The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on trop ....The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on tropical reefs or rainforest communities, through careful temporal niche partitioning where reliance on other sensory systems takes over from vision and olfaction as the principal method of prey detection. This project aims to elucidate how the modern fish diversity was shaped by such significant early evolutionary events.Read moreRead less
Pure and applied nuclear structure research with radioactive ion beams at Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU). The structure of exotic neutron-rich nuclei will be investigated at the Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) radioactive ion beam facility using new and novel detector systems. The results will enhance our fundamental understanding of the atomic nucleus and stellar nucleosynthesis as well as provide important data for the development of next generation nuclear reactor ....Pure and applied nuclear structure research with radioactive ion beams at Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU). The structure of exotic neutron-rich nuclei will be investigated at the Californium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) radioactive ion beam facility using new and novel detector systems. The results will enhance our fundamental understanding of the atomic nucleus and stellar nucleosynthesis as well as provide important data for the development of next generation nuclear reactors.Read moreRead less
Superdeformed nuclei and their decay: challenging nuclear models and probing quantum tunnelling. Nuclear superdeformation, where the atomic nucleus adopts an elongated, ellipsoidal shape and can undergo rapid rotation, offers a fascinating opportunity to study quantum mechanical effects in a system where single-particle and collective regimes overlap. The superdeformed shape itself is a spectacular example of collective motion in a mesoscopic system, while the rapid change to a sperhical shape ....Superdeformed nuclei and their decay: challenging nuclear models and probing quantum tunnelling. Nuclear superdeformation, where the atomic nucleus adopts an elongated, ellipsoidal shape and can undergo rapid rotation, offers a fascinating opportunity to study quantum mechanical effects in a system where single-particle and collective regimes overlap. The superdeformed shape itself is a spectacular example of collective motion in a mesoscopic system, while the rapid change to a sperhical shape is an excellent example of quantum-assisted tunnelling. The results of this project will shed light on this important process and provide a stringent test of our understanding of the nucleus.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the neutron lifetime puzzle with lattice quantum chromodynamics. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to confront one of the outstanding puzzles of nuclear and particle physics, the neutron lifetime. New knowledge will be generated through the development of novel theoretical and numerical techniques to increase the precision of the leading theoretical inputs required to predict the neutron lifetime. The outcomes will provide crucial theoretical guidance into understan ....Unravelling the neutron lifetime puzzle with lattice quantum chromodynamics. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to confront one of the outstanding puzzles of nuclear and particle physics, the neutron lifetime. New knowledge will be generated through the development of novel theoretical and numerical techniques to increase the precision of the leading theoretical inputs required to predict the neutron lifetime. The outcomes will provide crucial theoretical guidance into understanding the neutron; helping to guide the next-generation neutron experiments, from particle physics to applications in advanced materials science. The results will have immediate benefit by resolving the neutron lifetime puzzle, while enabling Australian scientists to take a leadership role in this area of fundamental science.Read moreRead less
Imaging the spatial distribution of forces that bind quarks to a proton. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to resolve the distribution of forces acting on quarks inside the proton. New knowledge will be generated in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image novel features that have not been possible in the past. The outcomes will therefore open new research possibilities by expanding the capacity of the international communi ....Imaging the spatial distribution of forces that bind quarks to a proton. This project will perform supercomputer simulations to resolve the distribution of forces acting on quarks inside the proton. New knowledge will be generated in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image novel features that have not been possible in the past. The outcomes will therefore open new research possibilities by expanding the capacity of the international community to study strong interaction physics—including direct relevance to experimental research at the recently-upgraded Jefferson Lab in the US. In analogy to Rutherford's atomic model, the results will have benefit to future generations of humanity with a deeper understanding of the structure of matter.Read moreRead less
