While these enormous mirrors will be used to capture the light of the cosmos, ESO’s neighbours in Garching, at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, have created a quantum mirror to operate at the tiniest scales imaginable.

Interference among photons, a fundamental phenomenon in quantum optics, serves as a cornerstone of optical quantum computing.

Scientists in the group of Nathalie Picqué at the Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have now made a significant leap in the field of ultraviolet spectroscopy by successfully implementing high-resolution linear-absorption dual-comb spectroscopy in the ultraviolet spectral range.

The researcher, who has now moved from the IAP to the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching, also participated in the study.

"Homodyne detection is a method frequently used in quantum optics to investigate the wave-like nature of optical quantum states," explains Timon Schapeler from the Paderborn "Mesoscopic Quantum Optics" working group at the Department of Physics.