Jun.-Prof. Lena Funcke

Clausius Junior-Professor for Computational Quantum Field Theory
University of Bonn

Research Professorship in the Transdisciplinary Research Area "Matter" of the University of Bonn.

Logo_UBo_TRA_Mat.png
© Bialek/Uni Bonn

On the trail of the open questions of particle physics

The research of Lena Funcke and her team focuses on two complementary approaches to tackle the fundamental open problems of the Standard Model of particle physics. First, they develop new models beyond the Standard Model and study the phenomenological implications, focusing on neutrino masses and the strong CP problem. Second, they advance and apply computational methods to study strongly coupled quantum field theories, based on lattice field theory, tensor networks, deep learning, and quantum computing. While many of these methods currently focus on lower-dimensional theories, the long-term goal is to apply them to the (3+1)-dimensional Standard Model and beyond. For these projects, Lena Funcke and her team collaborate with physicists, mathematicians, and computer scientists from academia and industry.

Avatar Funcke

Jun.-Prof. Lena Funcke

Clausius Professorship for Computational Quantum Field Theory, TRA "Matter", HISKP. Photo Copyright: Meike Böschemeyer/Uni Bonn

Room 3.003

Nussallee 14-16

Bonn


Curriculum Vitae

After studying physics at the University of Münster and the University of Cambridge (UK), Lena Funcke completed her doctorate at the Max Planck Institute for Physics and the LMU Munich at the age of 23. Her doctoral thesis was awarded the Arnold Sommerfeld PhD Prize of the LMU and the Dieter Rampacher Prize of the Max Planck Society. Before joining the University of Bonn as a junior professor, Lena Funcke worked as a postdoctoral researcher for four years, first at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo (Canada) and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge (USA).

Research

  • Particle physics
  • Lattice quantum field theory
  • Quantum computing
  • Machine learning
     

Teaching

  • SoSe 23: Lecture "Introduction to Quantum Computing"
  • WiSe 23/24: Seminar "Machine Learning for (Astro-) Physics and Chemistry"

2018: PhD in Physics, LMU Munich and Max Planck Institute for Physics
2015: Master of Advanced Study in Physics, University of Cambridge, UK
2014: Bachelor of Science in Physics, University of Münster

Leona Woods Distinguished Postdoctoral Lectureship Award (2021)

Awarded by: Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA

Arnold Sommerfeld PhD Prize (2019)

Awarded by: Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics, LMU Munich

Dieter Rampacher Prize (2019)

Awarded by: Max Planck Society


Selected Publications

Time- and Space-Varying Neutrino Mass Matrix from Soft Topological Defects

Dvali G, Funcke L*, Vachaspati T.

Phys. Rev. Lett., 130, 091601 (2023).


Measurement error mitigation in quantum computers through classical bit-flip correction

Funcke L*, Hartung T, Jansen K, Kühn S, Stornati P, Wang X.

Phys. Rev. A, 105, 062404 (2022).


Ruling Out the Massless Up-Quark Solution to the Strong CP Problem by Computing the Topological Mass Contribution with Lattice QCD

Alexandrou C, Finkenrath J, Funcke L*, Jansen K, Kostrzewa B, Pittler F, Urbach C.

Phys. Rev. Lett., 125, 232001 (2020).


*Authors are listed alphabetically by convention in the field.


Group members

Kim Andrea Nicoli

Postdoctoral researcher

Contact

knicoli@uni-bonn.de

Room 2.013
Nussallee 14-16
53115 Bonn

Simran Singh

Postdoctoral researcher

Contact

ssingh@uni-bonn.de

Room 2.013
Nussallee 14-16
53115 Bonn

Dominic Schuh

Doctoral student

Contact

schuh@hiskp.uni-bonn.de

Room 2.015
Nussallee 14-16
53111 Bonn

Luca Wagner

Master student

Contact

s6lawagn@uni-bonn.de

Room 2.015
Nussallee 14-16
53111 Bonn

Janik Kreit

Master student

Contact

kreit@hiskp.uni-bonn.de

Room 2.015
Nussallee 14-16
53111 Bonn

Emil Rosanowski

Master student

Contact

s6emrosa@uni-bonn.de

Room 2.015
Nussallee 14-16
53111 Bonn

Elisabeth Grete von Wolff

Bachelor student

Contact

s6elvonw@uni-bonn.de

Room 2.013
Nussallee 14-16
53115 Bonn

Further Information

Press release

You can also read the press release about the start of Lena Funcke at the University of Bonn.

Argelander-Professur 

Here you can find out more about the Argelander Professorship for Biohybrid Research.

Designated Hertz-Chair

You  may also be interested in reading about the new designated Hertz-Chair for Astrochemistry.

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