Precise frequency generation for testing fundamental physics and developing new devices. Precision microwave oscillators developed in Australia and France have applications in telecommunications, advanced radar, optical to microwave links, frequency and time standards, tests of fundamental physics etc. This project will aid in the transfer of new knowledge between France and Australia and strengthen Australian 'know how' and expertise, essential for the timely development of technology, which in ....Precise frequency generation for testing fundamental physics and developing new devices. Precision microwave oscillators developed in Australia and France have applications in telecommunications, advanced radar, optical to microwave links, frequency and time standards, tests of fundamental physics etc. This project will aid in the transfer of new knowledge between France and Australia and strengthen Australian 'know how' and expertise, essential for the timely development of technology, which includes devices for the European Space Agency's Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space mission, which is due for launch in 2010. This project highlights the importance of Australian Science in a high profile international mission.Read moreRead less
Room-temperature quantum microscopy for advanced nanoscale imaging. Original, inspired and most often cross-disciplinary efforts are the only way to solve some of nature's most obscure mysteries. Successful development of high-resolution quantum microscopy will lead to a range of benefits for the community and the nation; from graduate student training in cutting edge technology, building links between academic, industry and government groups to providing new insights and approaches into diseas ....Room-temperature quantum microscopy for advanced nanoscale imaging. Original, inspired and most often cross-disciplinary efforts are the only way to solve some of nature's most obscure mysteries. Successful development of high-resolution quantum microscopy will lead to a range of benefits for the community and the nation; from graduate student training in cutting edge technology, building links between academic, industry and government groups to providing new insights and approaches into disease identification and therapy. This project aims to demonstrate a world-first in imaging sensitivity, and success will directly enhance Australia's global reputation as a leader in innovation and collaboration. Read moreRead less
Precision time and frequency in the lab and in space to test fundamental physics. This project gives Australia the opportunity to be involved in the world's best time comparison experiment ever conceived using the European Space Agency's ultra-accurate atomic clocks in space and the best international network of ground clocks. It strengthens collaboration between the University of Western Australia and world elite metrology institutes, including Paris Observatory, Ecole Normale Superior, the Nat ....Precision time and frequency in the lab and in space to test fundamental physics. This project gives Australia the opportunity to be involved in the world's best time comparison experiment ever conceived using the European Space Agency's ultra-accurate atomic clocks in space and the best international network of ground clocks. It strengthens collaboration between the University of Western Australia and world elite metrology institutes, including Paris Observatory, Ecole Normale Superior, the National Measurement Institute, the French Space Agency, and Humboldt, Stanford and Durham Universities. It involves cutting edge research that will test relativity, particle physics and fundamental constants that may well lead to fundamental changes to our laws of Nature and the Universe.Read moreRead less
Roaming around the Transition State: A New Mechanism of Chemical Reactions. Gas-phase reaction mechanisms are at the core of some of the most important problems facing Australia at present: atmospheric models for CO2 are central to climate change; models of isotope exchange are essential to learn about past climates from Antarctic ice cores; and models of combustion are used to optimise energy efficiency. The mechanisms used in these models rely on accurate chemistry. A newly discovered chemica ....Roaming around the Transition State: A New Mechanism of Chemical Reactions. Gas-phase reaction mechanisms are at the core of some of the most important problems facing Australia at present: atmospheric models for CO2 are central to climate change; models of isotope exchange are essential to learn about past climates from Antarctic ice cores; and models of combustion are used to optimise energy efficiency. The mechanisms used in these models rely on accurate chemistry. A newly discovered chemical mechanism has the potential to change many of the reactions that we currently use in these chemical models. This project will determine how important this new mechanism is, and what its impact is on gas-phase reaction models.Read moreRead less
Inter- and Intra-molecular interactions probed by electron momentum spectroscopy. High-resolution electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) will be used to study bonding (intra-molecular interactions) in complex oriented organic species. This will allow us, in conjunction with density functional theory calculations, to evaluate the basis sets and exchange-correlation (XC) functionals employed in those calculations, thereby potentially enabling quantum chemists to build more physically accurate XC-fu ....Inter- and Intra-molecular interactions probed by electron momentum spectroscopy. High-resolution electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) will be used to study bonding (intra-molecular interactions) in complex oriented organic species. This will allow us, in conjunction with density functional theory calculations, to evaluate the basis sets and exchange-correlation (XC) functionals employed in those calculations, thereby potentially enabling quantum chemists to build more physically accurate XC-functionals and basis sets. As chemistry largely occurs in solution, the future will increasingly focus on solvated species. Consequently, we are also initiating an EMS study of the electronic wavefunctions of solvated species with our recently developed "clusters" EMS spectrometer. This will provide the first data on the electronic wavefunctions involved in inter-molecular interactions.Read moreRead less
