Project acronym B-response
Project Memory and innate-like B-cell subsets: deciphering a multi-layered B-cell response in mice and humans
Researcher (PI) Claude-Agnes REYNAUD
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), LS6, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary B cells are the main actors of successful vaccines, and their protective capacity relies on several subsets with innate-like and memory properties that fulfill different effector functions. In the present project, we wish to develop approaches in both mice and humans, to confront the similarities and the differences of their B cell responses.
The three aims proposed are:
1) To study the different B cell subsets and TFH cells engaged in a memory response through the use of a new mouse reporter line allowing their irreversible labeling (inducible Cre recombinase under the control of the Bcl6 gene): this will be performed in different conditions of TH1 vs. TH2 polarization, as well as during a chronic viral infection, in which virus-specific antibodies have been shown to be required to control the disease (in collaboration with D. Pinschewer, Basel)
2) To study whether the lifelong persistence of B cell memory, as occurs for memory B cells against smallpox that we can obtain at high purity from aged donor's spleens, corresponds to a specific transcriptional program at the miRNA, lncRNA or mRNA level, as well as a specific cell homeostasis
3) To discriminate the specific effector function of human marginal zone and IgM memory B cells in, respectively, T-independent and T-dependent responses, as well as their specific differentiation/diversification pathway.
The general goal is to delineate the regulatory pathways leading to the activation and persistence of the different B cell subsets, allowing for a better understanding of the conditions leading to their pathological or beneficial mobilization.
Summary
B cells are the main actors of successful vaccines, and their protective capacity relies on several subsets with innate-like and memory properties that fulfill different effector functions. In the present project, we wish to develop approaches in both mice and humans, to confront the similarities and the differences of their B cell responses.
The three aims proposed are:
1) To study the different B cell subsets and TFH cells engaged in a memory response through the use of a new mouse reporter line allowing their irreversible labeling (inducible Cre recombinase under the control of the Bcl6 gene): this will be performed in different conditions of TH1 vs. TH2 polarization, as well as during a chronic viral infection, in which virus-specific antibodies have been shown to be required to control the disease (in collaboration with D. Pinschewer, Basel)
2) To study whether the lifelong persistence of B cell memory, as occurs for memory B cells against smallpox that we can obtain at high purity from aged donor's spleens, corresponds to a specific transcriptional program at the miRNA, lncRNA or mRNA level, as well as a specific cell homeostasis
3) To discriminate the specific effector function of human marginal zone and IgM memory B cells in, respectively, T-independent and T-dependent responses, as well as their specific differentiation/diversification pathway.
The general goal is to delineate the regulatory pathways leading to the activation and persistence of the different B cell subsets, allowing for a better understanding of the conditions leading to their pathological or beneficial mobilization.
Max ERC Funding
2 098 750 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym ByoPiC
Project The Baryon Picture of the Cosmos
Researcher (PI) nabila AGHANIM
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE9, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary The cosmological paradigm of structure formation is both extremely successful and plagued by many enigmas. Not only the nature of the main matter component, dark matter, shaping the structure skeleton in the form of a cosmic web, is mysterious; but also half of the ordinary matter (i.e. baryons) at late times of the cosmic history, remains unobserved, or hidden! ByoPiC focuses on this key and currently unresolved issue in astrophysics and cosmology: Where and how are half of the baryons hidden at late times? ByoPiC will answer that central question by detecting, mapping, and assessing the physical properties of hot ionised baryons at large cosmic scales and at late times. This will give a completely new picture of the cosmic web, added to its standard tracers, i.e. galaxies made of cold and dense baryons. To this end, ByoPiC will perform the first statistically consistent, joint analysis of complementary multiwavelength data: Planck observations tracing hot, ionised baryons via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, optimally combined with optical and near infrared galaxy surveys as tracers of cold baryons. This joint analysis will rely on innovative statistical tools to recover all the (cross)information contained in these data in order to detect most of the hidden baryons in cosmic web elements such as (super)clusters and filaments. These newly detected elements will then be assembled to reconstruct the cosmic web as traced by both hot ionised baryons and galaxies. Thanks to that, ByoPiC will perform the most complete and detailed assessment of the census and contribution of hot ionised baryons to the total baryon budget, and identify the main physical processes driving their evolution in the cosmic web. Catalogues of new (super)clusters and filaments, and innovative tools, will be key deliverable products, allowing for an optimal preparation of future surveys.
