on long distances. The results obtained from correlation measurements in collaboration with a theoretical group from Geneva have just been published in Nature Physics.
Source: Dimensionality revealed – Universität Innsbruck (uibk.ac.at)
Link to the article: Observation of the 2D–1D crossover in strongly interacting ultracold bosons, Nature Physics (2024)
14th February, 2024
New publication: ‘Anomalous cooling by dimensional reduction’. 
The CsIII team, together with a group of theorists from Geneva, has developed a new thermometry method to measure temperatures for low-dimensional quantum gases. With this method it was found that compressing a gas may lead to cooling. The results on this counterintuitive phenomenon have just been published in Science Advances.
Source: Compression may cool – Universität Innsbruck (uibk.ac.at)
Link to the article: Anomalous cooling of bosons by dimensional reduction | Science Advances
APA press release: Umgekehrter Effekt: Stärkere Verdichtung kühlt Quantengase (apa.at)
15th November, 2022
The new laboratory space in the first floor of the Viktor Franz Hess building, shared between the groups of Hanns-Christoph Nägerl, Christian Roos and Ben Lanyon, was officially opened by the rector of the University, Prof. Tilmann Märk.
30th June, 2022
Today Govind successfully defended his PhD title! His thesis was titled “Cooling, transport and Mixing of Ultracold K and Cs”.
Demo of a Magneto-optical trap as part of the 350 year celebration of the University of Innsbruck.
2019
As part of the Inside Out program of the 350 year celebration, we are demonstrating a live magneto-optical trap! See here for more info!
Reference: U. A. Haefeker, BfÖ University of Innsbruck
MOT at Alpbach
350 years of the University of Innsbruck.
2019
In 2019 we celebrate 350 years of the University of Innsbruck.
350 years of the University of Innsbruck mean 350 years of exciting research and teaching, 350 years of clever minds that show visions, formulate ideas and advance developments, and thus 350 years of interaction with society. See here for more information! We are involved in the Science Festival. Also see this page for information on the Campus-Tage.
Manuele joins as Senior Scientist! Welcome!
Andreas Graduates! Congrats!
BE OPEN – Science & Society Festival
8th Septemper, 2018
We will be part of the “BE OPEN Festival – 50 Jahre FWF” in Vienna as part of the 50 year celebration of the FWF, starting form 8th September. We will have a live demonstration of a Magneto-Optic Trap, a superconducting levitation train and a live stream from our Cs-III experiment. See here for more details!
Congratulations to Katharina Jag-Lauber for her PhD defense…
17th August, 2018
Katharina defended her PhD title successfully today! Her thesis was titled “Ultracold Homonuclear Cesium Molecules: Efficient Production, Collisional Properties and Stability Measurements”.
Recent Publication
Mott-Insulator-Aided Detection of Ultra-Narrow Feshbach Resonances
M. J. Mark, F. Meinert, K. Lauber, and H.-C. Nägerl,
Preprint: https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.05496
Australian Laurate Fellowship awarded to Hanns-Christoph-Nägerl
7th August, 2018
Wittgenstein Prize Winner Hanns-Christoph-Nägerl has received an attractive offer from Australia: in addition to a call to the University of Queensland, he has now been awarded a Laureate Fellowship of the Australian Research Council in the amount of 1.8 million euros. With this program, the country is trying to attract top international researchers to Australia.
ERC Advanced Grant
4th April, 2018
Christoph receives the most highly endowed and prestigious European science award. The ERC Advanced Grant will be used to work towards a quantum simulator of potassium cesium molecules which exhibit polar properties and provide access to many phenomena of quantum many-body systems.
Wittgenstein Prize awarded to Christoph!
19th June, 2017
Christoph receives the Wittgeinstein Prize of 1.5 million euros! The Wittgenstein-Preis is named after the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and is conferred once per year by the Austrian Science Fund on behalf of the Austrian Ministry for Science