I am a theoretical physicist working at the interface of condensed matter physics and quantum information. I study strongly interacting quantum systems in regimes that depart from the traditional close-to-equilibrium setting, motivated by new experimental platforms and quantum devices. I am currently a Simons-CIQC Quantum Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley and the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing; in September 2026 I will join the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Madrid as a Ramón y Cajal Fellow.
My research is organized around three questions.
What mechanisms can lead to a breakdown of thermalization?
Even isolated quantum systems typically thermalize. With collaborators, I identified Hilbert space fragmentation, where local constraints split the many-body Hilbert space into dynamically disconnected sectors. We proposed this mechanism in tilted systems and connected it to experiments with ultracold atoms.
Refs: Phys. Rev. X 10, 011047 (2020); Nat. Commun. 12, 4490 (2021).
How robust are quantum many-body phenomena to noise?
I study mixed-state phases, specifically how decoherence affects quantum many-body phenomena. In recent work, we showed that non-Abelian topological order can remain remarkably stable under biased noise, with loop models providing a natural description of its decoherence-driven phase diagram. We used these results to propose quantum error correction schemes for non-Abelian codes, including intrinsically heralded ones.
Refs: Phys. Rev. X 15, 031002 (2025); Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 120405 (2026).
We also showed that symmetric open quantum dynamics can give rise to novel kind of phase transitions, and that non-Abelian symmetries can enforce highly entangled mixed stationary states.
Refs: Phys. Rev. B 110, 155150 (2024); Phys. Rev. X 15, 011068 (2025).
Can quantum measurements realize novel quantum phenomena absent in closed systems?
I investigate how measurements and feedback alter quantum matter and inform quantum information protocols. We showed that weak measurements can change quantum criticality, and that imperfections in many-body teleportation act as weak measurements on otherwise teleported critical states.
Refs: Phys. Rev. X 13, 041042 (2023); PRX Quantum 5, 030307 (2024).
Prospective students and postdocs interested in these topics are very welcome to get in touch. You can reach me at psala [at] berkeley.edu.
Academic appointments
I will be starting as a Ramón y Cajal fellow at IFT in Madrid (Spain), starting on September 1st, 2026. 🎉
2025- present: joint postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley and Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, USA
2022-2025: Burke postdoctoral fellow at California Institute of Technology, USA
Education
2017-2022: Ph. D. in Natural Sciences at the Technical University of Munich, Germany
2015-2017: Master in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics (TMP program), LMU & TUM, Germany
2011-2015: B. Sc. in Mathematics, University of Zaragoza, Spain
2010-2014: B. Sc. in Physics, University of Zaragoza, Spain