Project acronym TOPCHARM
Project The LHC Battle for Naturalness on the Top Charm Front
Researcher (PI) Gilad Perez
Host Institution (HI) WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary Now that a Higgs-like particle has been discovered naturalness becomes the most pressing and fundamental question within the reach of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The main contribution that destabilises the electroweak scale comes from a top-quark loop. The key for addressing the naturalness problem is thus identifying the top partners that are stabilizing the weak scale.
We consider the following two general possibilities in which the partners have escaped detection:
(I) the top partners are light but elusive, this calls for a theoretical explanation as well as for new innovative experimental techniques for signal exhumation;
(II) the partners are relatively heavy and the signal would consist of energetic (boosted) top from the decay of its partner. I plan to carry out a comprehensive research program designed to attack these challenges, and I believe that I am uniquely prepared to do this. Regarding (I), as proven below, current searches have not considered the impact of non-trivial flavor physics, e.g. splitting between the first two generation partner masses, as well as the mixing between the top-partners and other flavors. The consequences are: (i) significantly weaker mass bounds on some of the partners (e.g. the scharm, charm-supersymmetric-partner); (ii) improved naturalness as even the stops (or fermion partners) can be lighter; and (iii) modified Higgs rates in composite models.
Regarding (II), with collaborators I have been the first one to understand the difficulties of dealing with highly boosted top jets, and since then I was intensively involved in developing theoretical as well as novel techniques to study them, including coauthoring two important papers with the CDF and ATLAS collaborations.
To uncover these new possibilities, expertise in collider phenomenology and flavor physics is required. I have a proven record in these frontiers and thus, given the required support, am well positioned to pursue this quest to save naturalness.
Summary
Now that a Higgs-like particle has been discovered naturalness becomes the most pressing and fundamental question within the reach of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The main contribution that destabilises the electroweak scale comes from a top-quark loop. The key for addressing the naturalness problem is thus identifying the top partners that are stabilizing the weak scale.
We consider the following two general possibilities in which the partners have escaped detection:
(I) the top partners are light but elusive, this calls for a theoretical explanation as well as for new innovative experimental techniques for signal exhumation;
(II) the partners are relatively heavy and the signal would consist of energetic (boosted) top from the decay of its partner. I plan to carry out a comprehensive research program designed to attack these challenges, and I believe that I am uniquely prepared to do this. Regarding (I), as proven below, current searches have not considered the impact of non-trivial flavor physics, e.g. splitting between the first two generation partner masses, as well as the mixing between the top-partners and other flavors. The consequences are: (i) significantly weaker mass bounds on some of the partners (e.g. the scharm, charm-supersymmetric-partner); (ii) improved naturalness as even the stops (or fermion partners) can be lighter; and (iii) modified Higgs rates in composite models.
Regarding (II), with collaborators I have been the first one to understand the difficulties of dealing with highly boosted top jets, and since then I was intensively involved in developing theoretical as well as novel techniques to study them, including coauthoring two important papers with the CDF and ATLAS collaborations.
To uncover these new possibilities, expertise in collider phenomenology and flavor physics is required. I have a proven record in these frontiers and thus, given the required support, am well positioned to pursue this quest to save naturalness.
Max ERC Funding
1 434 154 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-07-01, End date: 2019-06-30
Project acronym Topo Ins Laser
Project Topological Insulator Laser
Researcher (PI) Mordechay SEGEV
Host Institution (HI) TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary Triggered by condensed matter, a new frontier recently emerged: Photonic Topological Insulators (PTIs). These are photonic structures where the transport of light is topologically protected: light propagates in a unidirectional manner without reflection, even in the presence of corners, defects, or disorder. The first step toward PTIs was the electromagnetic analogue of the quantum Hall effect, employing magnetic fields in gyrooptic media. Bringing the concepts of topological insulators into photonics required fundamentally different effects, eluding researchers until in 2013 we demonstrated the first PTI. That, along with experiments in silicon photonics and pioneering theory work, launched the field of Topological Photonics.
This proposal aims to explore the possibility of the “next big thing”, a fundamentally new concept, never suggested before in any context, with high potential impact on fundamentals and on lasers technology: we will explore the idea of the Topological Insulator Laser.
