Aephraim Steinberg
@quantumaephraim.bsky.social
Quantum physicist and generally curious human.
(Physics prof, Univ Toronto; Director, CIFAR programme on Quantum Information Science; New Yorker / Parisian –in-absentia)
(Physics prof, Univ Toronto; Director, CIFAR programme on Quantum Information Science; New Yorker / Parisian –in-absentia)
I love quantum computing (& quantum information science, even more), don't get me wrong --
but we have to acknowledge how much of the so-called "ecosystem" this captures:
but we have to acknowledge how much of the so-called "ecosystem" this captures:
November 5, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I love quantum computing (& quantum information science, even more), don't get me wrong --
but we have to acknowledge how much of the so-called "ecosystem" this captures:
but we have to acknowledge how much of the so-called "ecosystem" this captures:
Put in mind of the Infinite Improbability Drive, as I listen to Bárbara Amaral explain over @cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social Quantum Tea how contextuality may power anomalous heat flow…
see journals.aps.org/prxquantum/a... for more on her actual work...
#Contextuality #QuantumThermodynamics
see journals.aps.org/prxquantum/a... for more on her actual work...
#Contextuality #QuantumThermodynamics
October 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Put in mind of the Infinite Improbability Drive, as I listen to Bárbara Amaral explain over @cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social Quantum Tea how contextuality may power anomalous heat flow…
see journals.aps.org/prxquantum/a... for more on her actual work...
#Contextuality #QuantumThermodynamics
see journals.aps.org/prxquantum/a... for more on her actual work...
#Contextuality #QuantumThermodynamics
Happy day of Quantum, and congratulations to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, & John Martinis!
There's no stopping it now!
#NobelPrize #SuperconductingQubits #QuantumTunneling
nobelprize.org/prizes/physics…www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...df
There's no stopping it now!
#NobelPrize #SuperconductingQubits #QuantumTunneling
nobelprize.org/prizes/physics…www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...df
October 7, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Happy day of Quantum, and congratulations to John Clarke, Michel Devoret, & John Martinis!
There's no stopping it now!
#NobelPrize #SuperconductingQubits #QuantumTunneling
nobelprize.org/prizes/physics…www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...df
There's no stopping it now!
#NobelPrize #SuperconductingQubits #QuantumTunneling
nobelprize.org/prizes/physics…www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2025...df
Crazy milestone passed over (I think) in silence – as of last November or so, I have spent over half my life as a professor at the University of Toronto.
[Since as people my age understand, I firmly believe I'm in my early 30s, this implies that I became a professor at around 16.]
[Since as people my age understand, I firmly believe I'm in my early 30s, this implies that I became a professor at around 16.]
September 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Crazy milestone passed over (I think) in silence – as of last November or so, I have spent over half my life as a professor at the University of Toronto.
[Since as people my age understand, I firmly believe I'm in my early 30s, this implies that I became a professor at around 16.]
[Since as people my age understand, I firmly believe I'm in my early 30s, this implies that I became a professor at around 16.]
Chuffed^* to announce our theory on how long an unabsorbed photon causes atoms to spend in the excited state is out: lnkd.in/gF--eQgV
It extends the dichotomy to a confounding "simple to state, but looks wrong; turns out to be right, but this is difficult to prove."
It extends the dichotomy to a confounding "simple to state, but looks wrong; turns out to be right, but this is difficult to prove."
September 22, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Chuffed^* to announce our theory on how long an unabsorbed photon causes atoms to spend in the excited state is out: lnkd.in/gF--eQgV
It extends the dichotomy to a confounding "simple to state, but looks wrong; turns out to be right, but this is difficult to prove."
It extends the dichotomy to a confounding "simple to state, but looks wrong; turns out to be right, but this is difficult to prove."
U of T is thrilled to celebrate the Year of Quantum by advertising three new faculty positions!
Please spread the word, encourage friends/mentees to apply, or consider applying yourself.
(Links in rest of thread)
#QuantumOptics #QuantumInformation #AMO
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
Please spread the word, encourage friends/mentees to apply, or consider applying yourself.
(Links in rest of thread)
#QuantumOptics #QuantumInformation #AMO
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
September 8, 2025 at 6:30 PM
U of T is thrilled to celebrate the Year of Quantum by advertising three new faculty positions!
Please spread the word, encourage friends/mentees to apply, or consider applying yourself.
(Links in rest of thread)
#QuantumOptics #QuantumInformation #AMO
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
Please spread the word, encourage friends/mentees to apply, or consider applying yourself.
