The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism. This research will significantly advance our understanding of structure and evolution in the Universe, in keeping with Australia's outstanding track record of astronomical discovery. This program will also train students and build research capacity in the frontier area of X-ray astronomy, in which Australia currently has limited expertise. The instrumentation and techniques to be developed will lead to innovative transfers of technology to fields su ....The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Magnetism. This research will significantly advance our understanding of structure and evolution in the Universe, in keeping with Australia's outstanding track record of astronomical discovery. This program will also train students and build research capacity in the frontier area of X-ray astronomy, in which Australia currently has limited expertise. The instrumentation and techniques to be developed will lead to innovative transfers of technology to fields such as telecommunications and medical imaging. These new facilities will also serve as vital stepping stones to the Square Kilometre Array, a billion-dollar international project which promises enormous economic, engineering and scientific opportunities for Australia.Read moreRead less
Ultrafast photonic integrated circuits: Unlocking the bandwidth. Australia's prosperity increasingly depends on its communications infrastructure and supporting technologies. We will develop optical technologies to deliver vast increases in bandwidth at low cost. This will be achieved by building a photonic integrated circuit from a breakthrough material that offers ultrafast all-optical switching capability. This infrastructure will be critical to almost all areas of Australian society: commerc ....Ultrafast photonic integrated circuits: Unlocking the bandwidth. Australia's prosperity increasingly depends on its communications infrastructure and supporting technologies. We will develop optical technologies to deliver vast increases in bandwidth at low cost. This will be achieved by building a photonic integrated circuit from a breakthrough material that offers ultrafast all-optical switching capability. This infrastructure will be critical to almost all areas of Australian society: commerce, personal communications, e-health and entertainment, and will improve the quality of life and the economic competitiveness of urban, rural and regional Australia. The outcomes will include the creation of spin-off companies to commercialise the optical technologies.Read moreRead less
Exploring the last frontier: cosmic reionization and the first galaxies. This program will help to position Australia as a leader in the development of the Square Kilometre Array, a 1.5 billion Euro radio telescope that Australia is vying to host. The program takes advantage of the uniquely radio quiet environment of Western Australia to achieve unprecedented measurements of the 'first light fossils' in the Universe, which reside in the portion of the radio spectrum that is filled by FM radio tr ....Exploring the last frontier: cosmic reionization and the first galaxies. This program will help to position Australia as a leader in the development of the Square Kilometre Array, a 1.5 billion Euro radio telescope that Australia is vying to host. The program takes advantage of the uniquely radio quiet environment of Western Australia to achieve unprecedented measurements of the 'first light fossils' in the Universe, which reside in the portion of the radio spectrum that is filled by FM radio transmissions in most parts of the planet. This ground-breaking research program will provide training for the next generation of world-class scientists and add to the already high profile of Australian astrophysics.Read moreRead less
Astrophotonics: exploiting a new technological frontier to probe back to the Dark Ages. Photonics, a key research strength in Australia, emerged from the telecommunications industry. But this exciting field has now begun to foster new scientific disciplines. One of the most recent is astrophotonics, a field at the interface of photonics and another Australian research strength, astronomy. Astrophotonics will deliver cutting-edge technologies to ensure Australia's astronomical lead in the next de ....Astrophotonics: exploiting a new technological frontier to probe back to the Dark Ages. Photonics, a key research strength in Australia, emerged from the telecommunications industry. But this exciting field has now begun to foster new scientific disciplines. One of the most recent is astrophotonics, a field at the interface of photonics and another Australian research strength, astronomy. Astrophotonics will deliver cutting-edge technologies to ensure Australia's astronomical lead in the next decade. These new facilities will serve as a vital stepping stone to the Giant Magellan Telescope, a $500M project promising enormous economic, engineering and scientific opportunities for Australia. Astrophotonics will also lead to innovative technology transfer to fields such as medical science, optical computing and sensor technology.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Evolution of the Universe. It is our belief that this research's most valuable use is serving as a catalyst to engage young minds towards science and technology. The research proposed here is intended to capture the imagination of potential young scientists and technologists and ultimately should lead Australians to undertake studies in these areas. In addition there are more direct economic benefits. This program will train a number of young scientists in problem solving, comp ....Understanding the Evolution of the Universe. It is our belief that this research's most valuable use is serving as a catalyst to engage young minds towards science and technology. The research proposed here is intended to capture the imagination of potential young scientists and technologists and ultimately should lead Australians to undertake studies in these areas. In addition there are more direct economic benefits. This program will train a number of young scientists in problem solving, computer programming, and image processing; skills which can equally be applied within industry and science. Read moreRead less
The Epoch of Galaxy Formation. the nature of the epoch of galaxy formation poses fundamental questions for modern astrophysics. We want to understand the physics of cosmic dust, star formation, chemical evolution, and the interaction of the black holes with their nascent galaxies. With large telescope and new space observatories, direct observation of this epoch are now possible. the proposed research ensures Australian leadership in the theoretical modelling of interstellar plasmas ath the e ....The Epoch of Galaxy Formation. the nature of the epoch of galaxy formation poses fundamental questions for modern astrophysics. We want to understand the physics of cosmic dust, star formation, chemical evolution, and the interaction of the black holes with their nascent galaxies. With large telescope and new space observatories, direct observation of this epoch are now possible. the proposed research ensures Australian leadership in the theoretical modelling of interstellar plasmas ath the epoch of galaxy formation. It will develop innovative pan-spectral diagnostics, and apply these to observations to determine fundamental parameters of collapsing galaxies and their massive Black holes.Read moreRead less
Precision Pulsar Timing and its Applications. The rapidly rotating pulsars known as millisecond pulsars have period stabilities which rival that of the best terrestrial clocks. Observations of many millisecond pulsars spread across the sky should allow detection of the gravitational-wave background - likely to be the first direct detection of gravity waves. It will also enable establishment of a long-term time standard which is independent of and probably superior to that derived from terrestria ....Precision Pulsar Timing and its Applications. The rapidly rotating pulsars known as millisecond pulsars have period stabilities which rival that of the best terrestrial clocks. Observations of many millisecond pulsars spread across the sky should allow detection of the gravitational-wave background - likely to be the first direct detection of gravity waves. It will also enable establishment of a long-term time standard which is independent of and probably superior to that derived from terrestrial clocks. New analysis techniques and establishment of an international observing network will be required. Investigation and application of techniques for overcoming radio interference will be an important part of the project.Read moreRead less
A clearer view of the evolving universe. The two complementary research objectives of this proposal are (i) a basic research program to understand star formation in galaxies through a study of the correlation betwen far infrared and radio continuum emission and (ii) a strategic research program to develop interference mitigation techniques to enable the next generation of radio telescopes which will study star formation in the early Universe. This programme of research innovation in radio astron ....A clearer view of the evolving universe. The two complementary research objectives of this proposal are (i) a basic research program to understand star formation in galaxies through a study of the correlation betwen far infrared and radio continuum emission and (ii) a strategic research program to develop interference mitigation techniques to enable the next generation of radio telescopes which will study star formation in the early Universe. This programme of research innovation in radio astronomy will also promote the broad aims of furthering opportunities for Australian participation in international science and of gaining insight into ways in which Australia can exploit its niche advantages in the global economy.Read moreRead less