Atomic tests of unification theories. Although the standard model of particle physics has withstood decades of intensive experimental tests, it is widely believed to be merely a low-energy manifestation of a "true" theory that unifies the four forces of nature. While some searches for new physics beyond the standard model are performed at high-energy particle accelerators, a very sensitive probe can be done at low energies in atomic and molecular measurements of weak interaction effects. This pr ....Atomic tests of unification theories. Although the standard model of particle physics has withstood decades of intensive experimental tests, it is widely believed to be merely a low-energy manifestation of a "true" theory that unifies the four forces of nature. While some searches for new physics beyond the standard model are performed at high-energy particle accelerators, a very sensitive probe can be done at low energies in atomic and molecular measurements of weak interaction effects. This project is devoted to a theoretical investigation of weak interaction effects in atoms, molecules, and nuclei. It will provide improved tests of unified theories.Read moreRead less
Roaming around the Transition State: A New Mechanism of Chemical Reactions. Gas-phase reaction mechanisms are at the core of some of the most important problems facing Australia at present: atmospheric models for CO2 are central to climate change; models of isotope exchange are essential to learn about past climates from Antarctic ice cores; and models of combustion are used to optimise energy efficiency. The mechanisms used in these models rely on accurate chemistry. A newly discovered chemica ....Roaming around the Transition State: A New Mechanism of Chemical Reactions. Gas-phase reaction mechanisms are at the core of some of the most important problems facing Australia at present: atmospheric models for CO2 are central to climate change; models of isotope exchange are essential to learn about past climates from Antarctic ice cores; and models of combustion are used to optimise energy efficiency. The mechanisms used in these models rely on accurate chemistry. A newly discovered chemical mechanism has the potential to change many of the reactions that we currently use in these chemical models. This project will determine how important this new mechanism is, and what its impact is on gas-phase reaction models.Read moreRead less
Superfluid helium nanodroplet spectroscopy. Molecules trapped in a helium nanodroplet find themselves in an ultracold liquid environment from which they cannot escape. As such, the molecules are forced to interact and this is studied at a resolution that is unrivaled in condensed phase spectroscopy. This technique will be used to create new materials and study the dynamics behind a large range of chemical processes. The results are expected to lead to a greater understanding of condensed phase c ....Superfluid helium nanodroplet spectroscopy. Molecules trapped in a helium nanodroplet find themselves in an ultracold liquid environment from which they cannot escape. As such, the molecules are forced to interact and this is studied at a resolution that is unrivaled in condensed phase spectroscopy. This technique will be used to create new materials and study the dynamics behind a large range of chemical processes. The results are expected to lead to a greater understanding of condensed phase chemistry and chemical reactions in general.Read moreRead less
Atomic clocks, space-time variation of fundamental constants, violation of fundamental symmetries and tests of unification theories. The project will help to establish Australia among the leaders in important areas of modern science: tests of theories unifying all physical forces and cosmology, search for variation of the fundamental forces of Nature and making super precise atomic clocks. The atomic clocks are used in all navigation (current GPS and future Galileo) systems and many other import ....Atomic clocks, space-time variation of fundamental constants, violation of fundamental symmetries and tests of unification theories. The project will help to establish Australia among the leaders in important areas of modern science: tests of theories unifying all physical forces and cosmology, search for variation of the fundamental forces of Nature and making super precise atomic clocks. The atomic clocks are used in all navigation (current GPS and future Galileo) systems and many other important applications. The training of students and researchers combined with a rich international collaborative program will insure that Australia is well placed to prepare for the approaching revolution in physics and cosmology.Read moreRead less
Topological order and anyons: quantum engineering of emergent physics. Australia is recognized as one of the world leaders in the area of quantum information and computation. As a frontier technology with tremendous potential but engineering challenges it is vital we expand our theoretical landscape to better steer experimental development. A promising new paradigm is topological quantum computation which uses particles with exotic statistics called anyons that do not exist naturally in three d ....Topological order and anyons: quantum engineering of emergent physics. Australia is recognized as one of the world leaders in the area of quantum information and computation. As a frontier technology with tremendous potential but engineering challenges it is vital we expand our theoretical landscape to better steer experimental development. A promising new paradigm is topological quantum computation which uses particles with exotic statistics called anyons that do not exist naturally in three dimensions but can be engineered to emerge in two dimensional spin lattices. Our bottom up research program would help place Australia at the forefront of these ideas. As a field which combines tools from mathematics, computer science, and physics this project will provide world class training to young researchers.Read moreRead less