(Links in rest of thread)
#QuantumOptics #QuantumInformation #AMO
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
Nominations for the 2026 #BellPrize are being accepted through September 30th, 2025 – please consider nominating the work from the past 6 yrs which you believe has done the most to advance #Quantum science.
Please RT.
(See cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n... .)
@CQIQC_Toronto
Please RT.
(See cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n... .)
@CQIQC_Toronto
September 6, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Nominations for the 2026 #BellPrize are being accepted through September 30th, 2025 – please consider nominating the work from the past 6 yrs which you believe has done the most to advance #Quantum science.
Please RT.
(See cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n... .)
@CQIQC_Toronto
Please RT.
(See cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n... .)
@CQIQC_Toronto
Lazaro Felice!
Seeing atoms floating in vacuum and glowing bright in the laser beams that suspend them there (while cooling them millions of times below room temp) should always be inspirational, even if it's now routine for AMO physicists & the MOT is nearing its 40th birthday.
Seeing atoms floating in vacuum and glowing bright in the laser beams that suspend them there (while cooling them millions of times below room temp) should always be inspirational, even if it's now routine for AMO physicists & the MOT is nearing its 40th birthday.
August 28, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Lazaro Felice!
Seeing atoms floating in vacuum and glowing bright in the laser beams that suspend them there (while cooling them millions of times below room temp) should always be inspirational, even if it's now routine for AMO physicists & the MOT is nearing its 40th birthday.
Seeing atoms floating in vacuum and glowing bright in the laser beams that suspend them there (while cooling them millions of times below room temp) should always be inspirational, even if it's now routine for AMO physicists & the MOT is nearing its 40th birthday.
Nominate the most innovative work on Fundamental Issues in Quantum Mechanics and their Applications for the 2026 John Stewart Bell Prize!
(Pls rebleep!)
See
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n...
Deadline 30 August 2025.
#QuantumInformation #FoundationsOfQM #BellPrize #QuantumPhysics
(Pls rebleep!)
See
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n...
Deadline 30 August 2025.
#QuantumInformation #FoundationsOfQM #BellPrize #QuantumPhysics
August 13, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Nominate the most innovative work on Fundamental Issues in Quantum Mechanics and their Applications for the 2026 John Stewart Bell Prize!
(Pls rebleep!)
See
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n...
Deadline 30 August 2025.
#QuantumInformation #FoundationsOfQM #BellPrize #QuantumPhysics
(Pls rebleep!)
See
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/bell-prize/n...
Deadline 30 August 2025.
#QuantumInformation #FoundationsOfQM #BellPrize #QuantumPhysics
Heads-up: we'll be searching this Fall for a tenure-stream faculty member in Theoretical #QuantumOptics (#AMOPhysics #QuantumInformation)
at U of T Physics
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
Official ad out next month – please alert potential strong candidates you may know!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-5...
at U of T Physics
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
Official ad out next month – please alert potential strong candidates you may know!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-5...
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by U2VEVO
www.youtube.com
July 23, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Heads-up: we'll be searching this Fall for a tenure-stream faculty member in Theoretical #QuantumOptics (#AMOPhysics #QuantumInformation)
at U of T Physics
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
Official ad out next month – please alert potential strong candidates you may know!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-5...
at U of T Physics
@cqiqc-uoft.bsky.social
Official ad out next month – please alert potential strong candidates you may know!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3-5...
Super-fascinating new article out, on the speed of particles in a forbidden region.
For me, it raises more questions than it answers, which is of course my favorite kind of experiment.
Kudos to the authors for a novel approach and technical tour de force!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
For me, it raises more questions than it answers, which is of course my favorite kind of experiment.
Kudos to the authors for a novel approach and technical tour de force!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Energy–speed relationship of quantum particles challenges Bohmian mechanics - Nature
The study of the relationship between particle speed and negative kinetic energy, arising in regions in which, according to classical mechanics, particles are not allowed to enter, reveals behaviour t...
www.nature.com
July 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Super-fascinating new article out, on the speed of particles in a forbidden region.
For me, it raises more questions than it answers, which is of course my favorite kind of experiment.
Kudos to the authors for a novel approach and technical tour de force!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
For me, it raises more questions than it answers, which is of course my favorite kind of experiment.
Kudos to the authors for a novel approach and technical tour de force!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Finally got around to reading this fascinating article by Amanda Gefter -- kudos on an epic investigation and a gripping story!
Sad but also inspiring.
Thanks for making his writings publicly available - I hope this will lead to new inspirations as well as to restoring his legacy.
Sad but also inspiring.
Thanks for making his writings publicly available - I hope this will lead to new inspirations as well as to restoring his legacy.