Topological Insulator Lasers are lasers where the lasing mode is topologically protected: light propagates around the cavity unaffected by disorder and defects. Based on our preliminary studies, we envision that by lasing in a topological mode, the interplay between the topology and gain will lead to a highly efficient laser, robust to defects and disorder, that lases in a single mode even at high gain values.
The road to achieve this goes against current knowledge: topological insulators are linear Hermitian closed systems, whereas the topological insulator laser is a non-Hermitian, highly nonlinear, open system.
Our study will be theoretical and experimental, starting at the fundamentals of topological transport in systems with gain, and we will take it all the way to experimentally demonstrate the concepts in several different platforms.
The idea of the Topological Insulator Laser is unique: success will mark a new milestone in optics and topological physics.
Summary
Triggered by condensed matter, a new frontier recently emerged: Photonic Topological Insulators (PTIs). These are photonic structures where the transport of light is topologically protected: light propagates in a unidirectional manner without reflection, even in the presence of corners, defects, or disorder. The first step toward PTIs was the electromagnetic analogue of the quantum Hall effect, employing magnetic fields in gyrooptic media. Bringing the concepts of topological insulators into photonics required fundamentally different effects, eluding researchers until in 2013 we demonstrated the first PTI. That, along with experiments in silicon photonics and pioneering theory work, launched the field of Topological Photonics.
This proposal aims to explore the possibility of the “next big thing”, a fundamentally new concept, never suggested before in any context, with high potential impact on fundamentals and on lasers technology: we will explore the idea of the Topological Insulator Laser.
Topological Insulator Lasers are lasers where the lasing mode is topologically protected: light propagates around the cavity unaffected by disorder and defects. Based on our preliminary studies, we envision that by lasing in a topological mode, the interplay between the topology and gain will lead to a highly efficient laser, robust to defects and disorder, that lases in a single mode even at high gain values.
The road to achieve this goes against current knowledge: topological insulators are linear Hermitian closed systems, whereas the topological insulator laser is a non-Hermitian, highly nonlinear, open system.
Our study will be theoretical and experimental, starting at the fundamentals of topological transport in systems with gain, and we will take it all the way to experimentally demonstrate the concepts in several different platforms.
The idea of the Topological Insulator Laser is unique: success will mark a new milestone in optics and topological physics.
Max ERC Funding
1 864 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31
Project acronym TRANSFORM OPTICS
Project Transformation optics: cloaking, perfect imaging and horizons
Researcher (PI) Ulf Leonhardt
Host Institution (HI) WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary Transformation optics grew out of ideas for invisibility cloaking devices and exploits connections between electromagnetism in media and in geometries. Invisibility has turned from fiction into science since 2006, but is far from being practical yet. Advances in the theory of transformation optical are the key for bringing invisibility closer to practicality. Probably the most important practical application of connections between media and geometries is perfect imaging, the ability to optically transfer images with a resolution not limited by the wavelength. This is because imaging lies at the heart of photolithography, the key technology used for making electronic chips. On the other hand, probably the intellectually most important application of connections between media and geometries lies in the quantum physics of the event horizon, which, for the first time, could be studied in the laboratory. The objective of this proposal is to make significant breakthroughs in (1) moving cloaking from frontier research closer to practicality, (2) turning perfect imaging into a viable technology and (3) demonstrating the quantum physics of the event horizon in the laboratory. This project is at the cutting edge of a global communal effort in the research of metamaterials. The overarching theme of the project is to make abstract and seemingly fantastic ideas practical, by combining ideas from geometry and general relativity with the latest advances in optical metamaterials and integrated and ultrafast photonics.
