Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory: Dark matter detector development. This project aims to develop ultra-sensitive detector technology essential for SABRE, a Northern and Southern Hemisphere dual-detector experiment. The SABRE facilities operate to directly detect galactic dark matter. Dark matter makes up 23% of the observable universe but the evidence for its existence is indirect. The direct detection of dark matter would be a discovery on par with gravitational waves and the Higgs boson. ....Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory: Dark matter detector development. This project aims to develop ultra-sensitive detector technology essential for SABRE, a Northern and Southern Hemisphere dual-detector experiment. The SABRE facilities operate to directly detect galactic dark matter. Dark matter makes up 23% of the observable universe but the evidence for its existence is indirect. The direct detection of dark matter would be a discovery on par with gravitational waves and the Higgs boson. This project is an opportunity for Australian research to continue to lead the way in the biggest scientific discoveries of the century and provides opportunities for Australian science in numerous fields ranging from biology to fundamental physics.Read moreRead less
Measuring critical background in the Australian search for dark matter. This project aims to develop ultra-sensitive detector technology essential for SABRE, a world-wide experiment with detectors in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres which are operated together to directly detect the dark matter halo of our Milky Way galaxy. Dark matter makes up nearly five times more mass in the universe than everything we can see, yet it has never been detected in the laboratory. SABRE South will be i ....Measuring critical background in the Australian search for dark matter. This project aims to develop ultra-sensitive detector technology essential for SABRE, a world-wide experiment with detectors in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres which are operated together to directly detect the dark matter halo of our Milky Way galaxy. Dark matter makes up nearly five times more mass in the universe than everything we can see, yet it has never been detected in the laboratory. SABRE South will be installed in the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory in a goldmine in Victoria, Australia. Dark matter is not the only thing SABRE can detect. The project will measure all possible types of naturally occurring radiation, from space, the surrounding rock, and the detectors themselves, that can blind SABRE to dark matter.Read moreRead less
Modelling the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way. This project aims to understand the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy from its birth to the present. Astrophysicists try to understand the production of the elements over cosmic time, using telescopes and satellites costing billions of dollars. This project will calculate the evolutionary history and detailed nuclear processes in stars of all masses and compositions. When coupled with dynamical models for stars in the Mil ....Modelling the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way. This project aims to understand the chemical and dynamical evolution of the Milky Way Galaxy from its birth to the present. Astrophysicists try to understand the production of the elements over cosmic time, using telescopes and satellites costing billions of dollars. This project will calculate the evolutionary history and detailed nuclear processes in stars of all masses and compositions. When coupled with dynamical models for stars in the Milky Way, this project will categorise how the composition changes with time, thus extracting the maximum understanding from the wealth of data to be delivered in the next few years.Read moreRead less
Visualisation of multidimensional physics data. This project aims to link multi-parameter models used in physics to explore experimental data, and statistical tools for multivariate analysis and visualisation. It addresses an important gap in the understanding of phenomenological physics analyses containing many simultaneously important parameters. This is expected to improve the understanding of results in multi-parameter models.
New Tests of Fundamental Physics & Astrophysics with Atmospheric Neutrinos. Neutrinos are the least understood of the known fundamental particles, yet they hold the key to some of the most important open questions in physics and astrophysics. This project aims create new knowledge, which is needed now, using existing and imminent atmospheric neutrino data. It will pave the way to better understand the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe, supernovae, and dark matter. The exp ....New Tests of Fundamental Physics & Astrophysics with Atmospheric Neutrinos. Neutrinos are the least understood of the known fundamental particles, yet they hold the key to some of the most important open questions in physics and astrophysics. This project aims create new knowledge, which is needed now, using existing and imminent atmospheric neutrino data. It will pave the way to better understand the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe, supernovae, and dark matter. The expected outcomes include significant advances at the forefront of modern science, which will contribute to the development of a world class research capacity in Australia. Significant benefits include high level training of students and early career researchers, contributing to a highly skilled STEM workforce.Read moreRead less
Gravitational wave astrophysics with Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). The prediction that space and time vibrate is one of Einstein's greatest legacies, implying the existence of a new form of radiation with which to study the Universe. This project puts Australia in the vanguard of the billion-dollar effort worldwide to detect and harness this radiation for the first time.