Finding Peter Putnam
The forgotten janitor who discovered the logic of the mind
nautil.us
July 1, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Finally got around to reading this fascinating article by Amanda Gefter -- kudos on an epic investigation and a gripping story!
Sad but also inspiring.
Thanks for making his writings publicly available - I hope this will lead to new inspirations as well as to restoring his legacy.
Sad but also inspiring.
Thanks for making his writings publicly available - I hope this will lead to new inspirations as well as to restoring his legacy.
Disgusting
Weaponizing the justice department, and research funding, against what the US has left of intellectual institutions.
Against one of the real good guys, at that.
His crime?
Not dismantling efforts in support of equity vigorously enough.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/u...
Weaponizing the justice department, and research funding, against what the US has left of intellectual institutions.
Against one of the real good guys, at that.
His crime?
Not dismantling efforts in support of equity vigorously enough.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/u...
University of Virginia President Resigns Under Pressure From Trump Administration
www.nytimes.com
June 27, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Disgusting
Weaponizing the justice department, and research funding, against what the US has left of intellectual institutions.
Against one of the real good guys, at that.
His crime?
Not dismantling efforts in support of equity vigorously enough.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/u...
Weaponizing the justice department, and research funding, against what the US has left of intellectual institutions.
Against one of the real good guys, at that.
His crime?
Not dismantling efforts in support of equity vigorously enough.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/u...
Fearing yet more war;
hoping for peace.
May war-mongering leaders be removed, and innocents everywhere be safe. What else is worth saying?
hoping for peace.
May war-mongering leaders be removed, and innocents everywhere be safe. What else is worth saying?
June 22, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Fearing yet more war;
hoping for peace.
May war-mongering leaders be removed, and innocents everywhere be safe. What else is worth saying?
hoping for peace.
May war-mongering leaders be removed, and innocents everywhere be safe. What else is worth saying?
RIP Ray Laflamme, gone too soon.
Ray was a stellar scientist, the founding director of the IQC and of CIFAR's Quantum Information program, but more importantly a warm & generous human who built community and helped many (particularly junior researchers).
May his memory be a blessing.
Ray was a stellar scientist, the founding director of the IQC and of CIFAR's Quantum Information program, but more importantly a warm & generous human who built community and helped many (particularly junior researchers).
May his memory be a blessing.
June 21, 2025 at 4:56 PM
RIP Ray Laflamme, gone too soon.
Ray was a stellar scientist, the founding director of the IQC and of CIFAR's Quantum Information program, but more importantly a warm & generous human who built community and helped many (particularly junior researchers).
May his memory be a blessing.
Ray was a stellar scientist, the founding director of the IQC and of CIFAR's Quantum Information program, but more importantly a warm & generous human who built community and helped many (particularly junior researchers).
May his memory be a blessing.
Krister Shalm in the news again, with a new paper on the Colorado Random Number beacon.
Well, we always did say that getting a paper into Nature was a roll of the dice...
Always exciting to see our group members go on to lead such creative & successful efforts!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Well, we always did say that getting a paper into Nature was a roll of the dice...
Always exciting to see our group members go on to lead such creative & successful efforts!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Traceable random numbers from a non-local quantum advantage - Nature
A study demonstrates a public generator of random numbers based on device-independent techniques, with the randomness being fully auditable and traceable.
www.nature.com
June 11, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Krister Shalm in the news again, with a new paper on the Colorado Random Number beacon.
Well, we always did say that getting a paper into Nature was a roll of the dice...
Always exciting to see our group members go on to lead such creative & successful efforts!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Well, we always did say that getting a paper into Nature was a roll of the dice...
Always exciting to see our group members go on to lead such creative & successful efforts!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Sad news.
A great scientist & author, of course, but also a kind man and thoughtful teacher.
He will be missed.
www.optica.org/about/newsro...
A great scientist & author, of course, but also a kind man and thoughtful teacher.
He will be missed.
www.optica.org/about/newsro...
Joseph Eberly | Optica
Optica is the leading society in optics and photonics. Quality information and inspiring interactions through publications, meetings, and membership.
www.optica.org
May 2, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Sad news.
A great scientist & author, of course, but also a kind man and thoughtful teacher.
He will be missed.
www.optica.org/about/newsro...
A great scientist & author, of course, but also a kind man and thoughtful teacher.
He will be missed.
www.optica.org/about/newsro...
I like to hope we're already doing this in Physics (at least in most groups..), but a discussion around a more systematic approach like this would not be out of place.
