Quantum Simulations with Dilute Gas Bose Einstein Condensates. Fundamental scientific research, such as we propose, is an important contributor to the long term wealth and well being of the Nation. It shapes our culture, our ways of thinking, and our beliefs. It also contributes directly, and in the shorter term, through the technology development that accompanies scientific research at the frontiers of knowledge. The students participating in this research will develop skills in innovation, int ....Quantum Simulations with Dilute Gas Bose Einstein Condensates. Fundamental scientific research, such as we propose, is an important contributor to the long term wealth and well being of the Nation. It shapes our culture, our ways of thinking, and our beliefs. It also contributes directly, and in the shorter term, through the technology development that accompanies scientific research at the frontiers of knowledge. The students participating in this research will develop skills in innovation, intellectual property management, and commercialisation - all of which are critical to the Nation's future.Read moreRead less
Experimental Demonstrations of New Theorems of Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics. In the last decade, two theorems have been proposed to revolutionise the field of thermodynamics. These theorems lift the restriction of the thermodynamic limit, allowing thermodynamic concepts to be applied to small systems such as nanomachines, and characterise systems that may be far-from-equilibrium. These theorems are at odds with a traditional understanding of 19th century thermodynamics where equilibrium is cent ....Experimental Demonstrations of New Theorems of Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics. In the last decade, two theorems have been proposed to revolutionise the field of thermodynamics. These theorems lift the restriction of the thermodynamic limit, allowing thermodynamic concepts to be applied to small systems such as nanomachines, and characterise systems that may be far-from-equilibrium. These theorems are at odds with a traditional understanding of 19th century thermodynamics where equilibrium is central and the Second Law inviolate. However they are critical to the application of thermodynamic concepts to modern systems of the 21st century. Using Optical Tweezers, we will experimentally demonstrate these theorems, present irrefutable evidence of their validity, and demonstrate their application in modern systems.Read moreRead less
Experimental Demonstrations of Violations of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Inventors and engineers strive to scale-down machines, devices and engines to nanometre sizes for a range of technological purposes and scientists investigate protein motors to understand their operation in hopes of modifying their biological behaviour. However, according to a new theorem in Non-equilibrium Statistical Mechanics, there is a fundamental limit to this scaling-down of engines: such nanomachines, includi ....Experimental Demonstrations of Violations of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Inventors and engineers strive to scale-down machines, devices and engines to nanometre sizes for a range of technological purposes and scientists investigate protein motors to understand their operation in hopes of modifying their biological behaviour. However, according to a new theorem in Non-equilibrium Statistical Mechanics, there is a fundamental limit to this scaling-down of engines: such nanomachines, including protein motors, will run in "reverse" for appreciable amounts of time and in violation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. We propose to demonstrate this inescapable, operational limit in nanotechnology with experiments using an Optical Tweezers apparatus.Read moreRead less
Development of microwave tomography techniques and inverse methods for biomedical imaging applications. Microwave tomography is a rapidly emerging imaging technology with highly significant applications in industry and medicine. In particular, given its sensitivity to differences between normal and malignant breast tissue, non-invasive microwave imaging has been the subject of intense research interest in the last ten years. In collaboration with workers at Chalmers University in Sweden, we wi ....Development of microwave tomography techniques and inverse methods for biomedical imaging applications. Microwave tomography is a rapidly emerging imaging technology with highly significant applications in industry and medicine. In particular, given its sensitivity to differences between normal and malignant breast tissue, non-invasive microwave imaging has been the subject of intense research interest in the last ten years. In collaboration with workers at Chalmers University in Sweden, we will develop and evaluate a scanning microwave imaging tomographic system with a number of potential industrial and biomedical applications. This appears to be a new Australian initiative.Read moreRead less
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
Revealing the mechanism of heavy ion stopping at high energies. Several fundamental aspects of heavy ion stopping in matter, which is important for many technological and medical applications, are not understood. This includes the charge dependence of ion stopping known as Barkas effect, the Bloch-contribution to the stopping cross-section, and charge exchange processes. In contrast to other studies, the use of crystalline materials with well-defined atom locations and the application of new sop ....Revealing the mechanism of heavy ion stopping at high energies. Several fundamental aspects of heavy ion stopping in matter, which is important for many technological and medical applications, are not understood. This includes the charge dependence of ion stopping known as Barkas effect, the Bloch-contribution to the stopping cross-section, and charge exchange processes. In contrast to other studies, the use of crystalline materials with well-defined atom locations and the application of new sophisticated models will allow the separation of these related phenomena, so that they can be studied individually. This will reveal details of the physical mechanisms governing the energy dissipation by fast heavy ions in matter.
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Developing and exploiting a beam of exotic neutron halo nuclei: probing quantum coherence and decoherence at the femtoscale. Developing an Australian rare isotope beam capability with unique features will be a breakthrough in Australia's capability in science. It will create new opportunities for local research with radioactive isotope beams, a field being vigorously developed world-wide, as new access to short-lived radioactive isotopes will open up many opportunities in fundamental research an ....Developing and exploiting a beam of exotic neutron halo nuclei: probing quantum coherence and decoherence at the femtoscale. Developing an Australian rare isotope beam capability with unique features will be a breakthrough in Australia's capability in science. It will create new opportunities for local research with radioactive isotope beams, a field being vigorously developed world-wide, as new access to short-lived radioactive isotopes will open up many opportunities in fundamental research and applications. The experience and strong international linkages from this project will facilitate the longer-term use of future large-scale international facilities. This project will also build links with other areas of research strength in Australia, and keep us at the cutting-edge in research and training in nuclear science, a matter of national importance.Read moreRead less
Breakup and Fusion of Stable and Radioactive Nuclei. All Research Priority areas use tools based on nuclear physics research. Further advances will come from new A$1bn accelerators of radioactive nuclei. Exploiting our new ideas, we will develop a unified framework allowing prediction of the products of nuclear reactions with stable and radioactive nuclei, giving a better understanding of the fundamental process of nuclear fusion, and of radioactive beam applications. Early participation in a si ....Breakup and Fusion of Stable and Radioactive Nuclei. All Research Priority areas use tools based on nuclear physics research. Further advances will come from new A$1bn accelerators of radioactive nuclei. Exploiting our new ideas, we will develop a unified framework allowing prediction of the products of nuclear reactions with stable and radioactive nuclei, giving a better understanding of the fundamental process of nuclear fusion, and of radioactive beam applications. Early participation in a significant new area of research will strengthen Australia's capacity to exploit future opportunities with these accelerators. Top-level research training in nuclear physics, a subject with strategic implications for Australia, will help in the forthcoming international shortage of nuclear experts. Read moreRead less
High-energy electron scattering of surfaces: new spectroscopies and new physics. Electrons sometimes behave as particles, and sometimes as waves. Both aspects are used when investigating nano-structures with electron beams. In this research program we design and perform experiments to measure sample composition using the particle nature, and the atom positions by using the wave nature of electrons. These novel experiments, using unique spectrometers designed and developed in Australia, are aime ....High-energy electron scattering of surfaces: new spectroscopies and new physics. Electrons sometimes behave as particles, and sometimes as waves. Both aspects are used when investigating nano-structures with electron beams. In this research program we design and perform experiments to measure sample composition using the particle nature, and the atom positions by using the wave nature of electrons. These novel experiments, using unique spectrometers designed and developed in Australia, are aimed at making new forms of electron microscopy possible, but will also result in a better understanding of existing electron microscopies and synchrotron-based measurements.Read moreRead less