If a spin could torque: quantum force sensing with levitated nanodiamonds. This project aims to detect the tiny twisting forces imparted by a single quantum spin on a host diamond nanocrystal levitating in vacuum. Our team will build both a hypersensitive detector of quantum rotations and the complex theoretical models for quantum spin systems coupled to the mechanical motion of nanometre-sized diamonds. The expected experimental capabilities and knowledge generated by this project will enable w ....If a spin could torque: quantum force sensing with levitated nanodiamonds. This project aims to detect the tiny twisting forces imparted by a single quantum spin on a host diamond nanocrystal levitating in vacuum. Our team will build both a hypersensitive detector of quantum rotations and the complex theoretical models for quantum spin systems coupled to the mechanical motion of nanometre-sized diamonds. The expected experimental capabilities and knowledge generated by this project will enable world-first measurements of quantum effects with unparalleled sensitivity and powerful new quantum sensing paradigms. The project should enable significant benefits, such as incisive tests of the limits of quantum theory and new Australian technology operating at the interface of the quantum and classical worlds.Read moreRead less
Polarons in flatland. This project aims to generate new theories of excitons (the solid-state analogue of hydrogen atoms) in charge-doped atomically thin semiconductors. Such theories are urgently needed to describe the response to external probes, such as electric fields, of a range of novel materials that have emerged in recent years. The novelty is to treat the behaviour of semiconductors as a quantum impurity problem, where the excitons become modified by the surrounding electrons to form ne ....Polarons in flatland. This project aims to generate new theories of excitons (the solid-state analogue of hydrogen atoms) in charge-doped atomically thin semiconductors. Such theories are urgently needed to describe the response to external probes, such as electric fields, of a range of novel materials that have emerged in recent years. The novelty is to treat the behaviour of semiconductors as a quantum impurity problem, where the excitons become modified by the surrounding electrons to form new types of particles. A greater understanding of the impurity problem in 2D materials would ultimately facilitate their use in emerging technologies that combine electronics with photonics, for use in ultra-low-power devices such as photodectectors, LEDs, and lasers.Read moreRead less
Big time crystals: a new paradigm in condensed matter. This project aims to extend condensed matter physics to the time dimension using big time crystals created by a periodically driven Bose-Einstein condensate. Such a system is expected to offer exceptional versatility, allowing effective potentials and long-range interactions in a time lattice to be engineered almost at will by proper periodic driving and modulation of the particle interaction. Expected outcomes include realisation of novel c ....Big time crystals: a new paradigm in condensed matter. This project aims to extend condensed matter physics to the time dimension using big time crystals created by a periodically driven Bose-Einstein condensate. Such a system is expected to offer exceptional versatility, allowing effective potentials and long-range interactions in a time lattice to be engineered almost at will by proper periodic driving and modulation of the particle interaction. Expected outcomes include realisation of novel condensed matter phenomena such as topologically protected states in the time dimension, time crystalline structures exhibiting disorder or quasi-crystalline order and time-tronics devices analogous to electronics. Potential future benefits include novel advanced materials and semiconductor-like devices. Read moreRead less
Making Strongly Interacting Photons. This theoretical project aims to investigate strongly correlated polaritons in quantum physics. Known as quantum fluids of light, polaritons are half-light, half-matter particles exhibiting frictionless, zero-energy-cost flows, an astonishing quantum behaviour known as superfluidity. This project expects to make a breakthrough in our understanding of polaritons in the strongly interacting regime far from equilibrium and fill in the knowledge gap towards the r ....Making Strongly Interacting Photons. This theoretical project aims to investigate strongly correlated polaritons in quantum physics. Known as quantum fluids of light, polaritons are half-light, half-matter particles exhibiting frictionless, zero-energy-cost flows, an astonishing quantum behaviour known as superfluidity. This project expects to make a breakthrough in our understanding of polaritons in the strongly interacting regime far from equilibrium and fill in the knowledge gap towards the realisation of a superfluid of light at room temperature. This should open a new era of quantum polaritonics that forms the basis for energy-efficient laser and all-optical transistor, establishing Australia as a world leader in commercialising novel photonic technologies.Read moreRead less