Ultracold atomic Fermi gases in the strongly interacting regime: A new frontier of quantum many-body physics. Ultra-cold atoms are one of the most rapidly developing areas in twenty-first century physics. The scientific importance of studying strongly interacting Fermi gases is indicated by the fact that five Nobel prizes in physics have been awarded in fields relevant to ultra-cold atoms in the last decade. Australia is now developing a reputation for world-class research in this new area, with ....Ultracold atomic Fermi gases in the strongly interacting regime: A new frontier of quantum many-body physics. Ultra-cold atoms are one of the most rapidly developing areas in twenty-first century physics. The scientific importance of studying strongly interacting Fermi gases is indicated by the fact that five Nobel prizes in physics have been awarded in fields relevant to ultra-cold atoms in the last decade. Australia is now developing a reputation for world-class research in this new area, with new cold-fermion experiments now underway in Melbourne. This project will build national and international cooperation in this field, provide world-class research training opportunities and advance Australia's leadership position. As well as improving scientific understanding, it has the potential to lead to new energy-saving technologies in future.Read moreRead less
Imbalanced superfluidity: The quantum mystery that defies solution. The project focuses on ground-breaking research in ultra-cold atomic Fermi gases, the fastest developing area in twenty-first century physics. Australia has already invested heavily in ultra-cold atomic Bose gases including atom lasers. An experimental program on atomic Fermi gases has also been initiated in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics (ACQAO). Our project, if successful, will help elevate Australia to a ....Imbalanced superfluidity: The quantum mystery that defies solution. The project focuses on ground-breaking research in ultra-cold atomic Fermi gases, the fastest developing area in twenty-first century physics. Australia has already invested heavily in ultra-cold atomic Bose gases including atom lasers. An experimental program on atomic Fermi gases has also been initiated in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics (ACQAO). Our project, if successful, will help elevate Australia to a major international research centre in cold Fermi gases, complementing its ongoing strength developed through the ACQAO experiments, and will bring fundamental knowledge that could have a significant and profound influence upon future technologies: for example, novel electronics, lossless power transmission and magnetic levitation.Read moreRead less
Quantum magnetometry on the microscale. This proposal will create a microscope for magnetic fields by measuring the quantum spin of a Bose-Einstein condensate at temperatures near absolute zero. Classical measurements of spin have underpinned transforming technologies, from magnetic resonance imaging to terabyte-scale hard-disc storage. We will make a truly quantum measurement of spin which will create a magnetic field microscope one million times more sensitive than the current state-of-the-art ....Quantum magnetometry on the microscale. This proposal will create a microscope for magnetic fields by measuring the quantum spin of a Bose-Einstein condensate at temperatures near absolute zero. Classical measurements of spin have underpinned transforming technologies, from magnetic resonance imaging to terabyte-scale hard-disc storage. We will make a truly quantum measurement of spin which will create a magnetic field microscope one million times more sensitive than the current state-of-the-art. The magnetic field microscope will be sensitive enough to measure fields from single biological cells and from superconducting nanosurfaces, giving critical new perspectives in biomedical research and next-generation electronics.Read moreRead less
Dynamics and correlations of many-body systems. The proposed program will greatly enhance Australian science through linking innovative
theoretical techniques with the successful ongoing Australian experimental program in atom
lasers, atom chip interferometry and ultra-cold fermions. Pioneering theoretical methods in
quantum phase-space are internationally recognized, and will be extended into new areas relevant
to Australia. These have fundamental significance to fields ranging from nanotec ....Dynamics and correlations of many-body systems. The proposed program will greatly enhance Australian science through linking innovative
theoretical techniques with the successful ongoing Australian experimental program in atom
lasers, atom chip interferometry and ultra-cold fermions. Pioneering theoretical methods in
quantum phase-space are internationally recognized, and will be extended into new areas relevant
to Australia. These have fundamental significance to fields ranging from nanotechnology to
astrophysics, as well as providing a route to improved atomic clocks and other instruments.
