Microwave Frequency Standards: Testing Fundamental Physics and Developing New Devices. Highly frequency stable oscillators may be used as frequency or timing standards (clocks) and have commercial application as well as application of testing fundamental physical principles. This project is to continue the development of novel frequency standards in collaboration with some of the best research institutes in France funded by the French Space Agency (CNES). With the advent of the International Spa ....Microwave Frequency Standards: Testing Fundamental Physics and Developing New Devices. Highly frequency stable oscillators may be used as frequency or timing standards (clocks) and have commercial application as well as application of testing fundamental physical principles. This project is to continue the development of novel frequency standards in collaboration with some of the best research institutes in France funded by the French Space Agency (CNES). With the advent of the International Space Station and new atomic clocks, the physics community is embarking on an experimental program that will make use of the microgravity environment of space. Combined with the new improved timing it will be possible to perform new experimental tests of general and special relativity, tests for drifts in the fine structure constant and tests for a preferred direction of the speed of light at unprecedented sensitivity.Read moreRead less
Many-body problems. The discovery of new superheavy elements, chemical evolution of the Universe, nuclear reactions deep under the Coulomb barrier in nuclear reactors, in stars and during the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, accuracy of precise atomic clocks, consistency of the Standard Model in strong fields are among the most vital problems of modern science. This project suggests several new ideas in these areas, which are based on knowledge accumulated in different research fields. The outcomes of ....Many-body problems. The discovery of new superheavy elements, chemical evolution of the Universe, nuclear reactions deep under the Coulomb barrier in nuclear reactors, in stars and during the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, accuracy of precise atomic clocks, consistency of the Standard Model in strong fields are among the most vital problems of modern science. This project suggests several new ideas in these areas, which are based on knowledge accumulated in different research fields. The outcomes of the research will help Australia to build up a "critical mass" of scientific expertise, which is necessary to place and keep it among leaders in these frontier areas of physics, and to train the next generation of experts in these fields.Read moreRead less
Quantum and Geometric Aspects of Gauge Theories, Supergravity and String Theory. A central problem of modern high-energy physics is the unification of gravity with the other fundamental interactions that is consistent at the quantum level. Led by a team of internationally recognized experts, this project will yield breakthroughs in supergravity and string theory - crucial ingredients of current approaches to unification. As well as putting Australia at the forefront of this mainstream activity, ....Quantum and Geometric Aspects of Gauge Theories, Supergravity and String Theory. A central problem of modern high-energy physics is the unification of gravity with the other fundamental interactions that is consistent at the quantum level. Led by a team of internationally recognized experts, this project will yield breakthroughs in supergravity and string theory - crucial ingredients of current approaches to unification. As well as putting Australia at the forefront of this mainstream activity, a fertile environment will be provided for the training of graduate students. They will be ideally placed to lead Australia's involvement in the revolution sparked by the expected experimental confirmation of supersymmetry with the Large Hadron Collider. Read moreRead less
Progress in Supersymmetry and Supergravity: Continuing Einstein's Legacy. 2005 is the International Year of Physics in recognition of Einstein's revolutionary contributions. His unfinished quest for a unified description of Nature has become the hottest topic in modern physics. Led by a team of internationally recognized experts, this project will yield breakthroughs in supersymmetry and supergravity - crucial ingredients of current approaches to unification. As well as putting Australia at the ....Progress in Supersymmetry and Supergravity: Continuing Einstein's Legacy. 2005 is the International Year of Physics in recognition of Einstein's revolutionary contributions. His unfinished quest for a unified description of Nature has become the hottest topic in modern physics. Led by a team of internationally recognized experts, this project will yield breakthroughs in supersymmetry and supergravity - crucial ingredients of current approaches to unification. As well as putting Australia at the forefront of this mainstream activity, a fertile environment will be provided for the training of graduate students. They will be ideally placed to lead Australia's involvement in the revolution sparked by the expected experimental confirmation of supersymmetry with the next generation of particle accelerators.Read moreRead less
Low Energy Effective Actions in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories. The quest for a unified quantum theory of all the fundamental interactions of Nature, including gravity, is a major goal of modern physics. Superstring theory is at present the only plausible candidate. This theory makes nontrivial predictions (non-renormalization theorems) about the low energy structure of certain supersymmetric gauge theories (the Standard Model of particle physics is a special gauge theory). This project will deve ....Low Energy Effective Actions in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories. The quest for a unified quantum theory of all the fundamental interactions of Nature, including gravity, is a major goal of modern physics. Superstring theory is at present the only plausible candidate. This theory makes nontrivial predictions (non-renormalization theorems) about the low energy structure of certain supersymmetric gauge theories (the Standard Model of particle physics is a special gauge theory). This project will develop new tools for the computation of low energy effective actions, which will then be used for a detailed analysis of the non-renormalization theorems governing the low energy dynamics of supersymmetric gauge theories. This research is at the forefront of modern particle physics.Read moreRead less
