Public evening lecture by Dr Urs Schreiber (New York University Abu Dhabi)

The standard model of physics is considered a success, but it has a gap: Strongly bound states (such as ordinary atomic nuclei) can hardly be derived analytically. This shortcoming is so fundamental that it has been endowed with $1 million in prize money as the "Millennium Problem". A similar problem is slowing down the development of stable quantum computers. This lecture explains how a new "global mathematics" (topos and type theory) helps to overcome these limitations of traditional theoretical physics. Specifically, this results in a new understanding of topological quantum states that could enable robust quantum hardware.

Urs Schreiber is a theoretical physicist specialising in the mathematical foundations of strongly coupled quantum systems. After research and teaching in Hamburg, Utrecht, Bonn and Prague, he now works as a Senior Research Scientist at New York University in Abu Dhabi. There, at the Center for Quantum and Topological Systems, he researches new methods of algebraic topology for the design and programming of future stabilised quantum computers. To this end, he is developing and transferring mathematical principles of string/M-theory for the construction of robust topological quantum materials.

Moderation: Professor Dr Konrad Waldorf