Violation of fundamental symmetries and test of unification models. This project is devoted to a theoretical investigation of the atomic and nuclear effects of parity and time invariance violation. Measurements of these effects provide accurate tests of unification theories of elementary particles. Effects of weak interactions are normally very small, and we want to look for possibilities to enhance these effects. We also plan to search for new effects and tests of the unification theories an ....Violation of fundamental symmetries and test of unification models. This project is devoted to a theoretical investigation of the atomic and nuclear effects of parity and time invariance violation. Measurements of these effects provide accurate tests of unification theories of elementary particles. Effects of weak interactions are normally very small, and we want to look for possibilities to enhance these effects. We also plan to search for new effects and tests of the unification theories and develop accurate method of atomic calculations.Read moreRead less
High Energy Heavy Ions in Materials Science. The outcome of this project is to develop a more accurate predictor of the rate of energy loss of high energy heavy ions in solids which will have profound implications in the use of these particles in ion implantation, materials analysis and medical physics applications. It will contribute to the development of new high technology materials and to the application of high energy ions to medical treatment procedures.
Test of unification theories in atomic and nuclear phenomena. This project will help to establish Australia among the leaders in important areas of modern science: tests of models unifying all physical forces and search for variation of fundamental constants of Nature. It may help to create new theory unifying physics and cosmology, and may reveal hypothetical extra dimensions in our Universe, or many different sub-Universes. The training of students and researchers combined with a rich interna ....Test of unification theories in atomic and nuclear phenomena. This project will help to establish Australia among the leaders in important areas of modern science: tests of models unifying all physical forces and search for variation of fundamental constants of Nature. It may help to create new theory unifying physics and cosmology, and may reveal hypothetical extra dimensions in our Universe, or many different sub-Universes. The training of students and researchers combined with a rich international collaborative program will ensure that Australia is well-placed to prepare for the approaching revolution in physics and cosmology. Read moreRead less
Narrowband coherent light sources for spectroscopic sensing. The project will develop optical instruments and sensing techniques based on novel high-performance tunable optical parametric oscillator devices. These laser-like devices will be designed to monitor gases in a highly sensitive, molecule-specific way and thus indicate the presence and concentration of particular species with characteristic spectroscopic signatures. Useful applications will include optical sensing in science, industry ....Narrowband coherent light sources for spectroscopic sensing. The project will develop optical instruments and sensing techniques based on novel high-performance tunable optical parametric oscillator devices. These laser-like devices will be designed to monitor gases in a highly sensitive, molecule-specific way and thus indicate the presence and concentration of particular species with characteristic spectroscopic signatures. Useful applications will include optical sensing in science, industry, medicine, agriculture, community security, and the environment. In addition to making significant scientific discoveries and technological advances, the project will provide training for postgraduate research students and will develop intellectual property that may be of commercial benefit.Read moreRead less
The application of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to the search for space-time variations of fundamental constants. This work will establish Australia as the world leader in one of the most vibrant topics in current physics research. The results obtained could reveal extra dimensions in our universe and provide the first experimental evidence for string theories. The proposed research will also fundamental new information about dark matter and dark energy, the two most pressing problems in c ....The application of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods to the search for space-time variations of fundamental constants. This work will establish Australia as the world leader in one of the most vibrant topics in current physics research. The results obtained could reveal extra dimensions in our universe and provide the first experimental evidence for string theories. The proposed research will also fundamental new information about dark matter and dark energy, the two most pressing problems in cosmology. The solutions of these problems will revolutionise our understanding of the universe. This program involves collaborations with major international institutes and provides a superb training-ground for Australian postgraduate students.Read moreRead less