Combining these theoretical and computational methods from the physical sciences with biology
and genetics will provide future cross-disciplinary benefits to Australian biomedical science.Read moreRead less
Branes and unification. This project will explore theories which hypothesis that our universe is a 3-dimensional mem-(brane) residing in higher dimensional space. We will construct completely realistic theories and find ways to test them experimentally. This project is at the forefront of international developments in our understanding of the universe - an area that has grown in importance following the construction of the Large Hadron Collider at the European Giant accelerator laboraroty. The p ....Branes and unification. This project will explore theories which hypothesis that our universe is a 3-dimensional mem-(brane) residing in higher dimensional space. We will construct completely realistic theories and find ways to test them experimentally. This project is at the forefront of international developments in our understanding of the universe - an area that has grown in importance following the construction of the Large Hadron Collider at the European Giant accelerator laboraroty. The project will expose postgraduate students to exciting developments in this fascinating field pf physics.Read moreRead less
Particle physics and cosmology of neutrinos. Neutrinos are a particularly interesting class of elementary particle. The Standard Model of particle physics sees neutrinos as having exactly zero mass. However, recent experimental data have all but demonstrated that massless neutrinos are inconsistent with observations. If neutrinos have mass, then quantum mechanics allows them to oscillate between the different neutrino types as they propagate through space. Nonzero neutrino masses and the associa ....Particle physics and cosmology of neutrinos. Neutrinos are a particularly interesting class of elementary particle. The Standard Model of particle physics sees neutrinos as having exactly zero mass. However, recent experimental data have all but demonstrated that massless neutrinos are inconsistent with observations. If neutrinos have mass, then quantum mechanics allows them to oscillate between the different neutrino types as they propagate through space. Nonzero neutrino masses and the associated oscillations lead to important new physics in the elementary particle domain and in cosmology. This project will explore the implications of neutrino oscillations in diverse areas in particle physics and cosmology.Read moreRead less
The Origin of Mass at the Large Hadron Collider. The Large Hadron Collider is an enormous worldwide effort to understand the building blocks of the Universe. This project will help strengthen world-class research capacity in one of the most exciting frontiers of basic research. It will excite more high-achieving students to pursue careers in science increasing the number of talented graduates in Australia. In addition the big fundamental questions addressed in this research are of great fascin ....The Origin of Mass at the Large Hadron Collider. The Large Hadron Collider is an enormous worldwide effort to understand the building blocks of the Universe. This project will help strengthen world-class research capacity in one of the most exciting frontiers of basic research. It will excite more high-achieving students to pursue careers in science increasing the number of talented graduates in Australia. In addition the big fundamental questions addressed in this research are of great fascination to the general public and will help to further advance the public education of science.Read moreRead less
Origin of the Mass. A hundred metres below ground, under the French-Swiss border, scientists are preparing to travel back in time to study matter as it was in the first fractions of a second after the beginning of the Universe. They are building the world's largest scientific instrument to help reveal how this primordial matter developed into the building blocks that form the great diversity of today. Australian physicists are preparing to extract the few fundamental particles that will explain ....Origin of the Mass. A hundred metres below ground, under the French-Swiss border, scientists are preparing to travel back in time to study matter as it was in the first fractions of a second after the beginning of the Universe. They are building the world's largest scientific instrument to help reveal how this primordial matter developed into the building blocks that form the great diversity of today. Australian physicists are preparing to extract the few fundamental particles that will explain the origin of the mass from the debris of billions of proton collisions. While solving the major issue confronting particle physics today, we will train students who will subsequently apply their skills in fields as diverse as science, medicine, industry and finance.Read moreRead less
Frontiers of Theoretical Particle Physics. This project will involve PhD and other students, who will work at the frontiers of theoretical particle physics, which provides excellent training in model building and problem solving. They will serve the nation as physicists, but also as teachers, in the finance industry, in the public service and in think tanks, as our former students have done. The quest to understand the ultimate structure of matter has been a part of western culture for the las ....Frontiers of Theoretical Particle Physics. This project will involve PhD and other students, who will work at the frontiers of theoretical particle physics, which provides excellent training in model building and problem solving. They will serve the nation as physicists, but also as teachers, in the finance industry, in the public service and in think tanks, as our former students have done. The quest to understand the ultimate structure of matter has been a part of western culture for the last 2000 years or more. Media stories on this subject are popular, and our work will enable authoritative public outreach as the subject develops, and we find that our present understanding is not the complete story.Read moreRead less
The standard model of particle physics and beyond in the era of the Large Hadron Collider. This project will enhance the nation's intellectual culture and international standing through the study of original ideas about the nature of our universe. The advent of the Large Hadron Collider era, courtesy of the giant European accelerator laboratory called CERN, will revolutionise particle physics in the next few years. High achieving students are very excited by the research questions addressed in t ....The standard model of particle physics and beyond in the era of the Large Hadron Collider. This project will enhance the nation's intellectual culture and international standing through the study of original ideas about the nature of our universe. The advent of the Large Hadron Collider era, courtesy of the giant European accelerator laboratory called CERN, will revolutionise particle physics in the next few years. High achieving students are very excited by the research questions addressed in this proposal, so it will add significantly to the pool of highly-trained young Australians. They emerge as general problem solvers and flexible thinkers of high calibre in addition to becoming experts in particular areas. The big fundamental questions to be considered are also of great fascination to the general public.Read moreRead less