In and beyond the standard model of particle physics. The standard model of particle physics was developed twenty years ago, and it has been remarkably successful at describing the experiments carried out since then. Now, however there is evidence that there is physics beyond the standard model, and new and planned experiments will make the details of this new physics clearer in the lifetime of this grant. We will study a wide variety of systems, from the foundations of quantum mechanics to ....In and beyond the standard model of particle physics. The standard model of particle physics was developed twenty years ago, and it has been remarkably successful at describing the experiments carried out since then. Now, however there is evidence that there is physics beyond the standard model, and new and planned experiments will make the details of this new physics clearer in the lifetime of this grant. We will study a wide variety of systems, from the foundations of quantum mechanics to extra dimensions of space-time and much between and will find guides to the nature of the new physics.
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Neutrino physics: a window on physics beyond the standard model. The recent observation of neutrino oscillations demonstrates that neutrinos have a non-vanishing mass. This is not accomodated in our "standard model" of particle physics, which must therefore be extended. Clues has to how this extension is to be made are to be found in the pattern of masses and mixings, and in possible new interactions involving neutrinos. These clues will be examined to find a viable set of extensions of th ....Neutrino physics: a window on physics beyond the standard model. The recent observation of neutrino oscillations demonstrates that neutrinos have a non-vanishing mass. This is not accomodated in our "standard model" of particle physics, which must therefore be extended. Clues has to how this extension is to be made are to be found in the pattern of masses and mixings, and in possible new interactions involving neutrinos. These clues will be examined to find a viable set of extensions of the standard model.Read moreRead less
Understanding Collisions of Cold Polar Molecules. This project is in a high impact research field and therefore has several immediate and substantial national benefits. First, this project will directly raise the quality of Australian science in ultracold atomic physics, cold polar molecules physics, and quantum chemistry. Second, it will constitute high impact research from an Australian institute which will raise the recognition of the high quality Australian science. Third, it will further ....Understanding Collisions of Cold Polar Molecules. This project is in a high impact research field and therefore has several immediate and substantial national benefits. First, this project will directly raise the quality of Australian science in ultracold atomic physics, cold polar molecules physics, and quantum chemistry. Second, it will constitute high impact research from an Australian institute which will raise the recognition of the high quality Australian science. Third, it will further develop capabilities of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics (ACQAO). Fourth, this work will start high calibre international collaborations, most notably with a world renowned experimental group at Yale University among others.Read moreRead less
Australian Centre for Quantum-Atom Optics. The Centre will combine pre-eminent Australian theoretical and experimental research groups in quantum and atom optics to create a powerful network to advance the rapidly developing field of Quantum-Atom Optics. We will exploit the quantum nature of multiple particle quantum states of atoms and photons including entangled light and Bose-Einstein condensates. The Centre will focus on fundamental research, but our long term goal is to underpin and develo ....Australian Centre for Quantum-Atom Optics. The Centre will combine pre-eminent Australian theoretical and experimental research groups in quantum and atom optics to create a powerful network to advance the rapidly developing field of Quantum-Atom Optics. We will exploit the quantum nature of multiple particle quantum states of atoms and photons including entangled light and Bose-Einstein condensates. The Centre will focus on fundamental research, but our long term goal is to underpin and develop the next generation quantum technology. We aim to build a quantum toolbox to enable applications such as the transfer and storage of information for photonics, and precision quantum control of atoms for enhanced atom interferometry.Read moreRead less
Implementing large-scale solid-state quantum computation. The goal of quantum computing research is to harness the properties of quantum mechanics to build computers that are exponentially more powerful than the computers of today. Along the way, many spin-off technologies for conventional computing and nanotechnology are expected. Realising the quantum computing dream is a daunting experimental challenge requiring both theoretical assurance that it is possible in principle, and theoretical guid ....Implementing large-scale solid-state quantum computation. The goal of quantum computing research is to harness the properties of quantum mechanics to build computers that are exponentially more powerful than the computers of today. Along the way, many spin-off technologies for conventional computing and nanotechnology are expected. Realising the quantum computing dream is a daunting experimental challenge requiring both theoretical assurance that it is possible in principle, and theoretical guidance as to the best method. We seek to provide this theoretical support for solid-state systems, and broaden the range of problems that such systems are demonstrably suited to tackle.Read moreRead less