Nuclear vibrations under scrutiny in near-spherical and deformed nuclei. This Project aims to elucidate the nature of nuclear vibrations. Evidence is mounting that nuclear excitations long identified as vibrations cannot truly be so. This shakes the foundations of nuclear theory. Coulomb excitation and transfer reaction experiments are to be developed to probe the structure of these quantum states. Expected outcomes include clarification of their true nature and a deeper understanding of why nuc ....Nuclear vibrations under scrutiny in near-spherical and deformed nuclei. This Project aims to elucidate the nature of nuclear vibrations. Evidence is mounting that nuclear excitations long identified as vibrations cannot truly be so. This shakes the foundations of nuclear theory. Coulomb excitation and transfer reaction experiments are to be developed to probe the structure of these quantum states. Expected outcomes include clarification of their true nature and a deeper understanding of why nuclei differ from other many-body quantum systems that do vibrate. Anticipated benefits include enduring methodologies to facilitate international research engagement, and rigorous hands-on training in nuclear methods, to help meet Australia’s need for nuclear-qualified personnel in health, mining, industry and security.Read moreRead less
Supercomputing the tomography of the proton. This project aims to produce theoretical determinations of the quark and gluon distributions of the proton through advanced supercomputer simulations. The project will generate new knowledge in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image structures that have not been possible in the past. This project expects to expand the capacity of the international community to study strong interaction physics, i ....Supercomputing the tomography of the proton. This project aims to produce theoretical determinations of the quark and gluon distributions of the proton through advanced supercomputer simulations. The project will generate new knowledge in the area of fundamental strong-interaction physics by developing innovative approaches to image structures that have not been possible in the past. This project expects to expand the capacity of the international community to study strong interaction physics, including direct relevance to experimental research at the recently-upgraded Jefferson Lab in the US. In analogy to Rutherford's atomic model, the results will have benefit to future generations of humanity with a deeper understanding of the structure of matter.Read moreRead less
Isomers as Probes of Nuclear Structure and Sources of Energetic Photons. The aim is to study exotic long-lived states in nuclei using accelerator facilities in Australia and overseas. This involves the development of sensitive instrumentation and will lead to a new understanding of how such states are formed, of how they may be used to identify the structure of exotic nuclei, and on the limits of stability of nuclei in general. Isomers represent a special form of nuclear matter and they play a r ....Isomers as Probes of Nuclear Structure and Sources of Energetic Photons. The aim is to study exotic long-lived states in nuclei using accelerator facilities in Australia and overseas. This involves the development of sensitive instrumentation and will lead to a new understanding of how such states are formed, of how they may be used to identify the structure of exotic nuclei, and on the limits of stability of nuclei in general. Isomers represent a special form of nuclear matter and they play a role in the formation of the elements in stellar nucleosynthesis. Stimulated isomer decay may ultimately lead to new forms of energy storage and gamma-ray lasers.Read moreRead less
Emergent Phenomena in the Foundation of Matter. This project aims to explore the finite-matter-density features of the relativistic field theory of the strong interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Drawing on national supercomputing resources, this project will undertake QCD calculations of unprecedented complexity to discover emergent phenomena in the ground-state quantum fields that form the foundation of matter. By studying their evolution under temperature and matter density and explori ....Emergent Phenomena in the Foundation of Matter. This project aims to explore the finite-matter-density features of the relativistic field theory of the strong interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). Drawing on national supercomputing resources, this project will undertake QCD calculations of unprecedented complexity to discover emergent phenomena in the ground-state quantum fields that form the foundation of matter. By studying their evolution under temperature and matter density and exploring their contribution to the structure of the nucleon and its excitations, the research will advance theoretical understanding and challenge experimental programs. Benefits include transferable skills in advanced analytical techniques, high-performance computing, and scientific data visualisation.Read moreRead less
Moments, monopoles and the emergence of nuclear collectivity. The project aims to elucidate the origin and nature of collective nuclear vibrations. Recent evidence that vibrational nuclei might not vibrate after all has shaken the foundations of nuclear theory. This project will measure electric monopole transitions and magnetic moments to help determine these nuclei’s true nature, and expose how their collectivity emerges from the complexity of the underlying single-particle motion. The expecte ....Moments, monopoles and the emergence of nuclear collectivity. The project aims to elucidate the origin and nature of collective nuclear vibrations. Recent evidence that vibrational nuclei might not vibrate after all has shaken the foundations of nuclear theory. This project will measure electric monopole transitions and magnetic moments to help determine these nuclei’s true nature, and expose how their collectivity emerges from the complexity of the underlying single-particle motion. The expected outcome is a deeper understanding of emergent phenomena in quantum many-body systems like the atomic nucleus.Read moreRead less