Cosmological vacuum stability as a window on fundamental physics. Vacuum is not just the absence of matter: it is the lowest-energy state of our Universe. This project aims to investigate the existence of new particles via their impacts upon the vacuum of the Universe. It expects to develop methods required to extract information on the existence of new particles from the vacuum, using transitions between different vacua, resulting gravitational waves, and results from a broad range of other co ....Cosmological vacuum stability as a window on fundamental physics. Vacuum is not just the absence of matter: it is the lowest-energy state of our Universe. This project aims to investigate the existence of new particles via their impacts upon the vacuum of the Universe. It expects to develop methods required to extract information on the existence of new particles from the vacuum, using transitions between different vacua, resulting gravitational waves, and results from a broad range of other complementary experiments. Expected outcomes include comprehensive tests of four of the most compelling theoretical frameworks for new particles. Significant expected benefits include advanced training for Australian students in numerical methods, software development, statistical analysis and research computing.Read moreRead less
The origin of (dark) matter. This project aims to discover the origin and nature of dark matter and why the Universe contains more matter than antimatter – two important unresolved problems in particle physics and cosmology. These questions cannot be resolved within the framework of the particle physics Standard Model, and thus provide concrete evidence that new elementary particle physics remains to be uncovered. This project aims to explore the origin of dark matter, new mechanisms for creatin ....The origin of (dark) matter. This project aims to discover the origin and nature of dark matter and why the Universe contains more matter than antimatter – two important unresolved problems in particle physics and cosmology. These questions cannot be resolved within the framework of the particle physics Standard Model, and thus provide concrete evidence that new elementary particle physics remains to be uncovered. This project aims to explore the origin of dark matter, new mechanisms for creating a matter-antimatter asymmetry, and the possibility that dark and ordinary matter share a common origin. This project could address humanity's deep need to understand the nature of the universe and our origins.Read moreRead less
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
Fundamental physics in distant galaxies. The fundamental constants of Nature are assumed to characterise physics in our entire Universe, but are they really the same everywhere and throughout its entire 14 billion year history? This project will answer this question with the first large-scale, purpose-built observational programme on one of the world's biggest and best telescopes.
On the Fast Track to the Frontier of High-Energy Physics. This project aims to extend our reach in exploring fundamental physics by exploiting a novel fast pattern-recognition technique and extending its limit beyond the current capacity. The recent discovery of the Higgs boson confirmed the remaining element of the standard model of particle physics, yet many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the universe remain. The Large Hadron Collider upgrades provide an opportunity to m ....On the Fast Track to the Frontier of High-Energy Physics. This project aims to extend our reach in exploring fundamental physics by exploiting a novel fast pattern-recognition technique and extending its limit beyond the current capacity. The recent discovery of the Higgs boson confirmed the remaining element of the standard model of particle physics, yet many fundamental questions about the microscopic nature of the universe remain. The Large Hadron Collider upgrades provide an opportunity to measure the particle's properties and to discover new physics processes by enabling searches for new particles at the high-energy frontier. This project aims to exploit the unique datasets anticipated, develop key electronic components and new techniques that will expand the physics reach of the ATLAS experiment.Read moreRead less
Tackling the computational bottleneck in precision particle physics. This project aims to deliver a breakthrough technique in theoretical-computational particle physics, with significant potential for high-precision applications. The project targets some of the most advanced and resource-intensive calculations in particle physics, which are widely used but currently limited by extremely high computational resource requirements. This project expects to develop a novel approach that will vastly re ....Tackling the computational bottleneck in precision particle physics. This project aims to deliver a breakthrough technique in theoretical-computational particle physics, with significant potential for high-precision applications. The project targets some of the most advanced and resource-intensive calculations in particle physics, which are widely used but currently limited by extremely high computational resource requirements. This project expects to develop a novel approach that will vastly reduce the computational complexity while at the same time improving their accuracy relative to the current global state of the art. Expected outcomes include the new methodology itself as well as a full-fledged and open-access simulation code based on it, which should be highly efficient.Read moreRead less
Probing for physics beyond the Standard Model in Lepton Flavour Violation. The Standard Model of Particle Physics describes the fundamental particles of which matter in the Universe is composed, and the interactions which bind these particles. It is one of the most precisely measured and validated theories which science has produced, and there has as yet been no measurement of fundamental particle interactions which is in conflict with its predictions. This project involving a large internation ....Probing for physics beyond the Standard Model in Lepton Flavour Violation. The Standard Model of Particle Physics describes the fundamental particles of which matter in the Universe is composed, and the interactions which bind these particles. It is one of the most precisely measured and validated theories which science has produced, and there has as yet been no measurement of fundamental particle interactions which is in conflict with its predictions. This project involving a large international team and highly sophisticated technology will search for evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model by looking for conversion of muons to electrons a reaction which the model prohibits. Observation of this process would be evidence of new particles and interactions, and would revolutionise our understanding of nature.Read moreRead less
Electroweak phase transition: A cosmological window to new particle physics. The observed asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the visible universe arguably represents the major challenge to contemporary particle physics and cosmology. This project explores new theoretical, phenomenological and computational aspects of the electroweak phase transition and the generation of the cosmic matter-antimatter asymmetry in the early universe together with their links to new physics that may manifes ....Electroweak phase transition: A cosmological window to new particle physics. The observed asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the visible universe arguably represents the major challenge to contemporary particle physics and cosmology. This project explores new theoretical, phenomenological and computational aspects of the electroweak phase transition and the generation of the cosmic matter-antimatter asymmetry in the early universe together with their links to new physics that may manifest at present and future high-energy colliders and gravitational wave observatories. Read moreRead less
Emergent phenomena in quantum chromodynamics. This project aims to understand the transition from quarks and gluons (partons) to hadrons in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). It will develop and combine a treatment of quantum corrections to high-energy processes with a revised picture of how colour strings break up into hadrons. This Project will shed new light on fundamental questions of the strong nuclear force. It will improve the precision and efficiency of the leading open-source particle-physic ....Emergent phenomena in quantum chromodynamics. This project aims to understand the transition from quarks and gluons (partons) to hadrons in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). It will develop and combine a treatment of quantum corrections to high-energy processes with a revised picture of how colour strings break up into hadrons. This Project will shed new light on fundamental questions of the strong nuclear force. It will improve the precision and efficiency of the leading open-source particle-physics code, and bring them to bear on particle collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, increasing its potential for accurate measurements and new discoveries. It will lead to a better understanding of the complex emergent dynamics in QCD and an open-source code with broad applications, including significantly more reliable calculations of numerous high-energy processes.Read moreRead less
Measurement of matter-antimatter asymmetries and the search for new physics. This project aims to advance mankind's understanding of nature at the deepest level and will provide Australians the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of knowledge. While the universal matter-antimatter asymmetry and the existence of dark matter imply that new fundamental physics must exist, the nature of the new physics remains mysterious. This project will employ the Belle II experiment at the KEK Laboratory in ....Measurement of matter-antimatter asymmetries and the search for new physics. This project aims to advance mankind's understanding of nature at the deepest level and will provide Australians the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of knowledge. While the universal matter-antimatter asymmetry and the existence of dark matter imply that new fundamental physics must exist, the nature of the new physics remains mysterious. This project will employ the Belle II experiment at the KEK Laboratory in Japan to make measurements of matter-antimatter asymmetries in the decays of sub-atomic particles called B-mesons. In addition the development of advanced data analysis techniques, secure high throughput computing, automated petabyte-scale data processing and advanced neural networks will provide highly trained data scientists able to tackle other problems such as Australia's cyber-security needs.Read moreRead less