QTECH Seminar Series - Weaving Topology into Quantum Light

by Prof. Andrew Forbes (School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa)

Tuesday 23 Jun 2026, 14:30 → 16:30 Europe/Rome

Aula Lepshy. (QTECH, Via Gradenigo 6, Padova)

QTECH Seminar Series

Weaving Topology into Quantum Light

Prof. Andrew Forbes
School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 – 14:30
QTECH, Via Gradenigo 6, Padova, aula Lepshy.

Abstract

In the early 1960s, inspired by emerging ideas of topological structures in physics, Tony Skyrme proposed describing subatomic particles as natural excitations of a single quantum field. Although the original model was never adopted for particle physics, the concept of the skyrmion as a topologically stable field configuration has found remarkable applications across condensed matter physics, acoustics, and, more recently, optics.

In this seminar, Andrew Forbes will introduce the concept of quantum structured light and discuss how topological features can be embedded into optical fields, creating a robust topological alphabet for quantum information. By exploiting topological structures, quantum states can be made more resilient to noise and perturbations, offering new routes toward stable quantum information processing even in situations where entanglement is fragile.

The seminar will review recent advances in this rapidly developing field and highlight exciting future opportunities at the intersection of topology, structured light, and quantum photonics.

Biography

Andrew Forbes is Professor of Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa, and a leading international expert in structured light, singular optics, and quantum photonics. His research spans classical and quantum structured light, optical angular momentum, topological photonics, and quantum information science. He has pioneered several advances in the generation, manipulation, and characterization of complex optical fields and has received numerous international recognitions for his contributions to modern optics.