3 scientists share Nobel Prize in Physics for their work in quantum mechanics

This year's Nobel prize in Physics was awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger for their work in quantum mechanics. The trio win 10 million Swedish kronor, which will be shared equally between the laureates.

“It has become increasingly clear that a new kind of quantum technology is emerging. We can see that the laureates’ work with entangled states is of great importance, even beyond the fundamental questions about the interpretation of quantum mechanics,” says Anders Irbäck, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.

Alain Aspect, born 1947 in Agen, France. PhD 1983 from Paris-Sud University, Orsay, France. Professor at Université Paris-Saclay and École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France.


John F. Clauser research Physicist, USA developed John Bell’s ideas, leading to a practical experiment. When he took the measurements, they supported quantum mechanics by clearly violating a Bell inequality. This means that quantum mechanics cannot be replaced by a theory that uses hidden variables.

Anton Zeilinger, Professor at University of Vienna, Austria using refined tools and long series of experiments, Anton Zeilinger started to use entangled quantum states. Among other things, his research group has demonstrated a phenomenon called quantum teleportation, which makes it possible to move a quantum state from one particle to one at a distance

Professor at Université Paris-Saclay and École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France Alain Aspect developed the setup, using it in a way that closed an important loophole. He was able to switch the measurement settings after an entangled pair had left its source, so the setting that existed when they were emitted could not affect the result. As some loopholes remained after John Clauser’s experiment.