30.4.2026
Dr. Nikolas Liebster has been awarded the 2026 Dissertation Prize of the Atoms, Molecules, Quantum Optics and Photonics (SAMOP) section of the German Physical Society. The award was presented at the DPG Spring Meeting 2026 in Mainz.
Liebster completed his PhD at the Kirchhoff Institute for Physics in the research group of Markus Oberthaler, finishing his dissertation in summer 2025. His thesis, “Pattern Formation and Supersolid-like Sound Modes in a Driven Superfluid,” explores quantum systems far from equilibrium, where novel steady states can emerge.
Focusing on a Bose–Einstein condensate with periodically modulated interactions, his work demonstrates the formation of self-organized lattice structures. Remarkably, these dynamically driven states exhibit collective excitations analogous to those found in equilibrium supersolids. The results provide important insights into nonlinear dynamics, sound propagation, and defect behavior in quantum fluids.
The faculty warmly congratulates him on this achievement!
