Weighing the Universe using fast radio bursts. Fast radio bursts are a newly-discovered astronomical phenomenon whose millisecond-timescale emission occurs at cosmological distances, rendering them exceptional probes of the matter that lies in intergalactic space. This project aims to measure the positions and obtain the distances to these bursts to make a direct measurement of the density of ordinary matter in the Universe, at least 50 per cent of which is believed to remain undetected in inter ....Weighing the Universe using fast radio bursts. Fast radio bursts are a newly-discovered astronomical phenomenon whose millisecond-timescale emission occurs at cosmological distances, rendering them exceptional probes of the matter that lies in intergalactic space. This project aims to measure the positions and obtain the distances to these bursts to make a direct measurement of the density of ordinary matter in the Universe, at least 50 per cent of which is believed to remain undetected in intergalactic space. This project will measure the distribution of this missing matter, and find how it has evolved throughout the history of the Universe. This will provide significant benefits, such as addressing two fundamental questions about our Universe: how much matter does it contain, and has a large fraction of it hitherto evaded detection in intergalactic space?Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$403,000.00
Summary
Probing ultralight bosons with black holes and gravitational waves. This project aims to search for gravitational waves from ultralight boson clouds around black holes and to investigate the boson properties. It expects to generate new knowledge on currently undiscovered particles by combining cutting-edge theories and innovative signal-processing techniques. These particles are predicted to solve problems in particle and high-energy physics and are compelling dark matter candidates. Expected ou ....Probing ultralight bosons with black holes and gravitational waves. This project aims to search for gravitational waves from ultralight boson clouds around black holes and to investigate the boson properties. It expects to generate new knowledge on currently undiscovered particles by combining cutting-edge theories and innovative signal-processing techniques. These particles are predicted to solve problems in particle and high-energy physics and are compelling dark matter candidates. Expected outcomes include high-profile constraints on the particle properties and potential detection of new particles, new data-analysis techniques, and significantly enhanced capacity to build international and interdisciplinary collaborations. These should bring significant benefits to fundamental physics and cosmology.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100002
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Partnership in Advanced LIGO+: continuation. The aim of this project is, in collaboration with the USA and UK, to complete the installation and commissioning of the Advanced LIGO+ facilities in the USA in order to bring them to design sensitivity. These facilities expect to increase the event rate of gravitational wave signals by a factor of 125. This should lead to daily detections and the observation of new sources of gravitational waves. Given that only 5% of the universe is detect ....Australian Partnership in Advanced LIGO+: continuation. The aim of this project is, in collaboration with the USA and UK, to complete the installation and commissioning of the Advanced LIGO+ facilities in the USA in order to bring them to design sensitivity. These facilities expect to increase the event rate of gravitational wave signals by a factor of 125. This should lead to daily detections and the observation of new sources of gravitational waves. Given that only 5% of the universe is detectable by telescopes, the impact of gravitational wave detections on our understanding of the universe is inestimable. Australian partnership intends to enable our physicists and astronomers to be at the vanguard of this brand new field and inspire a new generation to study the physical sciences.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100550
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$458,127.00
Summary
Superior performance optical coatings for next-generation interferometry. This project aims to investigate fundamental noise in optical coatings, a limiting factor for state-of-the-art astronomical observatories, global timing standards, and photonics applications. Gravitational wave detectors, marvels of precision engineering that have produced ground-breaking discoveries in fundamental science, are particularly afflicted by coating noise. The proposed experiment plans to operate at cryogenic t ....Superior performance optical coatings for next-generation interferometry. This project aims to investigate fundamental noise in optical coatings, a limiting factor for state-of-the-art astronomical observatories, global timing standards, and photonics applications. Gravitational wave detectors, marvels of precision engineering that have produced ground-breaking discoveries in fundamental science, are particularly afflicted by coating noise. The proposed experiment plans to operate at cryogenic temperatures with unprecedented sensitivity to conduct feasibility studies of deposition methods, coating materials, and layer structures. The goal is to deploy innovative methods to develop Australian-made optical coatings with superior performance and merit for the most demanding scientific and industrial applications.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. The mission of our Centre is to use gravitational waves to investigate the fundamental nature of relativistic gravity, ultra-dense matter, and cosmology. This will generate critical discoveries that cement Australia's leadership role in the gravitational wave mega-science instruments of the 2030s and 2040s. By bringing together a world-class team with broad and complementary expe ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. The mission of our Centre is to use gravitational waves to investigate the fundamental nature of relativistic gravity, ultra-dense matter, and cosmology. This will generate critical discoveries that cement Australia's leadership role in the gravitational wave mega-science instruments of the 2030s and 2040s. By bringing together a world-class team with broad and complementary expertise we will develop core technologies for future detectors, discover new sources of gravitational waves, probe fundamental physics, and lay the foundations for an Australian gravitational wave observatory. Our discoveries will inspire Australia's youth to pursue high tech careers and position our staff and students to become leaders in both industry and academia.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. This Centre aims to explore the historic first detections of gravitational waves to understand the extreme physics of black holes and warped spacetime, and inspire the next generation of Australian scientists and engineers. The next-generation gravity wave detectors will enable a thousand-fold increase in detection volume and result in the new gravitational wave discoveries, triggering a new era of gravitational wave astrophysics. Buil ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. This Centre aims to explore the historic first detections of gravitational waves to understand the extreme physics of black holes and warped spacetime, and inspire the next generation of Australian scientists and engineers. The next-generation gravity wave detectors will enable a thousand-fold increase in detection volume and result in the new gravitational wave discoveries, triggering a new era of gravitational wave astrophysics. Building on decades of Australian investment in gravitational wave and pulsar science, this Centre will coalesce research activities into a focussed national programme whose discoveries are intended to experimentally validate Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and educate the public about the wonders of Einstein's Universe.Read moreRead less