Dust Physics: a Challenge in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. This proposal is highly relevant to development of the electricity-producing fusion power plants. The outcomes will contribute to the achievement of greater control, predictability, and cost efficiency of fusion reactors operation. The project falls within the " An Environmentally Sustainable Australia " research priority and will contribute to development of widely available energy source with essentially unlimited ....Dust Physics: a Challenge in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. This proposal is highly relevant to development of the electricity-producing fusion power plants. The outcomes will contribute to the achievement of greater control, predictability, and cost efficiency of fusion reactors operation. The project falls within the " An Environmentally Sustainable Australia " research priority and will contribute to development of widely available energy source with essentially unlimited supply and manageable environmental impact. Read moreRead less
An Australian Program in Precision Flavour Physics. Particle physics is a breakthrough scientific endeavour, addressing fundamental questions about the nature of the laws that govern the Universe we live in. Through engaging in appropriately chosen collaborative experiments at the cutting edge of the field, Australian science can make leading contributions to a deepening understanding that flows from discoveries in this area. Excellent training of young Australian researchers, enhancement of pub ....An Australian Program in Precision Flavour Physics. Particle physics is a breakthrough scientific endeavour, addressing fundamental questions about the nature of the laws that govern the Universe we live in. Through engaging in appropriately chosen collaborative experiments at the cutting edge of the field, Australian science can make leading contributions to a deepening understanding that flows from discoveries in this area. Excellent training of young Australian researchers, enhancement of public interest in science, and fostering of international cooperation and networking are all outcomes which this project will provide.Read moreRead less
Physics of extreme brightness temperatures in radioastronomical sources. Pulsars and some quasars are so very bright that the conventional explanation for radioastronomical emission from other sources either does not apply to them, or presents unsolved problems. We see (in radio waves) these sources through the interstellar medium which acts like a wrinkled pane of glass in distorting the image. New scientific ideas and methodologies are proposed here and will be explored in the project, with th ....Physics of extreme brightness temperatures in radioastronomical sources. Pulsars and some quasars are so very bright that the conventional explanation for radioastronomical emission from other sources either does not apply to them, or presents unsolved problems. We see (in radio waves) these sources through the interstellar medium which acts like a wrinkled pane of glass in distorting the image. New scientific ideas and methodologies are proposed here and will be explored in the project, with the objective to understand these sources and to extract information on their propreties and those of the interstellar medium. Read moreRead less
Interstellar Gas Dynamics. The conversion of interstellar gas into stars is a key process in the life-history of galaxies and the formation of planetary systems. Star formation takes place within a heterogeneous, dynamic cloud, and entails a million-fold contraction controlled by a complex interplay between gravity, magnetic forces, ionisation balance, chemical reactions and particles of interstellar dust. Previous modelling has adopted inappropriate approximations for the evolution of the mag ....Interstellar Gas Dynamics. The conversion of interstellar gas into stars is a key process in the life-history of galaxies and the formation of planetary systems. Star formation takes place within a heterogeneous, dynamic cloud, and entails a million-fold contraction controlled by a complex interplay between gravity, magnetic forces, ionisation balance, chemical reactions and particles of interstellar dust. Previous modelling has adopted inappropriate approximations for the evolution of the magnetic field. This research will bring a rigorous treatment of magnetic diffusion to bear on the theory of cloud evolution, shock waves, star formation and protoplanetary discs.
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Nonlinear surface waves and processes in quantum plasma as future technique for nanoelectronics. An exciting perspective for future nano-devices is related to the development of sources of coherent surface plasmons - spasers. This would pave the way to a new type of nano-circuitry based on surface plasma waves. This project is to develop a theory of nonlinear quantum surface plasmons relevant, in particular, for such nano-electronic devices.