Quantum Nanotechnology: Concepts to Devices. Just as the technological advances of the past few decades at the micro level fundamentally changed our lives, so too the emerging era of 'quantum nanotechnology' promises to revolutionise our society in the 21st century. This Fellowship will explore and develop critical areas of quantum nanotechnology - absolutely secure communication, nanoscopic level imaging, and exponentially fast computers. Such technology will have far reaching applications in a ....Quantum Nanotechnology: Concepts to Devices. Just as the technological advances of the past few decades at the micro level fundamentally changed our lives, so too the emerging era of 'quantum nanotechnology' promises to revolutionise our society in the 21st century. This Fellowship will explore and develop critical areas of quantum nanotechnology - absolutely secure communication, nanoscopic level imaging, and exponentially fast computers. Such technology will have far reaching applications in all areas of society and provide significant National benefit.Read moreRead less
Nonlocal Statistical Mechanics and Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory. Australia has an enviable track record as an innovator and developer of advanced materials. This project in strategic basic research consists of theoretical work within the disciplines of statistical mechanics and conformal field theory to determine the profound role of nonlocal interactions, such as connectivities, in determining the critical physical properties of materials. Connectivities play a significant role in diverse ....Nonlocal Statistical Mechanics and Logarithmic Conformal Field Theory. Australia has an enviable track record as an innovator and developer of advanced materials. This project in strategic basic research consists of theoretical work within the disciplines of statistical mechanics and conformal field theory to determine the profound role of nonlocal interactions, such as connectivities, in determining the critical physical properties of materials. Connectivities play a significant role in diverse applications such as the gelation of polymers, random fuse networks, the spatial spread of epidemics and bushfires and the tertiary recovery of oil. This research will be practically useful in engineering the physical properties of advanced materials such as liquid crystals, gels, polymers and other materials.Read moreRead less
Exact solution of generalized models of polymers and percolation in two dimensions. Originating with the work of Rodney Baxter, Australia is the world leader in exactly solvable lattice models in two dimensions. This project, in strategic basic research, aims to continue this tradition and extend it by solving exactly new classes of two-dimensional lattice models involving nonlocal degrees of freedom. Since this will lead to new universal classes of thermodynamic behaviours for a diverse range o ....Exact solution of generalized models of polymers and percolation in two dimensions. Originating with the work of Rodney Baxter, Australia is the world leader in exactly solvable lattice models in two dimensions. This project, in strategic basic research, aims to continue this tradition and extend it by solving exactly new classes of two-dimensional lattice models involving nonlocal degrees of freedom. Since this will lead to new universal classes of thermodynamic behaviours for a diverse range of polymer-like systems, the potential for exploitation and commercialization is almost limitless. Potential applications include percolation of contaminants through aquifers, the spatial spread of epidemics and bushfires, the tertiary recovery of oil and filtering drinking water.Read moreRead less
Centre for Quantum Computer Technology. Development of a quantum computer (QC) for massively parallel computing is one of the major challenges in science and engineering this century. Since 2000 the Centre has achieved two major breakthroughs in this field: constructing the key functional element of a silicon solid-state QC; and co-inventing a scheme for efficient linear optics QC. The proposed CoE aims to align these two nationally co-ordinated research programs with the world's existing comput ....Centre for Quantum Computer Technology. Development of a quantum computer (QC) for massively parallel computing is one of the major challenges in science and engineering this century. Since 2000 the Centre has achieved two major breakthroughs in this field: constructing the key functional element of a silicon solid-state QC; and co-inventing a scheme for efficient linear optics QC. The proposed CoE aims to align these two nationally co-ordinated research programs with the world's existing computer and IT industries to realise a fault-tolerant multiple qubit quantum processor with integrated control and qubit chips, and develop a scaleable optical quantum processor providing significant economic benefit to Australia.Read moreRead less
Atom Location by Channelling Enhanced Microanalysis using Inner-shell Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy. The technique of Atom Location by Channelling Enhanced Microanalysis (ALCHEMI) has been explored extensively using Electron Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurements by many authors. The extension of this method to Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) is difficult due to the more complicated formulation of inner-shell ionization required under such experimental conditions. Issues such ....Atom Location by Channelling Enhanced Microanalysis using Inner-shell Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy. The technique of Atom Location by Channelling Enhanced Microanalysis (ALCHEMI) has been explored extensively using Electron Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurements by many authors. The extension of this method to Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) is difficult due to the more complicated formulation of inner-shell ionization required under such experimental conditions. Issues such as the "delocalization" of the ionization interaction and the significance of channelling of the scattered electron need to be addressed so that this method may be generally applicable. It is the aim of this project to extend this commonly used method to the topical field of EELS.Read moreRead less