Summary
The cosmological paradigm of structure formation is both extremely successful and plagued by many enigmas. Not only the nature of the main matter component, dark matter, shaping the structure skeleton in the form of a cosmic web, is mysterious; but also half of the ordinary matter (i.e. baryons) at late times of the cosmic history, remains unobserved, or hidden! ByoPiC focuses on this key and currently unresolved issue in astrophysics and cosmology: Where and how are half of the baryons hidden at late times? ByoPiC will answer that central question by detecting, mapping, and assessing the physical properties of hot ionised baryons at large cosmic scales and at late times. This will give a completely new picture of the cosmic web, added to its standard tracers, i.e. galaxies made of cold and dense baryons. To this end, ByoPiC will perform the first statistically consistent, joint analysis of complementary multiwavelength data: Planck observations tracing hot, ionised baryons via the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, optimally combined with optical and near infrared galaxy surveys as tracers of cold baryons. This joint analysis will rely on innovative statistical tools to recover all the (cross)information contained in these data in order to detect most of the hidden baryons in cosmic web elements such as (super)clusters and filaments. These newly detected elements will then be assembled to reconstruct the cosmic web as traced by both hot ionised baryons and galaxies. Thanks to that, ByoPiC will perform the most complete and detailed assessment of the census and contribution of hot ionised baryons to the total baryon budget, and identify the main physical processes driving their evolution in the cosmic web. Catalogues of new (super)clusters and filaments, and innovative tools, will be key deliverable products, allowing for an optimal preparation of future surveys.
Max ERC Funding
2 488 350 €
Duration
Start date: 2017-01-01, End date: 2021-12-31
Project acronym CHAMPAGNE
Project Charge orders, Magnetism and Pairings in High Temperature Superconductors
Researcher (PI) Catherine, Marie, Elisabeth PEPIN
Host Institution (HI) COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE3, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary For nearly thirty years, the search for a room-temperature superconductor has focused on exotic materials known as cuprates, obtained by doping a parent Mott insulator, and which can carry currents without losing energy as heat at temperatures up to 164 Kelvin. Conventionally three main players were identified as being crucial i) the Mott insulating phase, ii) the anti-ferromagnetic order and iii) the superconducting (SC) phase. Recently a body of experimental probes suggested the presence of a fourth forgotten player, charge ordering-, as a direct competitor for superconductivity. In this project we propose that the relationship between charge ordering and superconductivity is more intimate than previously thought and is protected by an emerging SU(2) symmetry relating the two. The beauty of our theory resides in that it can be encapsulated in one simple and universal “gap equation”, which in contrast to strong coupling approaches used up to now, can easily be connected to experiments. In the first part of this work, we will refine the theoretical model in order to shape it for comparison with experiments and consistently test the SU(2) symmetry. In the second part of the work, we will search for the experimental signatures of our theory through a back and forth interaction with experimental groups. We expect our theory to generate new insights and experimental developments, and to lead to a major breakthrough if it correctly explains the origin of anomalous superconductivity in these materials.
