Leiden University investigates biodiversity not only in the Netherlands, but also abroad, with the goal of improving global nature conservation. We do so in collaboration with local universities. Education is also high on our agenda.

Can we make quantum devices from quantum surprises? And can we explore and build life from the nanoscale up?

List of Support Departments at LION and the Faculty of Science

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2019, as well as special appointments and royal distinctions.

Research at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) is foundational and curiosity driven. All our scientists share a desire to increase the knowledge of the world around us, in an open atmosphere of inquiry from which innovative ideas emerge that provide applications and value for society.

The Gorlaeus Building will be constructed in three phases, with the new building due to be completed by 2028.

Information for prospective, current and international students

From the largest numbers to the smallest molecules and from the oldest galaxies up to the latest algorithms, explore our standout discoveries and most inspiring collaborations from the past year!

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World-class research is integral part of the master’s education. You obtain a Physics degree from an institute with an international reputation. Research in this programme is fundamental and curiosity-driven.

Physicists at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) conduct fundamental research into physical phenomena. They are inspired by curiosity and the desire to know more about the world in which we live. This research has always paved the way for new practical applications. These are something that the…

The Physics and SCS master specialisation gives you the opportunity to combine Physics research with different aspects of science communication.

LION offers a PhD program in which candidates carry out independent research on a specific topic, culminating in a PhD thesis.

The Physics and Education master specialisation gives you the opportunity to combine physics research with an excellent education in becoming a physics teacher.

The programme will give you the opportunity to choose from a broad range of topics to study. You will be part of an international multidisciplinary research team at the LION.

An overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2020, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.

During the farewell reception on 29 August, the Faculty of Science will say goodbye to Dean Geert de Snoo. On 1 November 2019, he will continue his career as Director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). Colleagues talk about his significance for ecology, about his contribution as a…

The programme offers you the ability to combine experimental research with theoretical courses. The programme helps you grow into an independent and skilled physicist.

Cambridge University Press has published a new book co-authored by researchers from Leiden University, offering both an introduction to machine learning and deep neural networks, and an overview of their applications in quantum physics and chemistry — from reinforcement learning for controlling quantum…

PhD candidates carry out a programme of independent research and additional (limited) course work, culminating in production of a PhD thesis in typically 4 years.

This thesis described the development of novel scanning tunneling microscopy techniques to investigate strongly correlated electronic states in quantum matter.

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Quantum critical metals at vanishing fermion flavor number.

The Cryogenics Department has a liquid helium production unit and an automatic liquid nitrogen filling plant.

I will give a general introduction to the field of molecular electronics, its history, methods and challenges. I will also introduce the subject of my investigation and provide a brief outlook to the remainder of our thesis.

In my thesis I study Majorana fermions from three different perspectives. The first one corresponds to non-interacting Majorana fermions that, however, pose non-trivial topological properties. The second one corresponds to strongly interacting Majoranas and the third to relic neutrinos. No one knows…

Promotor: Prof.dr. D. Bouwmeester

Promotor: Prof.dr.ir. J.W.M. Hilgenkamp, Prof.dr. J. van den Brink

In the thesis we demonstrated an 85% state transfer efficiency between two mechanical modes coupled to a common optical mode via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) in the classical regime. We also showed possibilities to manipulate quantum states of the mechanical modes via STIRAP.

Lecture

Imagine scanning lion dung or a mouse dropping and instantly knowing exactly what and how much the animal has eaten. Thanks to new DNA techniques, this is becoming increasingly feasible. PhD student Kevin Groen tested how effective these techniques are at unraveling the diets of wild animals.

Promotor: J.W.M. Frenken, Co-Promotor: R. Felici

The cosmology research line focuses on the theory of inflation in order to embed it in the microscopic theories of supergravity and string theory.

Promotor: C. W. J. Beenakker, Co-promotor: J. K. Asboth

The thesis describes experimental steps towards reduction of friction on the macroscopic scale by scenarios of thermo- and superlubricity well-known on the nanoscale.

Visualising structures of life

Optical cavities are useful tools to enhance the interaction between light and matter, which is important to make good quantum emitters. However, it turns out that the cavities themselves (without any quantum emitters) are already interesting objects to study.

In this thesis, we examine various systems through the lens of several numerical methods.

The dissertation describes TEM experiments on heterogeneous catalysts.

This thesis consists of two subjects, that are both a consequence of radiation pressure.

Skandapurāṇa IV presents a critical edition of Adhyāyas 70-95 from the Skandapurāṇa , with an introduction and annotated English synopsis.

Mechanical interactions between cells and their environment play an important role in many biological processes.

The interest of this thesis lies in spin transport in normal metals and superconducting half-metallic junctions.

The first direct detection of gravitational waves opened the possibility of mapping the Universe via this new and independent messenger.

In this thesis, time-lapse fluorescent microscopy plays a pivotal role in investigating functional materials within living cells as well as the migratory behaviour of neural progenitor cells.

Make more fluid: In condensed matter systems, electrons can acquire unusual properties from their interaction with the atomic lattice.

My PhD research is devoted to studies of the conjectural cluster-algebraic symmetry in the theory of topological string, which is the simplest, however already non-trivial sector in the theory of string.