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Pfeiffer Vacuum Welcomes 2014 Röntgen Prize Winner

Vacuum is essential for basic scientific research

Asslar, Germany, November 21, 2014. This year, the Justus Liebig University

Giessen is awarding its Röntgen Prize to Prof. Dr. Jörg Evers. The Röntgen

Prize is awarded each year for outstanding work on basic research into

radiation physics and radiation biology. Named in memory of Wilhelm Conrad

Röntgen, who was a professor in Giessen from 1879 to 1888, the award

primarily targets the work of young scientists. The prize is donated by Pfeiffer

Vacuum, the Dr. Erich Pfeiffer Foundation and the Ludwig Schunk Foundation.

This year''s winner, Prof. Dr. Evers, is currently a team leader at the Max Planck

Institute of Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg. He is receiving the award for his

theoretical prediction of potential realization of the coherent superposition of

quantum states in atoms. This prediction was confirmed in an experiment

conducted on the PETRA III storage ring at DESY in Hamburg. Petra III offers

scientists excellent experimental facilities with its powerful light source. The

attempt was realized on thin-layer preparations, with a 0.6 nm thin layer of iron

cores between layers of carbon and palladium. The experiment included the

use of Mössbauer spectroscopy, which was awarded the Röntgen and the

Nobel prize in 1961.

A typical application for these research findings is the potential use in quantum

computers in the field of quantum information technology. Since typical

quantum phenomena such as coherent superposition of states is extremely

susceptible to disturbance, they only manifest under ideal laboratory conditions,

i.e. under vacuum.

Manfred Bender, CEO of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG, congratulated the

prize winner: “Supporting young scientists in cutting-edge research is extremely

important to us“, explained Bender. “Many research facilities have been a

partner to Pfeiffer Vacuum for many years now. Our vacuum solutions are used

successfully at DESY and we are pleased that Prof. Dr. Evers was able to

confirm his theoretical assumptions there.“

The day before the prize was awarded at the Justus Liebig University Giessen,

the prize winner visited the sponsoring company Pfeiffer Vacuum and reported

on the results of his research.

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