High Resolution Imaging and Analysis of Embedded Interfaces and Interface Phase Transitions in Interface-Dominated Nanomaterials. Heterogeneous nanostructured materials and assemblies offer unique structure-property relationships, dominated by the internal interfaces they contain. This interdisciplinary research project will combine novel techniques based on high-resolution phase-retrieval x-ray diffraction and imaging, with complementary analytical electron microscopy and atom probe analysis, i ....High Resolution Imaging and Analysis of Embedded Interfaces and Interface Phase Transitions in Interface-Dominated Nanomaterials. Heterogeneous nanostructured materials and assemblies offer unique structure-property relationships, dominated by the internal interfaces they contain. This interdisciplinary research project will combine novel techniques based on high-resolution phase-retrieval x-ray diffraction and imaging, with complementary analytical electron microscopy and atom probe analysis, in a coordinated study of the structure and properties of embedded interfaces in strategic bi-crystals and nanostructures. It promises new techniques for the study of such defects, and a breakthrough in the understanding of the structural transitions that occur in embedded interfaces as a function of local changes in composition and temperature.Read moreRead less
Microwave Antennas and Waveguides in Photonic Crystals. We propose to design a revolutionary new class of microwave antennas and antenna arrays in photonic crystals, which can shield, localise and guide electromagnetic radiation in a dielectric environment. This design is completely devoid of metal, thereby eliminating skin-effect losses that are the dominant limitation for planar antenna arrays at upper microwave (millimetre-wave) frequencies. Our new design will achieve high radiation efficie ....Microwave Antennas and Waveguides in Photonic Crystals. We propose to design a revolutionary new class of microwave antennas and antenna arrays in photonic crystals, which can shield, localise and guide electromagnetic radiation in a dielectric environment. This design is completely devoid of metal, thereby eliminating skin-effect losses that are the dominant limitation for planar antenna arrays at upper microwave (millimetre-wave) frequencies. Our new design will achieve high radiation efficiencies and antenna gains not possible with existing planar technology, thereby enabling new applications of planar antenna arrays, for example to radio astronomy, as well as greatly improving existing applications.Read moreRead less
The Response of the Middle Atmosphere to Solar and Dynamical Forcing. The region of the atmosphere and ionosphere between 50 and 100 km is difficult to measure directly. We will use a unique array of instruments deployed across Australia to study how this region responds to waves generated in the lower atmosphere and to changes in electromagnetic energy from the sun and particle precipitation from the magnetosphere. Outcomes will help our understanding of how the region is responding to rising l ....The Response of the Middle Atmosphere to Solar and Dynamical Forcing. The region of the atmosphere and ionosphere between 50 and 100 km is difficult to measure directly. We will use a unique array of instruments deployed across Australia to study how this region responds to waves generated in the lower atmosphere and to changes in electromagnetic energy from the sun and particle precipitation from the magnetosphere. Outcomes will help our understanding of how the region is responding to rising levels of greenhouse gas concentrations. Cooling effects are already apparent and our research will look for additional evidence of change.Read moreRead less
Quantum coherence and many-body interactions in inorganic and organic nanoscale electronic devices. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. Although Australia is not presently a major player in the industry, this proposal will enable Australia to play a role in its future development of nanoscale electronics, both in conventional (inorganic) semiconductor devices, and in new (organic) de ....Quantum coherence and many-body interactions in inorganic and organic nanoscale electronic devices. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. Although Australia is not presently a major player in the industry, this proposal will enable Australia to play a role in its future development of nanoscale electronics, both in conventional (inorganic) semiconductor devices, and in new (organic) device technologies based on carbon nanotubes. This research program will allow Australian researchers and students to work both with leading international universities (Cambridge (UK) and Copenhagen (Denmark), and a leading Japanese industrial research facility - Nippon Telegraph and Telecommunications.Read moreRead less
Imaging surface topography using Lloyd's Mirror in photo-emission electron microscopy. The wide-ranging and innovative nature of the proposal will significantly raise Australia's international profile in condensed matter physics through high impact publications and invited presentations at major international conferences. Researchers will be trained in cutting-edge electron microscopy and synchrotron science. A spin-off company will be formed to commercialise software for reconstructing surface ....Imaging surface topography using Lloyd's Mirror in photo-emission electron microscopy. The wide-ranging and innovative nature of the proposal will significantly raise Australia's international profile in condensed matter physics through high impact publications and invited presentations at major international conferences. Researchers will be trained in cutting-edge electron microscopy and synchrotron science. A spin-off company will be formed to commercialise software for reconstructing surface topography and generating movies of dynamic events. The development of new synchrotron based electron microscopy techniques will establish the expertise for the future creation of a dedicated nanotechnology beamline equipped with photo-emission electron microscopy which will have far reaching national benefit in the physical sciences.Read moreRead less