Topological order and anyons: quantum engineering of emergent physics. Australia is recognized as one of the world leaders in the area of quantum information and computation. As a frontier technology with tremendous potential but engineering challenges it is vital we expand our theoretical landscape to better steer experimental development. A promising new paradigm is topological quantum computation which uses particles with exotic statistics called anyons that do not exist naturally in three d ....Topological order and anyons: quantum engineering of emergent physics. Australia is recognized as one of the world leaders in the area of quantum information and computation. As a frontier technology with tremendous potential but engineering challenges it is vital we expand our theoretical landscape to better steer experimental development. A promising new paradigm is topological quantum computation which uses particles with exotic statistics called anyons that do not exist naturally in three dimensions but can be engineered to emerge in two dimensional spin lattices. Our bottom up research program would help place Australia at the forefront of these ideas. As a field which combines tools from mathematics, computer science, and physics this project will provide world class training to young researchers.Read moreRead less
Rare decays of B mesons: Probing new physics with Belle II. This project aims to observe the decay of a B meson to a muon and a neutrino, a rare subatomic process. This will test understanding of the basic building blocks and forces of nature. If the measured and expected decay rates are different, this would be significant. The project also seeks to enhance Australia's role in a major physics experiment based in Japan. This project will contribute to a deeper understanding of our place in the U ....Rare decays of B mesons: Probing new physics with Belle II. This project aims to observe the decay of a B meson to a muon and a neutrino, a rare subatomic process. This will test understanding of the basic building blocks and forces of nature. If the measured and expected decay rates are different, this would be significant. The project also seeks to enhance Australia's role in a major physics experiment based in Japan. This project will contribute to a deeper understanding of our place in the Universe.Read moreRead less
Antimatter and exotic mesons at the intensity frontier. This project aims to measure anti-proton and anti-neutron interactions in the calorimeter, a piece of equipment central to the Belle experiment in Japan. Antimatter is used every day in particle physics, but is not fully understood. The Belle dataset is large and directly applicable to the renewed Belle II experiment, due to commence in late 2018. The anticipated outcome is an improved ability to recognise different particles and measure th ....Antimatter and exotic mesons at the intensity frontier. This project aims to measure anti-proton and anti-neutron interactions in the calorimeter, a piece of equipment central to the Belle experiment in Japan. Antimatter is used every day in particle physics, but is not fully understood. The Belle dataset is large and directly applicable to the renewed Belle II experiment, due to commence in late 2018. The anticipated outcome is an improved ability to recognise different particles and measure their energies. This project is intended to contribute to Belle II, enhancing the experiment’s research outcomes, including understanding the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe and the nature of exotic mesons.Read moreRead less
A programme to study quarkonium-like states at ATLAS. Particle physics, the study of the fundamental building blocks of matter, has pioneered the use of large collaborations --- hundreds of scientists working in dozens of countries --- to solve difficult research problems. Australian groups have contributed to several such experiments, studying cosmic rays, neutrinos, and broken symmetries, as well as developing ATLAS, a vast experiment dedicated to understanding the origin of mass. This projec ....A programme to study quarkonium-like states at ATLAS. Particle physics, the study of the fundamental building blocks of matter, has pioneered the use of large collaborations --- hundreds of scientists working in dozens of countries --- to solve difficult research problems. Australian groups have contributed to several such experiments, studying cosmic rays, neutrinos, and broken symmetries, as well as developing ATLAS, a vast experiment dedicated to understanding the origin of mass. This project seeks to use ATLAS for a new purpose: searching for exotic mesons. Our existing commitment to ATLAS provides an opportunity to develop this as a new avenue of fundamental research in this country.Read moreRead less
Weighing neutrinos in the sky. This project aims to discover how the mass of the neutrino affects the evolution of the universe and to use observations of the universe to measure neutrino masses. The project will build a theoretical framework to describe the nonlinear dynamics of cosmological neutrinos. The intended outcome is a set of computational tools that could predict the signatures of neutrino masses in the sky as precisely as upcoming surveys, to discover neutrino masses in the next 10 y ....Weighing neutrinos in the sky. This project aims to discover how the mass of the neutrino affects the evolution of the universe and to use observations of the universe to measure neutrino masses. The project will build a theoretical framework to describe the nonlinear dynamics of cosmological neutrinos. The intended outcome is a set of computational tools that could predict the signatures of neutrino masses in the sky as precisely as upcoming surveys, to discover neutrino masses in the next 10 years. The project should raise Australia's international profile in basic physical science research and answer fundamental questions about the origin of matter, energy and the universe.Read moreRead less