May 1, 2025 at 6:52 AM
I like to hope we're already doing this in Physics (at least in most groups..), but a discussion around a more systematic approach like this would not be out of place.
Just sharing for the yocks.
Seriously, YOCTOjoules.
How many of you have even *heard* that prefix before?
That's 10^-5 visible photons, in case you're keeping count.
"Fieldoscopy." arxiv.org/abs/2504.13121
Seriously, YOCTOjoules.
How many of you have even *heard* that prefix before?
That's 10^-5 visible photons, in case you're keeping count.
"Fieldoscopy." arxiv.org/abs/2504.13121
April 18, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Just sharing for the yocks.
Seriously, YOCTOjoules.
How many of you have even *heard* that prefix before?
That's 10^-5 visible photons, in case you're keeping count.
"Fieldoscopy." arxiv.org/abs/2504.13121
Seriously, YOCTOjoules.
How many of you have even *heard* that prefix before?
That's 10^-5 visible photons, in case you're keeping count.
"Fieldoscopy." arxiv.org/abs/2504.13121
Hey!
Group alum making waves (or particles) !
www.nist.gov/blogs/taking...
#WorldQuantumDay #Quantum #EntangledPhotons
Group alum making waves (or particles) !
www.nist.gov/blogs/taking...
#WorldQuantumDay #Quantum #EntangledPhotons
Quantum and Dance: It Takes 2 to Entangle
Quantum physics and dancing may seem very different, but they both rely on creativity and precision. Both have shaped one NIST researcher’s outlook on life
www.nist.gov
April 17, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Hey!
Group alum making waves (or particles) !
www.nist.gov/blogs/taking...
#WorldQuantumDay #Quantum #EntangledPhotons
Group alum making waves (or particles) !
www.nist.gov/blogs/taking...
#WorldQuantumDay #Quantum #EntangledPhotons
I was apprehensive about big airlines moving their routing to #QuantumComputers so early, but here we go... Lufthansa has inaugurated their new double-slit service!
(It feels like we landed safely, but that may just be because of that eavesdropping observer in the background.)
(It feels like we landed safely, but that may just be because of that eavesdropping observer in the background.)
April 2, 2025 at 7:47 AM
I was apprehensive about big airlines moving their routing to #QuantumComputers so early, but here we go... Lufthansa has inaugurated their new double-slit service!
(It feels like we landed safely, but that may just be because of that eavesdropping observer in the background.)
(It feels like we landed safely, but that may just be because of that eavesdropping observer in the background.)
You know you have achieved peak fringe when someone publishes an April Fool's joke and you're disappointed they didn't cite your earlier work...;)
home.cern/news/news/ph...
home.cern/news/news/ph...
April 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
You know you have achieved peak fringe when someone publishes an April Fool's joke and you're disappointed they didn't cite your earlier work...;)
home.cern/news/news/ph...
home.cern/news/news/ph...
Belatedly sharing the great news that my colleague Joseph Thywissen has been named a Fellow of @OpticaWorldwide !
Congratulations to a jolly good one!
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/news/recent-...
@CQIQC_Toronto @uoftphysics
Congratulations to a jolly good one!
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/news/recent-...
@CQIQC_Toronto @uoftphysics
March 30, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Belatedly sharing the great news that my colleague Joseph Thywissen has been named a Fellow of @OpticaWorldwide !
Congratulations to a jolly good one!
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/news/recent-...
@CQIQC_Toronto @uoftphysics
Congratulations to a jolly good one!
cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/news/recent-...
@CQIQC_Toronto @uoftphysics
Congrats to Melanie Woodin, U of T's next President!
(Should say in passing that it seems to me she'll be our 1st female president, and it's especially heartening that this can happen without any one [until me, apologies- maybe one step of meta will excuse me] feeling that needs to be emphasized.)
(Should say in passing that it seems to me she'll be our 1st female president, and it's especially heartening that this can happen without any one [until me, apologies- maybe one step of meta will excuse me] feeling that needs to be emphasized.)
Melanie Woodin, an internationally recognized neuroscientist who studies the mechanisms underlying learning and memory in the brain, has been named #UofT’s 17th president. ➡️ uoft.me/uoftpres
March 28, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Congrats to Melanie Woodin, U of T's next President!
(Should say in passing that it seems to me she'll be our 1st female president, and it's especially heartening that this can happen without any one [until me, apologies- maybe one step of meta will excuse me] feeling that needs to be emphasized.)
(Should say in passing that it seems to me she'll be our 1st female president, and it's especially heartening that this can happen without any one [until me, apologies- maybe one step of meta will excuse me] feeling that needs to be emphasized.)