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.
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.
Jun.-Prof. Lena Funcke
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
Dominic Schuh
Doctoral student
Luca Wagner
Master student
Felicitas Freche
Bachelor student
Jannik Niebling
Bachelor student
Further Information
Press release
You can also read the press release about the start of Lena Funcke at the University of Bonn.
TRA Matter
Understanding the formation of complex structures based on the fundamental building blocks of matter and their interactions.
Research profile
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