Research

Scientific interests

• theoretical quantum optics, quantum information, geometry of quantum states
• data science, complex systems, mathematical modeling in psychology, cognitive science, social networks, data mining
• teaching gifted individuals (didactics, not research)

I have an interdisciplinary approach to science. For me a project must be interesting; I don't care if it belongs to one discipline or another (as long I have skills to solve it)… and I was quite surprised to learn that such approach is unusual in academia.

Current status: PhD in Theoretical Quantum Optics at ICFO (under prof. Maciej Lewenstein)

Currently working on

(Except for things mentioned in my recent publications)

• Comparing arXiv math and MathOverflow
• Analyzing data from Polish end-of-high-school exams (Matura)
• Analyzing data of 1M 'set!s' from SET (a card game) - (data mining, mathematical cognitive psychology)
• Finding objective difficulties of university courses (data mining, complex networks)

Older research projects or links

• Information-sharing and collective decision-making (in CogSysWaw research group)
• Collective Decoherence (FUW, TEAM programme, under prof. Konrad Banaszek)
• A mathematical model of the Mafia game
• Evanescent wave project in SKFiz UW Phys. Students Society - supervising Joanna Zielińska (page in Polish)
• Ultra-cold atomic gases in non-abelian gauge fields (under prof. Maciej Lewenstein, ICFO, Barcelona) - ICFO project page
• Down-conversion - interactive panels (noise reduction in 3D noncollinear parametric amplier)
• Spiral zone plates (with Olek Kubica and Wiktor Pilewski - winners of 21st EUCYS, and prof. Czesław Radzewicz)

Publications

(the most recent list is on my Mendeley profile, see also http://arxiv.org/a/migdal_p_1)

• P. Migdał, Symmetries and self-similarity of many-body wavefunctions, PhD thesis (supervisors: Maciej Lewenstein and Javi Rodriguez-Laguna; reviewers: Karol Życzkowski, Seth Lloyd), arXiv:1412.6796
• P. Migdał, J. Rodríguez-Laguna, M. Oszmaniec, M. Lewenstein,
  Multiphoton states related via linear optics, Phys. Rev. A 89, 062329, arXiv:1403.3069, selected by PRA as Editor's Suggestion
• M. Denkiewicz, J. Rączaszek-Leonardi, P. Migdał, D. Plewczynski,
  Information-Sharing in Three Interacting Minds Solving a Simple Perceptual Task, 35th Annual Cognitive Science Conference, 2172.
• M. Faccin, P. Migdał, T. Johnson, J. Biamonte, V. Bergholm,
  Community Detection in Quantum Complex Networks, Phys. Rev. X 4, 041012 (2014), arXiv:1310.6638.
• M. Faccin, T. Johnson, J. Biamonte, S. Kais, P. Migdał,
  Degree Distribution in Quantum Walks on Complex Networks, Phys. Rev. X 3, 041007 (2013), arXiv:1305.6078, featured on Azimuth blog
• P. Migdał, J. Rodriguez-Laguna, M. Lewenstein,
  Entanglement classes of permutation-symmetric qudit states: symmetric operations suffice, Phys. Rev. A 88, 012335 (2013), arXiv:1305.1506
• J. Rodriguez-Laguna, P. Migdał, M. Ibanez Berganza, M. Lewenstein, G. Sierra,
  Qubism: self-similar visualization of many-body wavefunctions, New J. Phys. 14 053028 (2012), arXiv:1112.3560 [quanth-ph]; appeared in the NJP Highlights of 2012
• P. Migdał, M. Denkiewicz, J. Rączaszek-Leonardi, D. Plewczynski,
  Information-sharing and aggregation models for interacting minds, Journal of Mathematical Psychology 56 417–426 (2012), arXiv:1109.2044, blog post: Two heads are better than one. How about more?
• P. Migdał, K. Banaszek,
  Immunity of information encoded in decoherence-free subspaces to particle loss, Phys. Rev. A 84, 052318 (2011), arXiv:1107.3786
• P. Migdał,
  A mathematical model of the Mafia game, arXiv:1009.1031 [math.PR]
• P. Migdał, W. Wasilewski,
  Noise reduction in 3D noncollinear parametric amplifier, Appl. Phys. B 99, 657-671 (2010), arXiv:0908.2207
• K. Banaszek, R. Demkowicz-Dobrzański, M. Karpinski, P. Migdał, C. Radzewicz,
  Quantum and semiclassical polarization correlations, Opt. Comm. 283, 713-718 (2010), arXiv:0908.3548
• P. Migdał, P. Fita, C. Radzewicz, Ł. Mazurek
  Wavefront sensor with Fresnel zone plates for use in an undergraduate laboratory Am. J. Phys. 76, 229 (2008) doi:10.1119/1.2820390, fuw.edu.pl
• T. S. Santos, J. S. Lee, P. Migdal, I. C. Lekshmi, B. Satpati, J. S. Moodera
  Room-Temperature Tunnel Magnetoresistance and Spin-Polarized Tunneling through an Organic Semiconductor Barrier, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 016601 (2007) (as an Research Science Institute 2005 intern, MIT)

