Robert Weis

Kirchhoff Institute for Physics

The Kirchhoff Institute for Physics (KIP) is named after a prominent physicist of the 19th Century: Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, who worked in Heidelberg for 21 years. His well-known lectures on experimental and theoretical physics attracted many students. Kirchhoff's ground-breaking research was extraordinarily diverse, spanning electrical, magnetic, optical, elastic, hydrodynamic and thermal processes. His laws for electrical circuits are well-known. At the time he was in Heidelberg, in conjunction with Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, he discovered spectral analysis and its application to solar radiation. In this way, Kirchhoff laid the foundation for modern astrophysics, as well as formulating the laws of thermal radiation, which played a key role in the discovery of quantum physics. The KIP aims to continue in this tradition of diverse scientific research and education.

Physikalisches Kolloquium

2. May 2025 5:00 pm  Probing quantum gravity at all scales

Prof. Dr. Astrid Eichhorn, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg,What is the fundamental quantum structure of spacetime? This question constitutes a persistent challenge in physics and several candidate theories of quantum gravity have been developed in response to this challenge. However, experimental tests of these theories are extremely rare, because the typical scale of quantum gravity, the Planck scale, is much smaller than distance scales that can be probed experimentally.more...

News

Spring is coming!

Butterfly-shaped coordination clusters provide an ideal testbed to study fundamental magnetic properties of mixed lnthanide-transition metal systems. In our recent work, we have added a new family of butterfly-structured molecular magnets to this exciting field...

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CQD special seminar by Rene Röhrs, University of Innsbruck, 24th of April, 11:15 a.m., Goldbox

Please note the place and time: Thursday, the 24th of April, 11:15 a.m., PI, INF 226, K 1-3, Goldbox

 

 

Titel: Magnetic soliton molecules in binary condensates

 

Abstract:

Two-component condensates in the miscible phase can support polarization solitary waves, known as magnetic solitons. By calculating the interaction potentials between pairs of magnetic solitons we elucidate the mechanisms and conditions for the formation of bound states—or molecules— and support these predictions with dynamic simulations. We analytically calculate the dissociation energy for molecules consisting of two oppositely polarized solitons and find good agreement with full numerical simulations. Our study turns to binary dipolar condensates, again in the miscible regime, but where a roton develops in the spin branch of the dispersion relation. Intriguingly, we predict that the long-range interactions enable the formation of multiple bound states with distinct equilibrium separations for a given soliton pair. We expect such bound states to be within reach of current experimental capabilities.

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