All posts by spilati

2008 - Ph.D. in Physics, University of Trento, Italy March 2008 to August 2009 - Postdoctoral Fellow, INO-CNR Bose Einstein Condensation Centre, Trento, Italy September 2009 to August 2011 - Postdoctoral Fellow, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland September 2011 to August 2016 - Ludwig Boltzmann Fellow, ICTP, Trieste, Italy September 2016 to December 2017 - Long Term Visiting Scientist, ICTP, Trieste, Italy January 2017 - present - Research Fellow, University of Padova, Italy

SCIENTIFIC REPORT ON THE WORKSHOP ON “UNDERSTANDING QUANTUM PHENOMENA WITH PATH INTEGRALS: FROM CHEMICAL SYSTEMS TO QUANTUM FLUIDS AND SOLIDS”

Location: Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy), 3-7 July 2017

Organizers:  David M. Ceperley (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Michele Ceriotti (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne); Thomas E. Markland (Stanford University).

Local Organizers: Ali Hassanali (The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics); Sebastiano Pilati (University of Padova).

Group photo of the Workshop on “Understanding Quantum Phenomena with Path Integrals: from Chemical Systems to Quantum Fluids and Solids”, ICTP – Trieste, July 2017

 

Summary

The main goal of this interdisciplinary workshop was to gather together physicists and chemists who employ computer-simulation methods based on path integrals to investigate different systems, ranging from chemical and biochemical compounds, to quantum fluids/solids, to ultracold gases. This event allowed a broad community of researchers to create a platform for exchanging knowledge and know-how on path-integral technology and on other approaches to the combined quantum simulation of electrons and nuclei. Furthermore, speakers had the opportunity to showcase the most recent applications to various intriguing quantum phenomena, including, e.g., isotope effects in aqueous systems, quantum fluctuations in enzyme catalysis, quantum phase transitions due to strong correlations, and tunnelling phenomena in molecular systems and in adiabatic quantum computers (alias quantum annealers), thus creating a new bridge between quantum chemistry and quantum computing.

This event took place at the ICTP Adriatico Guesthouse, in a warm and sunny Trieste, allowing participants to enjoy the view of the Adriatic sea and the Miramare park. The format included 24 (long) oral presentations given by invited speakers, 7 short talks selected from contributed abstracts, 21 flash presentations (meant to advertise the content of a poster), and a total of 24 poster presentations. The workshop was attended by a total of 80 participants (including directors and speakers) from 29 countries.

This event has been sponsored by ICTP and by the Psi-k Network.

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