Summary
For nearly thirty years, the search for a room-temperature superconductor has focused on exotic materials known as cuprates, obtained by doping a parent Mott insulator, and which can carry currents without losing energy as heat at temperatures up to 164 Kelvin. Conventionally three main players were identified as being crucial i) the Mott insulating phase, ii) the anti-ferromagnetic order and iii) the superconducting (SC) phase. Recently a body of experimental probes suggested the presence of a fourth forgotten player, charge ordering-, as a direct competitor for superconductivity. In this project we propose that the relationship between charge ordering and superconductivity is more intimate than previously thought and is protected by an emerging SU(2) symmetry relating the two. The beauty of our theory resides in that it can be encapsulated in one simple and universal “gap equation”, which in contrast to strong coupling approaches used up to now, can easily be connected to experiments. In the first part of this work, we will refine the theoretical model in order to shape it for comparison with experiments and consistently test the SU(2) symmetry. In the second part of the work, we will search for the experimental signatures of our theory through a back and forth interaction with experimental groups. We expect our theory to generate new insights and experimental developments, and to lead to a major breakthrough if it correctly explains the origin of anomalous superconductivity in these materials.
Max ERC Funding
1 318 145 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-08-01, End date: 2021-07-31
Project acronym chemech
Project From Chemical Bond Forces and Breakage to Macroscopic Fracture of Soft Materials
Researcher (PI) Costantino CRETON
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE5, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary Soft materials are irreplaceable in engineering applications where large reversible deformations are needed, and in life sciences to mimic ever more closely or replace a variety of living tissues. While mechanical strength may not be essential for all applications, excessive brittleness is a strong limitation. Yet predicting if a soft material will be tough or brittle from its molecular composition or structure relies on empirical concepts due to the lack of proper tools to detect the damage occurring to the material before it breaks. Taking advantage of the recent advances in materials science and mechanochemistry, we propose a ground-breaking method to investigate the mechanisms of fracture of tough soft materials. To achieve this objective we will use a series of model materials containing a variable population of internal sacrificial bonds that break before the material fails macroscopically, and use a combination of advanced characterization techniques and molecular probes to map stress, strain, bond breakage and structure in a region ~100 µm in size ahead of the propagating crack. By using mechanoluminescent and mechanophore molecules incorporated in the model material in selected positions, confocal laser microscopy, digital image correlation and small-angle X-ray scattering we will gain an unprecedented molecular understanding of where and when bonds break as the material fails and the crack propagates, and will then be able to establish a direct relation between the architecture of soft polymer networks and their fracture energy, leading to a new molecular and multi-scale vision of macroscopic fracture of soft materials. Such advances will be invaluable to guide materials chemists to design and develop better and more finely tuned soft but tough and sometimes self-healing materials to replace living tissues (in bio engineering) and make lightweight tough and flexible parts for energy efficient transport.
Summary
Soft materials are irreplaceable in engineering applications where large reversible deformations are needed, and in life sciences to mimic ever more closely or replace a variety of living tissues. While mechanical strength may not be essential for all applications, excessive brittleness is a strong limitation. Yet predicting if a soft material will be tough or brittle from its molecular composition or structure relies on empirical concepts due to the lack of proper tools to detect the damage occurring to the material before it breaks. Taking advantage of the recent advances in materials science and mechanochemistry, we propose a ground-breaking method to investigate the mechanisms of fracture of tough soft materials. To achieve this objective we will use a series of model materials containing a variable population of internal sacrificial bonds that break before the material fails macroscopically, and use a combination of advanced characterization techniques and molecular probes to map stress, strain, bond breakage and structure in a region ~100 µm in size ahead of the propagating crack. By using mechanoluminescent and mechanophore molecules incorporated in the model material in selected positions, confocal laser microscopy, digital image correlation and small-angle X-ray scattering we will gain an unprecedented molecular understanding of where and when bonds break as the material fails and the crack propagates, and will then be able to establish a direct relation between the architecture of soft polymer networks and their fracture energy, leading to a new molecular and multi-scale vision of macroscopic fracture of soft materials. Such advances will be invaluable to guide materials chemists to design and develop better and more finely tuned soft but tough and sometimes self-healing materials to replace living tissues (in bio engineering) and make lightweight tough and flexible parts for energy efficient transport.