Conference posters

• A. Kubica, P. Migdał
  The spatial shape of the Spiral Zone Plate foci International Conference on Optical Angular Momentum (23-25.03.2010, York, UK) jpg (1.3MB)
• P. Migdał, W. Wasilewski
  Optimization of a 3D noncollinear parametric amplifier Quantum Optics VII (8-12.06.2009, Zakopane, Poland) jpg (0.8MB)

Various (some in Polish)

(not a complete list)

• P. Migdał, Quantum superposition - a guest post to John Baez's Azimuth blog (2015)
• P. Migdał, Two heads are better than one. How about more? - a quest post to Theory, Evolution, and Games Group blog (2014)
• M. Kotowski, M. Kotowski, P. Marczewski, P. Migdał
  An independent camp for high school geeks - on teaching gifted kids, bootstrapping an event and an informal atmosphere (2012).
• M. Kotowski, P. Migdał
  Open Science and Science 2.0 - on new ways of doing science, collaboration and sharing discoveries (2012).
• P. Migdał, S. Krawczyk
  Zespół Aspergera, nauki ścisłe i kultura nerdów (Asperger Syndrome, Hard Science and Nerd Culture), (2010), preprint available at my Mendeley account
• P. Migdał
  Szczypta magii w każdym promyku – o polaryzacji światła (A bit of magic in every ray - about the polarization of light), III Sylwestrowe Warsztaty Naukowe, 65-67 (2010), pdf (a popular science article)
• M. Kotowski, M. Kotowski, P. Migdał, K. Sołtys
  Drogowskaz Pasjonata, czyli jak rozwijać się w szkole i w trakcie studiów (Guidelines for the Curious - how to develop oneself during high school and university years), (2010), html (a collection of advice)
• P. Migdał
  Mafia, zdradziecka parzystość oraz pi (Mafia, treacherous parity and pi), Delta - miesięcznik popularnonaukowy, 14-15, 07/2010, pdf (a short popular science article)
• P. Migdał
  Zapaleńcy i Wypaleńcy, czyli rzecz o utracie pasji w trakcie studiów (Flames of passion… and of burnout, or: about loss of motivation during studies), (2010), html (an essay)
• P. Migdał
  Matematyczny model gry w mafię (A mathematical model of the mafia game), Bachelor's Thesis, Faculty of Mathematics Informatics and Mechanics at the University of Warsaw (2009), pdf
• eds: M. Zientkiewicz, P. Migdał, M. Nowaczyk, M. Pomorski, B. Szczygieł
  VII Ogólnopolska Sesja Kół Naukowych Fizyków - publikacja pokonferencyjna (7th Polish Physics Students' Societies Conference - proceedings), ISBN: 978-83-61026-05-1, (2009) http://skfiz.fuw.edu.pl/vii-osknf:proceedings (132 pages, 10 reviewed papers)