Summary
Transformation optics grew out of ideas for invisibility cloaking devices and exploits connections between electromagnetism in media and in geometries. Invisibility has turned from fiction into science since 2006, but is far from being practical yet. Advances in the theory of transformation optical are the key for bringing invisibility closer to practicality. Probably the most important practical application of connections between media and geometries is perfect imaging, the ability to optically transfer images with a resolution not limited by the wavelength. This is because imaging lies at the heart of photolithography, the key technology used for making electronic chips. On the other hand, probably the intellectually most important application of connections between media and geometries lies in the quantum physics of the event horizon, which, for the first time, could be studied in the laboratory. The objective of this proposal is to make significant breakthroughs in (1) moving cloaking from frontier research closer to practicality, (2) turning perfect imaging into a viable technology and (3) demonstrating the quantum physics of the event horizon in the laboratory. This project is at the cutting edge of a global communal effort in the research of metamaterials. The overarching theme of the project is to make abstract and seemingly fantastic ideas practical, by combining ideas from geometry and general relativity with the latest advances in optical metamaterials and integrated and ultrafast photonics.
Max ERC Funding
2 495 399 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-03-01, End date: 2018-02-28
Project acronym TRAPLAB
Project Lab Based Searches for Beyond Standard Model Physics Using Traps
Researcher (PI) Guy RON
Host Institution (HI) THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE2, ERC-2016-STG
Summary In this project I will measure a critical constant (beta-nu correlation) of the standard model to a precision of at least 0.1%, an order of magnitude improvement over the state of the art. The project will provide a platform for beyond standard-model (BSM) explorations, based on modern atom/ion trapping and a new accelerator facility.
High precision measurements of beta decay correlations in trapped radioactive atoms and ions are one of the most precise tools with which to search for BSM physics. The recently published US National Science Advisory Council 2015 Long Range Plan states: ``Measurements of the decays of neutrons and nuclei provide the most precise and sensitive characterization of the charge-changing weak force of quarks and are a very sensitive probe of yet undiscovered new forces. In fact, weak decay measurements with an accuracy of 0.1% or better provide a unique probe of new physics at the TeV energy scale``. Ne and He isotopes are particularly attractive due to calculable SM values, high sensitivity to several manifestations of BSM physics, ease of production, and lifetimes in the useful range for such experiments.
This program combines a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) and an Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap (EIBT) to perform a high-precision, competitive, measurement of correlations in the decay of such nuclei. The MOT program focuses on the neon isotopes, where existing measurements are of insufficient quality, and have unique sensitivities to aspects of BSM physics. The EIBT program focuses on measurements using 6He (where a comparison with existing measurements is of great import) and the aforementioned neon isotopes, allowing a direct comparison between the two systems within the same facility (a unique worldwide capability). The combination of these methods will allow an extraction of the beta-nu coefficient to the 0.1% level, making this proposal a forerunner in the field, which will provide a leap-step in the current set of world data.
Summary
In this project I will measure a critical constant (beta-nu correlation) of the standard model to a precision of at least 0.1%, an order of magnitude improvement over the state of the art. The project will provide a platform for beyond standard-model (BSM) explorations, based on modern atom/ion trapping and a new accelerator facility.
High precision measurements of beta decay correlations in trapped radioactive atoms and ions are one of the most precise tools with which to search for BSM physics. The recently published US National Science Advisory Council 2015 Long Range Plan states: ``Measurements of the decays of neutrons and nuclei provide the most precise and sensitive characterization of the charge-changing weak force of quarks and are a very sensitive probe of yet undiscovered new forces. In fact, weak decay measurements with an accuracy of 0.1% or better provide a unique probe of new physics at the TeV energy scale``. Ne and He isotopes are particularly attractive due to calculable SM values, high sensitivity to several manifestations of BSM physics, ease of production, and lifetimes in the useful range for such experiments.
This program combines a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) and an Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap (EIBT) to perform a high-precision, competitive, measurement of correlations in the decay of such nuclei. The MOT program focuses on the neon isotopes, where existing measurements are of insufficient quality, and have unique sensitivities to aspects of BSM physics. The EIBT program focuses on measurements using 6He (where a comparison with existing measurements is of great import) and the aforementioned neon isotopes, allowing a direct comparison between the two systems within the same facility (a unique worldwide capability). The combination of these methods will allow an extraction of the beta-nu coefficient to the 0.1% level, making this proposal a forerunner in the field, which will provide a leap-step in the current set of world data.
Max ERC Funding
1 297 813 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-12-01, End date: 2021-11-30