Max ERC Funding
2 251 026 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym CLIM
Project Computational Light fields IMaging
Researcher (PI) Christine GUILLEMOT
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE ENINFORMATIQUE ET AUTOMATIQUE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE7, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary Light fields technology holds great promises in computational imaging. Light fields cameras capture light rays as they interact with physical objects in the scene. The recorded flow of rays (the light field) yields a rich description of the scene enabling advanced image creation capabilities from a single capture. This technology is expected to bring disruptive changes in computational imaging. However, the trajectory to a deployment of light fields remains cumbersome. Bottlenecks need to be alleviated before being able to fully exploit its potential. Barriers that CLIM addresses are the huge amount of high-dimensional (4D/5D) data produced by light fields, limitations of capturing devices, editing and image creation capabilities from compressed light fields. These barriers cannot be overcome by a simple application of methods which have made the success of digital imaging in past decades. The 4D/5D sampling of the geometric distribution of light rays striking the camera sensors imply radical changes in the signal processing chain compared to traditional imaging systems.
The ambition of CLIM is to lay new algorithmic foundations for the 4D/5D light fields processing chain, going from representation, compression to rendering. Data processing becomes tougher as dimensionality increases, which is the case of light fields compared to 2D images. This leads to the first challenge of CLIM that is the development of methods for low dimensional embedding and sparse representations of 4D/5D light fields. The second challenge is to develop a coding/decoding architecture for light fields which will exploit their geometrical models while preserving the structures that are critical for advanced image creation capabilities. CLIM targets ground-breaking solutions which should open new horizons for a number of consumer and professional markets (photography, augmented reality, light field microscopy, medical imaging, particle image velocimetry).
Summary
Light fields technology holds great promises in computational imaging. Light fields cameras capture light rays as they interact with physical objects in the scene. The recorded flow of rays (the light field) yields a rich description of the scene enabling advanced image creation capabilities from a single capture. This technology is expected to bring disruptive changes in computational imaging. However, the trajectory to a deployment of light fields remains cumbersome. Bottlenecks need to be alleviated before being able to fully exploit its potential. Barriers that CLIM addresses are the huge amount of high-dimensional (4D/5D) data produced by light fields, limitations of capturing devices, editing and image creation capabilities from compressed light fields. These barriers cannot be overcome by a simple application of methods which have made the success of digital imaging in past decades. The 4D/5D sampling of the geometric distribution of light rays striking the camera sensors imply radical changes in the signal processing chain compared to traditional imaging systems.
The ambition of CLIM is to lay new algorithmic foundations for the 4D/5D light fields processing chain, going from representation, compression to rendering. Data processing becomes tougher as dimensionality increases, which is the case of light fields compared to 2D images. This leads to the first challenge of CLIM that is the development of methods for low dimensional embedding and sparse representations of 4D/5D light fields. The second challenge is to develop a coding/decoding architecture for light fields which will exploit their geometrical models while preserving the structures that are critical for advanced image creation capabilities. CLIM targets ground-breaking solutions which should open new horizons for a number of consumer and professional markets (photography, augmented reality, light field microscopy, medical imaging, particle image velocimetry).
Max ERC Funding
2 461 086 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym CoBCoM
Project Computational Brain Connectivity Mapping
Researcher (PI) Rachid DERICHE
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE ENINFORMATIQUE ET AUTOMATIQUE
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE6, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary One third of the burden of all the diseases in Europe is due to problems caused by diseases affecting brain. Although exceptional progress has been obtained for exploring it during the past decades, the brain is still terra-incognita and calls for specic research efforts to better understand its architecture and functioning.
CoBCoM is our response to this great challenge of modern science with the overall goal to develop a joint Dynamical Structural-Functional Brain Connectivity Network (DSF-BCN) solidly grounded on advanced and integrated methods for diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) and Electro & Magneto-Encephalography (EEG & MEG).
