Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
P. Rajagopalan Memorial Lectures
Quantum Entanglement in Nature: From Superconductors to Black Holes
Speaker: Subir Sachdev (Harvard University)
Date: 13 July 2026, 16:00 to 17:30
Venue: Chandrasekhar Auditorium, ICTS-TIFR
Resources
Abstract:
Einstein called it “spooky action at a distance”: the strange quantum connection between particles that can persist even when they are far apart. What once seemed like a philosophical puzzle is now helping us understand some of the most remarkable phenomena in nature. When huge numbers of particles become entangled, they can form a kind of quantum soup in which the individual particles lose their identity. A simple theoretical model, known as the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model, provides a remarkable window into this strange quantum world. In this talk, I will show how these ideas are helping physicists understand high-temperature superconductors and may even hold the key to some of the deepest mysteries of black holes.
About the Speaker:
Subir Sachdev is the Herchel Smith Professor of Physics at Harvard University. After attending high school in Bengaluru and completing his first year at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, he earned degrees from MIT and Harvard. He is a member of US and Indian National Academies of Science, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. Sachdev has received numerous honors, including the Dirac Medal of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and the Lars Onsager Prize of the American Physical Society.His research has made foundational contributions to the theory of quantum matter and quantum phase transitions. These advances have significantly deepened our understanding of strongly correlated electronic systems, including high-temperature superconductors, while also establishing unexpected connections between condensed matter physics, quantum information, and the quantum theory of black holes.
P. Rajagopalan Memorial Lectures
Quantum Entanglement in Nature: From Superconductors to Black Holes
Speaker: Subir Sachdev (Harvard University)
Date: 13 July 2026, 16:00 to 17:30
Venue: Chandrasekhar Auditorium, ICTS-TIFR
Resources
Abstract:
Einstein called it “spooky action at a distance”: the strange quantum connection between particles that can persist even when they are far apart. What once seemed like a philosophical puzzle is now helping us understand some of the most remarkable phenomena in nature. When huge numbers of particles become entangled, they can form a kind of quantum soup in which the individual particles lose their identity. A simple theoretical model, known as the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model, provides a remarkable window into this strange quantum world. In this talk, I will show how these ideas are helping physicists understand high-temperature superconductors and may even hold the key to some of the deepest mysteries of black holes.
About the Speaker:
Subir Sachdev is the Herchel Smith Professor of Physics at Harvard University. After attending high school in Bengaluru and completing his first year at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, he earned degrees from MIT and Harvard. He is a member of US and Indian National Academies of Science, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. Sachdev has received numerous honors, including the Dirac Medal of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics and the Lars Onsager Prize of the American Physical Society.His research has made foundational contributions to the theory of quantum matter and quantum phase transitions. These advances have significantly deepened our understanding of strongly correlated electronic systems, including high-temperature superconductors, while also establishing unexpected connections between condensed matter physics, quantum information, and the quantum theory of black holes.
