ERC Starting Grant 2026: Four winning projects from CNRS Physics laboratories
Europe and International
The European Research Council (ERC) has just announced the list of scientists awarded a Starting Grant. Four of these awardees are from laboratories affiliated with CNRS Physics. Discover the projects in more detail below. This grant rewards early-career researchers, two to seven years after obtaining their PhD.
QINF - Fundamental laws ruling Quantum INFormation: bits, qubits and fermionic bits (febits) in networks
The QINF project aims to demonstrate that certain forms of quantum information cannot be described using the qubit, the fundamental unit of information at the heart of current quantum computers.
Within the PHIQUS team, the project focuses specifically on fermions—a class of particles that includes electrons and follows quantum "anticommutation" laws distinct from those of photons and other bosons, which are commonly used as qubit carriers. The goal is to explore a new way of encoding quantum information by representing it through the presence or absence of a fermion. The project seeks to show that, within a quantum network, these "fermionic bits" (or febits) enable information to be transmitted and processed in ways that cannot be replicated with standard qubits. Recent preliminary results already indicate that, in certain networks, fermions can perform tasks that bosons cannot replicate.
The concept draws inspiration from Bell’s theorem: just as Bell demonstrated that certain experiments involving quantum particles carrying qubits cannot be explained by classical theories based on bits, the QINF project aims to design experiments proving that certain behaviors of fermionic particles cannot be reproduced by the standard quantum information theory, which is based on the qubit. This would justify the introduction of a new quantum information unit: the fermionic bit, or febit.
Beyond this core question, the QINF project will more broadly investigate how quantum physics can advance communication networks and distributed computing, particularly by reducing the number of exchanges required between network elements to perform common internet tasks such as routing information, assigning communication channels, or distributing resources.
The QINF project is hosted by Inria.
The QINF project is led by Marc-Olivier Renou.
Marc-Olivier Renou is a researcher at Inria, based at the Centre de Physique Théorique (CPHT, CNRS/École Polytechnique).
REPHASE - Resonant control of emergent phases in van der Waals materials
When intense laser pulses interact with matter, they can alter its state. In many cases, light disrupts the system too strongly, destroying the very order we seek to control. REPHASE aims to induce or enhance electronic and magnetic order by shaping laser pulses capable of resonantly exciting the material’s low-energy collective excitations such as phonons, magnons, and amplitude modes. The project will reshape the free-energy landscape on ultrafast timescales and steer materials toward novel ordered states.
To resolve the resulting ultrafast dynamics, REPHASE will leverage time-resolved Raman spectroscopy, a probe uniquely sensitive to lattice, spin, and electron excitations, and thus to the material’s state. This approach will not only open new pathways for controlling material properties but also uncover the fundamental interactions underlying the emergence of order.
REPHASE will advance our fundamental understanding of non-equilibrium quantum materials while laying the conceptual foundations for future quantum and ultrafast devices.
The CNRS is the host institution for the REPHASE project.
The REPHASE project is led by Niloufar Nilforoushan.
Niloufar Nilforoushan is a CNRS Research Associate at the Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques (MPQ, CNRS/Université Paris Cité) laboratory.
TURQUOISE - Toward Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing with Bias-Preserving Qubits
Quantum computers hold the promise of solving certain problems beyond the reach of classical computers, paving the way for major advancements in chemistry, materials science, and fundamental research. However, quantum information is extremely fragile: even the slightest environmental disturbance causes errors. Today, correcting these errors is so resource-intensive that millions of elementary components would be needed to perform a single useful computation, a significant economic and environmental obstacle.
The TURQUOISE project proposes a different approach. Instead of treating all errors equally, it relies on components designed to produce almost exclusively one type of error. This asymmetry simplifies error correction and drastically reduces the required resources.
TURQUOISE will develop these novel components, invent methods to control and interact with them, and then demonstrate their effectiveness by performing a first error-protected calculation.
By deepening our understanding of quantum circuits and error correction, the project opens new perspectives toward practical and accessible quantum computing.
The CNRS is the host institution for the TURQUOISE project.
The TURQUOISE project is led by Quentin Ficheux.
Quentin Ficheux is a CNRS Research Associate at the Institut Néel (NEEL, CNRS).
UREikA - Ultrarelativistic Eikonal Amplitudes: gravitational scattering at high energies
The discovery of gravitational waves, tiny ripples in spacetime predicted by Einstein, has opened a new window into the Universe. To interpret the signals recorded by detectors, physicists must be able to describe with extreme precision the motion of highly massive objects, such as black holes or neutron stars, as they pass near each other or collide. The EUREikA project focuses on a poorly understood scenario: when two objects move at speeds close to the speed of light. In this extreme regime, several questions remain unanswered. How much energy is emitted as gravitational waves? How does this emission alter the objects' trajectories? And what is the exact shape of the gravitational waves produced?
To address these questions, researchers will develop new computational methods derived from particle physics to more accurately describe these phenomena and improve the models used to interpret gravitational wave detector observations. Beyond these applications, this work will test some of the most fundamental ideas about gravity, including general relativity, which describes gravity on large scales, and answer long-standing questions about its high-energy limits.
The CEA is the host institution for the EUREikA project.
The EUREikA project is led by Carlo Heissenberg.
Carlo Heissenberg is a CEA researcher at the Institut de Physique Théorique (IPhT, CEA/CNRS).