To take up this grand challenge and achieve new frontiers for brain connectivity mapping, we will develop a new generation of computational models and methods for identifying and characterizing the structural and functional connectivities that will be at the heart of the DSF-BCN. Our strategy is to break with the tradition to incrementally and separately contributing to structure or function and develop a global approach involving strong interactions between structural and functional connectivities. To solve the limited view of the brain provided just by one imaging modality, our models will be developed under a rigorous computational framework integrating complementary non invasive imaging modalities: dMRI, EEG and MEG.
CoBCoM will push far forward the state-of-the-art in these modalities, developing innovative models and ground-breaking processing tools to provide in-fine a joint DSF-BCN solidly grounded on a detailed mapping of the brain connectivity, both in space and time.
Capitalizing on the strengths of dMRI, MEG & EEG methodologies and building on the bio- physical and mathematical foundations of our new generation of computational models, CoBCoM will be applied to high-impact diseases, and its ground-breaking computational nature and added clinical value will open new perspectives in neuroimaging.
Summary
One third of the burden of all the diseases in Europe is due to problems caused by diseases affecting brain. Although exceptional progress has been obtained for exploring it during the past decades, the brain is still terra-incognita and calls for specic research efforts to better understand its architecture and functioning.
CoBCoM is our response to this great challenge of modern science with the overall goal to develop a joint Dynamical Structural-Functional Brain Connectivity Network (DSF-BCN) solidly grounded on advanced and integrated methods for diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) and Electro & Magneto-Encephalography (EEG & MEG).
To take up this grand challenge and achieve new frontiers for brain connectivity mapping, we will develop a new generation of computational models and methods for identifying and characterizing the structural and functional connectivities that will be at the heart of the DSF-BCN. Our strategy is to break with the tradition to incrementally and separately contributing to structure or function and develop a global approach involving strong interactions between structural and functional connectivities. To solve the limited view of the brain provided just by one imaging modality, our models will be developed under a rigorous computational framework integrating complementary non invasive imaging modalities: dMRI, EEG and MEG.
CoBCoM will push far forward the state-of-the-art in these modalities, developing innovative models and ground-breaking processing tools to provide in-fine a joint DSF-BCN solidly grounded on a detailed mapping of the brain connectivity, both in space and time.
Capitalizing on the strengths of dMRI, MEG & EEG methodologies and building on the bio- physical and mathematical foundations of our new generation of computational models, CoBCoM will be applied to high-impact diseases, and its ground-breaking computational nature and added clinical value will open new perspectives in neuroimaging.
Max ERC Funding
2 469 123 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym COSMOKEMS
Project EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE ISOTOPE SIGNATURES OF THE EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM
Researcher (PI) bernard BOURDON
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary This project aims at simulating the processes that took place in the early Solar System to determine how these processes shaped the chemical and isotope compositions of solids that accreted to ultimately form terrestrial planets. Planetary materials exhibit mass dependent and mass independent isotope signatures and their origin and relationships are not fully understood. This proposal will be based on new experiments reproducing the conditions of the solar nebula in its first few million years and on a newly designed Knudsen Effusion Mass Spectrometer (KEMS) that will be built for the purpose of this project. This project consists of three main subprojects: (1) we will simulate the effect of particle irradiation on solids to examine how isotopes can be fractionated by these processes to identify whether this can explain chemical variations in meteorites. We will examine whether particle irradiation can cause mass independent fractionation, (2) the novel KEMS instrument will be used to determine the equilibrium isotope fractionation associated with reactions between gas and condensed phases at high temperature. It will also be used to determine the kinetic isotope fractionation associated with evaporation and condensation of solids. This will provide new constraints on the thermodynamic conditions, T, P and fO2 during heating events that have modified the chemical composition of planetary materials. These constraints will also help identify the processes that cause the depletion in volatile elements and the fractionation in refractory elements observed in planetesimals and planets, (3) we will examine the effect of UV irradiation on chemical species in the vapour phase as an attempt to reproduce observed isotope compositions found in meteorites or their components. These results may radically change our view on how the protoplanetary disk evolved and how solids were transported and mixed.