Energetics, spectroscopy and dissociation dynamics of bimolecular complexes of atmospheric importance. The Global Warming debate illustrates the importance of having a firm scientific underpinning to calculations of the atmosphere. It is important in calculations of atmospheric chemistry to have all pathways and species properly accounted for. It has recently emerged that intermolecular complexes may play a role in atmospheric chemistry. Of these, those involving water are very important beca ....Energetics, spectroscopy and dissociation dynamics of bimolecular complexes of atmospheric importance. The Global Warming debate illustrates the importance of having a firm scientific underpinning to calculations of the atmosphere. It is important in calculations of atmospheric chemistry to have all pathways and species properly accounted for. It has recently emerged that intermolecular complexes may play a role in atmospheric chemistry. Of these, those involving water are very important because of water's ability to form strong hydrogen bonds. This project will provide key experimental data on one of the most important complexes, the water-hydroxyl radical complex.Read moreRead less
CCC method: new applications to electron scattering from atoms and molecules. Achievement of the stated aims will be of enormous benefit to industry
and laboratory research because at the present time no reliably accurate
models exist for the range of the required scattering parameters. The
modelling work will result in development of new software packages for
supercomputers and will provide training for research associates, PhD
and Honours students in an area where Australian theorists are ....CCC method: new applications to electron scattering from atoms and molecules. Achievement of the stated aims will be of enormous benefit to industry
and laboratory research because at the present time no reliably accurate
models exist for the range of the required scattering parameters. The
modelling work will result in development of new software packages for
supercomputers and will provide training for research associates, PhD
and Honours students in an area where Australian theorists are
preeminent.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0238631
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
Ultra High Resolution Electron Recycling Spectrometer. Electron collisions with atoms and molecules provide enormous versatility through the transfer of large amounts of angular momentum and the ability to excite dipole forbidden states. However a lack of energy resolution severely restricts the processes that can be studied.
We propose to construct a unique, ultra-high resolution, electron recycling spectrometer using a radical new design. State-of-the-art spectroscopic studies of ato ....Ultra High Resolution Electron Recycling Spectrometer. Electron collisions with atoms and molecules provide enormous versatility through the transfer of large amounts of angular momentum and the ability to excite dipole forbidden states. However a lack of energy resolution severely restricts the processes that can be studied.
We propose to construct a unique, ultra-high resolution, electron recycling spectrometer using a radical new design. State-of-the-art spectroscopic studies of atoms and molecules will be enabled, including the dynamics of near-threshold processes, the formation of transient states and the examination of processes such as rotational excitation and dissociative attachment in molecules - important in a number of gas-discharge based devices.
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A complete computational approach to electron-atom collisions. Our research contributes to multidisciplinary efforts to improve the efficiency and reduce the toxicity of lighting systems, which has far-reaching implications for environmental sustainability. It will also facilitate significant improvements in the accuracy of astrophysical and artificial plasma modelling, as well as providing insight into many processes fundamental to nanotechnology research. The research project will further enha ....A complete computational approach to electron-atom collisions. Our research contributes to multidisciplinary efforts to improve the efficiency and reduce the toxicity of lighting systems, which has far-reaching implications for environmental sustainability. It will also facilitate significant improvements in the accuracy of astrophysical and artificial plasma modelling, as well as providing insight into many processes fundamental to nanotechnology research. The research project will further enhance our reputation in an area where Australian theorists are preeminent, and the research training will produce PhD graduates with a high-level ability in numerical modelling using supercomputers. Such skills are essential in many defense, mining and technological applications of national priority.Read moreRead less
Novel collision experiments with metastable neon atoms in an atom trap. The aim of this project is to investigate collisions involving atoms in long lived excited states (metastable states). The project will utilise a magneto-optical trap to investigate electron-atom collisions as well as interatomic collisions for ultra-cold atoms. The outcomes of such investigations extend scientific knowledge of these important processes as a well as provide data for testing fundamental scattering theories. T ....Novel collision experiments with metastable neon atoms in an atom trap. The aim of this project is to investigate collisions involving atoms in long lived excited states (metastable states). The project will utilise a magneto-optical trap to investigate electron-atom collisions as well as interatomic collisions for ultra-cold atoms. The outcomes of such investigations extend scientific knowledge of these important processes as a well as provide data for testing fundamental scattering theories. This scientific knowledge may lead to further technological advances such as more efficient light sources or a metastable-atom laser that could be used for the production of nano-scale electric circuits.Read moreRead less