We focus on the realisation of new nonlinear optical processes. Instabilities of ultrashort optical pulses can produce novel sources of light, both classically as well as novel quantum states. These instabilities are for example the fiber-optical Cherenkov radiation or the analogue of the event horizon in fibers.
In particular, few-cycle pulses in optical fibers offer the unique possibility to discover the physics of Hawking radiation in the laboratory. The observation of pair production from event horizons in fibers would allow us to shed light on black hole physics in a dispersive toy model in a tabletop experiment. Moreover, the Hawking effect is at the heart of any theory explaining the connection between quantum mechanics, gravitation, and thermodynamics, the physics of the very small, the very big, and the physics of every day.

Our group combines different fundamental aspects of quantum optics with more application-oriented research in practical quantum communication. Our main field is quantum information using continuous variables of light and its applications in experimental quantum communi- cation including secure quantum signatures and coherent signal transport.
A large focus lies on the theory of quantum correlations in and beyond entanglement for Gaussian states. We further work on new settings for quantum computation over continuous variables, like measurement-based schemes, ancilla-driven quantum computation (ADQC), topological quantum computation (TQC) and some other, novel paradigms. On the more fundamental side, we are interested in engineered dissipation, physics of open quantum systems and in quantum state characterisation.