Bifurcations of dissipative solitons. Fundamental research on the basic concepts of solitons in dissipative systems and their bifurcations is the next essential step for further progress in the science of optical pulse generators and amplifiers. Australia was the first country in the world to use self-organized ultra-short pulses, called solitons, in a commercially-deployed optical transmission line. This proposed new research will answer the question of how solitons behave at the ultimate limi ....Bifurcations of dissipative solitons. Fundamental research on the basic concepts of solitons in dissipative systems and their bifurcations is the next essential step for further progress in the science of optical pulse generators and amplifiers. Australia was the first country in the world to use self-organized ultra-short pulses, called solitons, in a commercially-deployed optical transmission line. This proposed new research will answer the question of how solitons behave at the ultimate limits of optics. New principles of ultra-short pulse generation and amplification, developed in our research, will provide the basis for an unprecedented increase in the capacity of optical transmission and processing of information.Read moreRead less
Dissipative soliton resonances and their applications. Many branches of science and technology, such as precise eye surgery, biological cell machinery, painless dentistry, optical data storage, material micro-machining and laser fusion, rely heavily on high power femtosecond pulse laser oscillators that deliver the necessary power, in a very short time, to nanometer scale targets within a tissue or a material. A further increase in the power of a pulse and a decrease in its duration, combined wi ....Dissipative soliton resonances and their applications. Many branches of science and technology, such as precise eye surgery, biological cell machinery, painless dentistry, optical data storage, material micro-machining and laser fusion, rely heavily on high power femtosecond pulse laser oscillators that deliver the necessary power, in a very short time, to nanometer scale targets within a tissue or a material. A further increase in the power of a pulse and a decrease in its duration, combined with a reduction in complexity and price can be achieved, but this advance depends strongly on the theory of dissipative solitons, and particularly on the idea of soliton resonances. Novel ideas developed within this project will put new productive tools in the hands of doctors, biologists and physicists.Read moreRead less
Optical and matter-wave vortices in nonlinear and inhomogeneous media. Wave phenomena of diverse nature have a strikingly similar feature of vorticity, with the energy or matter spiralling around isolated phase singularities. This project targets the fundamental theoretical research in an interdisciplinary field of singular waves transporting vortices in nonlinear and inhomogeneous media. Our project will contribute to the designated priority area "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transfor ....Optical and matter-wave vortices in nonlinear and inhomogeneous media. Wave phenomena of diverse nature have a strikingly similar feature of vorticity, with the energy or matter spiralling around isolated phase singularities. This project targets the fundamental theoretical research in an interdisciplinary field of singular waves transporting vortices in nonlinear and inhomogeneous media. Our project will contribute to the designated priority area "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries" by providing fundamental understanding of novel physical phenomena and underpinning technological advances in the fields of photonics, atom, and electron optics, where Australia has built strong expertise and plays a significant role in the international development.Read moreRead less
Controlled manipulation of matter-waves in atomic waveguiding structures. This project will enable Australian researchers to actively participate in the cutting edge, internationally competitive research that investigates ways to manipulate and guide large ensembles of ultra-cold atoms and underpins future technological applications in ultra-high-precision metrology and sensors. Australia is currently moving into a prominent position amongst world leaders in this fast-paced research field. The o ....Controlled manipulation of matter-waves in atomic waveguiding structures. This project will enable Australian researchers to actively participate in the cutting edge, internationally competitive research that investigates ways to manipulate and guide large ensembles of ultra-cold atoms and underpins future technological applications in ultra-high-precision metrology and sensors. Australia is currently moving into a prominent position amongst world leaders in this fast-paced research field. The outcomes of this proposal will further raise the prestige of Australian research overseas, and lead to greater acceptance of Australia as a major player in fundamental research. It will also provide outstanding training opportunities for young researchers.Read moreRead less
Matter-wave vortices in engineered nanostructures. This project tackles some of the key problems which must be solved before any applications of manipulating and controlling Bose-Einstein condensates with nanostructures can be realised. This project is therefore of National Benefit for its advances in critical fundamental research and for the potential applications which may be ultimately derived from harnessing the power of this new state of matter. Australia is at the forefront of this revol ....Matter-wave vortices in engineered nanostructures. This project tackles some of the key problems which must be solved before any applications of manipulating and controlling Bose-Einstein condensates with nanostructures can be realised. This project is therefore of National Benefit for its advances in critical fundamental research and for the potential applications which may be ultimately derived from harnessing the power of this new state of matter. Australia is at the forefront of this revolution in quantum technology. This project furthers Australia's competitive position and opens up new opportunities for ground-breaking research and applications in an area which has the potential to be as revolutionary as the development of the laser.Read moreRead less