Summary
This project aims at simulating the processes that took place in the early Solar System to determine how these processes shaped the chemical and isotope compositions of solids that accreted to ultimately form terrestrial planets. Planetary materials exhibit mass dependent and mass independent isotope signatures and their origin and relationships are not fully understood. This proposal will be based on new experiments reproducing the conditions of the solar nebula in its first few million years and on a newly designed Knudsen Effusion Mass Spectrometer (KEMS) that will be built for the purpose of this project. This project consists of three main subprojects: (1) we will simulate the effect of particle irradiation on solids to examine how isotopes can be fractionated by these processes to identify whether this can explain chemical variations in meteorites. We will examine whether particle irradiation can cause mass independent fractionation, (2) the novel KEMS instrument will be used to determine the equilibrium isotope fractionation associated with reactions between gas and condensed phases at high temperature. It will also be used to determine the kinetic isotope fractionation associated with evaporation and condensation of solids. This will provide new constraints on the thermodynamic conditions, T, P and fO2 during heating events that have modified the chemical composition of planetary materials. These constraints will also help identify the processes that cause the depletion in volatile elements and the fractionation in refractory elements observed in planetesimals and planets, (3) we will examine the effect of UV irradiation on chemical species in the vapour phase as an attempt to reproduce observed isotope compositions found in meteorites or their components. These results may radically change our view on how the protoplanetary disk evolved and how solids were transported and mixed.
Max ERC Funding
3 106 625 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-10-01, End date: 2021-09-30
Project acronym CRESUCHIRP
Project Ultrasensitive Chirped-Pulse Fourier Transform mm-Wave Detection of Transient Species in Uniform Supersonic Flows for Reaction Kinetics Studies under Extreme Conditions
Researcher (PI) Ian SIMS
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITE DE RENNES I
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE4, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary This proposal aims to develop a combination of a chirped-pulse (sub)mm-wave rotational spectrometer with uniform supersonic flows generated by expansion of gases through Laval nozzles and apply it to problems at the frontiers of reaction kinetics.
The CRESU (Reaction Kinetics in Uniform Supersonic Flow) technique, combined with laser photochemical methods, has been applied with great success to perform research in gas-phase chemical kinetics at low temperatures, of particular interest for astrochemistry and cold planetary atmospheres. Recently, the PI has been involved in the development of a new combination of the revolutionary chirped pulse broadband rotational spectroscopy technique invented by B. Pate and co-workers with a novel pulsed CRESU, which we have called Chirped Pulse in Uniform Flow (CPUF). Rotational cooling by frequent collisions with cold buffer gas in the CRESU flow at ca. 20 K drastically increases the sensitivity of the technique, making broadband rotational spectroscopy suitable for detecting a wide range of transient species, such as photodissociation or reaction products.
We propose to exploit the exceptional quality of the Rennes CRESU flows to build an improved CPUF instrument (only the second worldwide), and use it for the quantitative determination of product branching ratios in elementary chemical reactions over a wide temperature range (data which are sorely lacking as input to models of gas-phase chemical environments), as well as the detection of reactive intermediates and the testing of modern reaction kinetics theory. Low temperature reactions will be initially targeted; as it is here that there is the greatest need for data. A challenging development of the technique towards the study of high temperature reactions is also proposed, exploiting existing expertise in high enthalpy sources.
Summary
This proposal aims to develop a combination of a chirped-pulse (sub)mm-wave rotational spectrometer with uniform supersonic flows generated by expansion of gases through Laval nozzles and apply it to problems at the frontiers of reaction kinetics.
