The Emporer’s new Qubits

Collage: Naked Quantum Emperor

Introductory event: Quantum Technologies, their applications and interested groups in society
Monday, June 10, 16:00
Seminar room I. Physics Institute or https://uni-koeln.zoom.us/j/7891905045?pwd=bkhtRlNxL3E3SnZCTU1oSFNHcHJNQT09

How experimental proofs of Majorana signatures have been faked and debunked – What has to be changed in the science system
Discussion, with a talk by Vincent Mourik to set the stage
Tuesday, June 11, 16:00
Seminar room I. Physics Institute or https://uni-koeln.zoom.us/j/7891905045?pwd=bkhtRlNxL3E3SnZCTU1oSFNHcHJNQT09

Quantum Technologies, their applications and interested groups in society

Monday, June 10, 16:00
Seminar room I. Physics Institute

Quantum Computing, Quantum Encrytion, Post Quantum Encryption, Quantum Simulation, Quantum Sensing, Scalability, Quantum Machine Learning, Majoranas:

  • What are they?
  • How do they belong together?
  • Who is involved in the technology for what reason? (How are Cologne and its partners involved?)

We will give an overview of the technological landscape, the serious and not so serious promises and the actors behind (governments, chemical industry, secret services, military, banks, medicine, logistics…)

How experimental proofs of Majorana signatures have been faked and debunked – What has to be changed in the science system

Discussion, with a talk by Vincent Mourik to set the stage

Tuesday, June 11, 16:00
Seminar room I. Physics Institute

Topological Matter is one of, if not the, fastest growing fields of physics. The European Materials Research Society claimed „The discovery of the quantum spin Hall effect and topological insulators […] has revolutionized modern condensed matter physics.“ and that „The field is expanding at the speed of light“ in 2022. A lot of focus was brought upon the Majorana quasiparticle, that could be used as a platform for Quantum computing and even promises to make Quantum computers scalable.
(“How splendid these Qubits sound, and how well they will scale!” everyone cried out.)

Thus third-party funding flooded in and everyone in the area got very excited. Edged on also by the Quantum Computing hype, ever more revolutionary and radical claims got made.
But what happens when this goes too far? When the evidence and rigor needed to support these claims, get left in the dirt by the ever accelerating field and the need to be on the next title page of a renowned journal?