Dynamics of multi-component matter waves. The recent observation of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in weakly interacting ultracold gases has opened the door to the field of coherent matter-wave optics. When the BEC is treated within a mean-field approach the equations resemble those for the propagation of light in nonlinear media. The main aim of this project is to bring our broad and deep nonlinear optical expertise to bare on the classical nonlinear dynamics of multi-component BEC like syste ....Dynamics of multi-component matter waves. The recent observation of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in weakly interacting ultracold gases has opened the door to the field of coherent matter-wave optics. When the BEC is treated within a mean-field approach the equations resemble those for the propagation of light in nonlinear media. The main aim of this project is to bring our broad and deep nonlinear optical expertise to bare on the classical nonlinear dynamics of multi-component BEC like systems. The expected outcome is a position of world leadership in the theoretical understanding of the dynamics of atom lasers, mixed atom-molecule BECs, and fragmented BECs in optical lattices.Read moreRead less
Many-body quantum effects in the physics of ultracold atoms. The project will advance the fundamental research in quantum atom optics by exploring the mysterious many-body quantum phenomena in the systems of ultracold atoms. It will therefore contribute into the fundamental knowledge base that underpins future quantum technologies based on manipulating and utilizing the systems of ultracold atoms. The project will also further Australia's international competitive ability in fundamental research ....Many-body quantum effects in the physics of ultracold atoms. The project will advance the fundamental research in quantum atom optics by exploring the mysterious many-body quantum phenomena in the systems of ultracold atoms. It will therefore contribute into the fundamental knowledge base that underpins future quantum technologies based on manipulating and utilizing the systems of ultracold atoms. The project will also further Australia's international competitive ability in fundamental research and strengthen its reputation in the field of quantum atom optics.Read moreRead less
Nonlinear photonic crystals. Photonic crystals have recently became very attractive for photonic technology, that uses light instead of slow electrons as the information carriers replacing electronics in communications and information management. This project has the purpose to develop the fundamental concept of nonlinear photonic crystals and demonstrate their possible applications analysing the properties of the nonlinearity-induced light localization, nonlinear transmission, and frequency co ....Nonlinear photonic crystals. Photonic crystals have recently became very attractive for photonic technology, that uses light instead of slow electrons as the information carriers replacing electronics in communications and information management. This project has the purpose to develop the fundamental concept of nonlinear photonic crystals and demonstrate their possible applications analysing the properties of the nonlinearity-induced light localization, nonlinear transmission, and frequency conversion in band-gap materials with the intensity-dependent optical response. This will allow the possibility realising in practice nonlinear switching even for sharply bent waveguides, providing an effective way to control the flow of light in band-gap photonic circuits.Read moreRead less
Slow-light photonics. This project will introduce and demonstrate novel concepts for the manipulation of optical signals in ultra-compact photonics devices, making an essential step towards fast all-optical switching and processing of data streams. These developments underpin the next generation of high-performance networks, promising to revolutionize global communications. This project will keep Australia at the forefront of international research and provide training of students on breakthroug ....Slow-light photonics. This project will introduce and demonstrate novel concepts for the manipulation of optical signals in ultra-compact photonics devices, making an essential step towards fast all-optical switching and processing of data streams. These developments underpin the next generation of high-performance networks, promising to revolutionize global communications. This project will keep Australia at the forefront of international research and provide training of students on breakthrough applications of photonics and nanotechnology, contributing to the uptake of frontier technologies by Australian industries for successful operation in a competitive global environment.Read moreRead less
Non-Interferometric Phase Measurement of Exotic Waves. Phase is a key concept in all aspects of physics from biological microscopy through to length measurement and on to industrial inspection. The University of Melbourne has developed a new class of phase measurement techniques that possesses unprecedented flexibility. The aim of this project is to build on the international leadership of the Australian team so as to fully explore and develop these techniques.