The CRESU (Reaction Kinetics in Uniform Supersonic Flow) technique, combined with laser photochemical methods, has been applied with great success to perform research in gas-phase chemical kinetics at low temperatures, of particular interest for astrochemistry and cold planetary atmospheres. Recently, the PI has been involved in the development of a new combination of the revolutionary chirped pulse broadband rotational spectroscopy technique invented by B. Pate and co-workers with a novel pulsed CRESU, which we have called Chirped Pulse in Uniform Flow (CPUF). Rotational cooling by frequent collisions with cold buffer gas in the CRESU flow at ca. 20 K drastically increases the sensitivity of the technique, making broadband rotational spectroscopy suitable for detecting a wide range of transient species, such as photodissociation or reaction products.
We propose to exploit the exceptional quality of the Rennes CRESU flows to build an improved CPUF instrument (only the second worldwide), and use it for the quantitative determination of product branching ratios in elementary chemical reactions over a wide temperature range (data which are sorely lacking as input to models of gas-phase chemical environments), as well as the detection of reactive intermediates and the testing of modern reaction kinetics theory. Low temperature reactions will be initially targeted; as it is here that there is the greatest need for data. A challenging development of the technique towards the study of high temperature reactions is also proposed, exploiting existing expertise in high enthalpy sources.
Max ERC Funding
2 100 230 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym EUREC4A
Project Elucidating the Role of Clouds-Circulation Coupling in Climate
Researcher (PI) Sandrine Bony
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE10, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary This proposal focuses on two of climate science’s most fundamental questions: How sensitive is Earth's surface temperature to radiative forcing? and What governs the organization of the atmosphere into rain bands, cloud clusters and storms? These seemingly different questions are central to an ability to assess climate change on regional and global scales, and are in large part tied to a single and critical gap in our knowledge: A poor understanding of how clouds and atmospheric circulations interact.
To fill this gap, my goal is to answer three questions, which are critical to an understanding of cloud-circulation coupling and its role in climate: (i) How strongly is the low-clouds response to global warming controlled by atmospheric circulations within the first few kilometres of the atmosphere? (ii) What controls the propensity of the atmosphere to aggregate into clusters or rain bands, and what role does it play in the large-scale atmospheric circulation and in climate sensitivity? (iii) How much do cloud-radiative effects influence the frequency and strength of extreme events?
I will address these questions by organising the first airborne field campaign focused on elucidating the interplay between low-level clouds and the small-scale and large-scale circulations in which they are embedded, as this is key for questions (i) and (ii), by analysing data from other field campaigns and satellite observations, and by conducting targeted numerical experiments with a hierarchy of models and configurations.
This research stands a very good chance to reduce the primary source of the forty-year uncertainty in climate sensitivity, to demystify long-standing questions of tropical meteorology, and to advance the physical understanding and prediction of extreme events. EUREC4A will also support, motivate and train a team of young scientists to exploit the synergy between observational and modelling approaches to answer pressing questions of atmospheric and climate science.
Summary
This proposal focuses on two of climate science’s most fundamental questions: How sensitive is Earth's surface temperature to radiative forcing? and What governs the organization of the atmosphere into rain bands, cloud clusters and storms? These seemingly different questions are central to an ability to assess climate change on regional and global scales, and are in large part tied to a single and critical gap in our knowledge: A poor understanding of how clouds and atmospheric circulations interact.
To fill this gap, my goal is to answer three questions, which are critical to an understanding of cloud-circulation coupling and its role in climate: (i) How strongly is the low-clouds response to global warming controlled by atmospheric circulations within the first few kilometres of the atmosphere? (ii) What controls the propensity of the atmosphere to aggregate into clusters or rain bands, and what role does it play in the large-scale atmospheric circulation and in climate sensitivity? (iii) How much do cloud-radiative effects influence the frequency and strength of extreme events?
I will address these questions by organising the first airborne field campaign focused on elucidating the interplay between low-level clouds and the small-scale and large-scale circulations in which they are embedded, as this is key for questions (i) and (ii), by analysing data from other field campaigns and satellite observations, and by conducting targeted numerical experiments with a hierarchy of models and configurations.
