Skrzypczyk group

• Dr. Paul Skrzypczyk

  Associate Professor

Biography

I obtained an MSci in Theoretical Physics from the University of Sussex. At the end of my degree I won the national Science, Engineering & Technologies Student of the Year Awardfor the best Physics student in the UK in 2007, based upon my final year project on "One-dimensional Coulomb scattering" under the supervision of Professor Gabriel Barton. After completing my degree, I came to Bristol to study for a PhD under the supervision of Professor Sandu Popescu, where I focused on quantum nonlocality and quantum thermodynamics. 

After completing my PhD in 2011, I spent two years at University of Cambridge as a postdoctoral researcher in Centre for Quantum Information and Foundations, before moving to the Institute for Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Barcelona, as an ICFONest Research Fellow in the group of Professor Antonio Acin. I returned to Bristol as a postdoctoral researcher in 2015 and obtained a Royal Society University Research Fellowship a year later in 2016, which I held until 2024. In 2018 I became a proleptic Lecturer in the School of Physics, and in 2022 a proleptic Associate Professor. 

Research Interests & Activities

My primary research interest is quantum theory, in particular, the renewed understanding that has been gained with the advent of quantum information. I am interested in many aspects of quantum theory, with a primary focus on quantum nonlocality, quantum measurements, and quantum thermodynamics.

In quantum theory the way actions in one place affect far-away places is much more intricate and fascinating than in classical physics. In particular, quantum theory allows for ‘nonlocal’ effects, whereby actions in one place seemingly affect another distant place instantaneously, although this can only ever be confirmed later in time. My long-term aim is to obtain a deep understanding of this counter-intuitive phenomenon. This is not only crucial in order to really understand quantum theory and the way the microscopic world behaves, but also for applications in quantum information processing, where it opens up new possibilities which are impossible using only classical physics, such as quantum teleportation and quantum cryptography. 

The process of measurement plays a much more fundamental and prominent role in quantum theory compared to much of classical physics. It is through the process of measurement that we gain information about the microscopic world, and in quantum theory any measurement necessarily disturbs the system measured to some extent. I am particularly interested in this information gain, and also effects related to the fact that not all properties of a system can be measured simultaneously in quantum theory, known as measurement incompatibility.

The laws of thermodynamics are arguably the most prevalent in the whole of physics. It is fascinating to understand to what extent they apply at the quantum level, especially for small systems  - far from their original realm of applicability. Pursuing this line of investigation is not only a way to probe both the limits of quantum theory and thermodynamics, but is also relevant for future quantum technologies, where both quantum and thermal effects will ultimately play a role.

Current researchers and PhD students