This research stands a very good chance to reduce the primary source of the forty-year uncertainty in climate sensitivity, to demystify long-standing questions of tropical meteorology, and to advance the physical understanding and prediction of extreme events. EUREC4A will also support, motivate and train a team of young scientists to exploit the synergy between observational and modelling approaches to answer pressing questions of atmospheric and climate science.
Max ERC Funding
3 013 334 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-08-01, End date: 2021-07-31
Project acronym ExCoMet
Project CONTROLLING AND MEASURING RELATIVISTIC MOTION OF MATTER WITH ULTRAINTENSE STRUCTURED LIGHT
Researcher (PI) Fabien, Hervé, Jean QUERE
Host Institution (HI) COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary Femtosecond lasers can now provide intensities such that the light field induces relativistic motion of large ensembles of electrons. The ultimate goal of this Ultra-High Intensity (UHI) Physics is the control of relativistic motion of matter with light, which requires a deep understanding of this extreme regime of laser-matter interaction. Such a control holds the promise of major scientific and societal applications, by providing ultra-compact laser-driven particle accelerators and attosecond X-ray sources. Until now, advances in UHI Physics have relied on a quest for the highest laser intensities, pursued by focusing optimally-compressed laser pulses to their diffraction limit. In contrast, the goal of the ExCoMet project is to establish a new paradigm, by demonstrating the potential of driving UHI laser plasma-interactions with sophisticated structured laser beams–i.e. beams whose amplitude, phase or polarization are shaped in space-time.
Based on this new paradigm, we will show that unprecedented experimental insight can be gained on UHI laser-matter interactions. For instance, by using laser fields whose propagation direction rotates on a femtosecond time scale, we will temporally resolve the synchrotron emission of laser-driven relativistic electrons in plasmas, and thus gather direct information on their dynamics. We will also show that such structured laser fields can be exploited to introduce new physics in UHI experiments, and can provide advanced degrees of control that will be essential for future light and particles sources based on these interactions. Using Laguerre-Gauss beams, we will in particular investigate the transfer of orbital angular momentum from UHI lasers to plasmas, and its consequences on the physics and performances of laser-plasma accelerators. This project thus aims at bringing conceptual breakthroughs in UHI physics, at a time where major projects relying on this physics are being launched, in particular in Europe.
Summary
Femtosecond lasers can now provide intensities such that the light field induces relativistic motion of large ensembles of electrons. The ultimate goal of this Ultra-High Intensity (UHI) Physics is the control of relativistic motion of matter with light, which requires a deep understanding of this extreme regime of laser-matter interaction. Such a control holds the promise of major scientific and societal applications, by providing ultra-compact laser-driven particle accelerators and attosecond X-ray sources. Until now, advances in UHI Physics have relied on a quest for the highest laser intensities, pursued by focusing optimally-compressed laser pulses to their diffraction limit. In contrast, the goal of the ExCoMet project is to establish a new paradigm, by demonstrating the potential of driving UHI laser plasma-interactions with sophisticated structured laser beams–i.e. beams whose amplitude, phase or polarization are shaped in space-time.
Based on this new paradigm, we will show that unprecedented experimental insight can be gained on UHI laser-matter interactions. For instance, by using laser fields whose propagation direction rotates on a femtosecond time scale, we will temporally resolve the synchrotron emission of laser-driven relativistic electrons in plasmas, and thus gather direct information on their dynamics. We will also show that such structured laser fields can be exploited to introduce new physics in UHI experiments, and can provide advanced degrees of control that will be essential for future light and particles sources based on these interactions. Using Laguerre-Gauss beams, we will in particular investigate the transfer of orbital angular momentum from UHI lasers to plasmas, and its consequences on the physics and performances of laser-plasma accelerators. This project thus aims at bringing conceptual breakthroughs in UHI physics, at a time where major projects relying on this physics are being launched, in particular in Europe.
Max ERC Funding
2 250 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-10-01, End date: 2021-09-30
