Project acronym BLACKHOLECAM
Project Imaging the Event Horizon of Black Holes
Researcher (PI) Heino Falcke, Michael Kramer, Luciano Rezzolla
Host Institution (HI) STICHTING KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT
Country Netherlands
Call Details Synergy Grants (SyG), SyG, ERC-2013-SyG
Summary Gravity is successfully described by Einstein’s theory of general relativity (GR), governing the structure of our entire universe. Yet it remains the least understood of all forces in nature, resisting unification with quantum physics. One of the most fundamental predictions of GR are black holes (BHs). Their defining feature is the event horizon, the surface that light cannot escape and where time and space exchange their nature. However, while there are many convincing BH candidates in the universe, there is no experimental proof for the existence of an event horizon yet. So, does GR really hold in its most extreme limit? Do BHs exist or are alternatives needed? Here we propose to build a Black Hole Camera that for the first time will take an actual picture of a BH and image the shadow of its event horizon. We will do this by providing the equipment and software needed to turn a network of existing mm-wave radio telescopes into a global interferometer. This virtual telescope, when supplemented with the new Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), has the power to finally resolve the supermassive BH in the centre of our Milky Way – the best-measured BH candidate we know of. In order to compare the image with the theoretical predictions we will need to perform numerical modelling and ray tracing in GR and alternative theories. In addition, we will need to determine accurately the two basic parameters of the BH: its mass and spin. This will become possible by precisely measuring orbits of stars with optical interferometry on ESO’s VLTI. Moreover, our equipment at ALMA will allow for the first detection of pulsars around the BH. Already a single pulsar will independently determine the BH’s mass to one part in a million and its spin to a few per cent. This unique combination will not only produce the first-ever image of a BH, but also turn our Galactic Centre into a fundamental-physics laboratory to measure the fabric of space and time with unprecedented precision.
Summary
Gravity is successfully described by Einstein’s theory of general relativity (GR), governing the structure of our entire universe. Yet it remains the least understood of all forces in nature, resisting unification with quantum physics. One of the most fundamental predictions of GR are black holes (BHs). Their defining feature is the event horizon, the surface that light cannot escape and where time and space exchange their nature. However, while there are many convincing BH candidates in the universe, there is no experimental proof for the existence of an event horizon yet. So, does GR really hold in its most extreme limit? Do BHs exist or are alternatives needed? Here we propose to build a Black Hole Camera that for the first time will take an actual picture of a BH and image the shadow of its event horizon. We will do this by providing the equipment and software needed to turn a network of existing mm-wave radio telescopes into a global interferometer. This virtual telescope, when supplemented with the new Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), has the power to finally resolve the supermassive BH in the centre of our Milky Way – the best-measured BH candidate we know of. In order to compare the image with the theoretical predictions we will need to perform numerical modelling and ray tracing in GR and alternative theories. In addition, we will need to determine accurately the two basic parameters of the BH: its mass and spin. This will become possible by precisely measuring orbits of stars with optical interferometry on ESO’s VLTI. Moreover, our equipment at ALMA will allow for the first detection of pulsars around the BH. Already a single pulsar will independently determine the BH’s mass to one part in a million and its spin to a few per cent. This unique combination will not only produce the first-ever image of a BH, but also turn our Galactic Centre into a fundamental-physics laboratory to measure the fabric of space and time with unprecedented precision.
Max ERC Funding
13 975 744 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30
Project acronym DEEP PURPLE
Project DEEP PURPLE: darkening of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Researcher (PI) Martyn TRANTER, Alexandre Barbosa Anesio, Liane Benning
Host Institution (HI) AARHUS UNIVERSITET
Country Denmark
Call Details Synergy Grants (SyG), SyG, ERC-2019-SyG
Summary The stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is a threat to coastal communities worldwide. The PIs have changed our understanding of why it darkens during the melt season, becoming increasingly deep purple due to pigmented ice algal blooms in the ice surface, producing more melt and accelerating the GrIS towards its tipping point, and increasing sea level. The next step jump in our understanding of biological darkening will be provided by DEEP PURPLE, which will establish the factors that control ice algal blooms. These factors are essential for modelling of future melting, which require a process-based understanding of blooming. DEEP PURPLE will quantify the synergies between the biology, chemistry and physics of ice algae micro-niches in rotting, melting ice, and examine the combination of factors which stabilise them. State-of-the-science analytical and observational methods will be employed to characterise the complex mosaic of wet ice habitats, dependent on factors such as the hydrology, nutrient status, particulate content and light fields within these continually evolving ice-water-particulate-microbe systems. We will quantitatively assess why and how the fine light mineral dust particulates contained within the melting ice amplify the growth of ice algae. The particulate content and composition of different layers in the GrIS is dependent on age, and so the algae that the melting ice can support may fundamentally change over time. We look back to understand if the ice biome has changed through the Anthropocene via analyse of fjord sediments. The first draft genome of ice algae will show their key adaptations to glacier surface habitats. DEEP PURPLE looks forward by providing the critical field data sets and conceptual models of ice algal growth that will facilitate the next generation of predictive models of sea level rise due to biologically enhanced melting of the GrIS.
Summary
The stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is a threat to coastal communities worldwide. The PIs have changed our understanding of why it darkens during the melt season, becoming increasingly deep purple due to pigmented ice algal blooms in the ice surface, producing more melt and accelerating the GrIS towards its tipping point, and increasing sea level. The next step jump in our understanding of biological darkening will be provided by DEEP PURPLE, which will establish the factors that control ice algal blooms. These factors are essential for modelling of future melting, which require a process-based understanding of blooming. DEEP PURPLE will quantify the synergies between the biology, chemistry and physics of ice algae micro-niches in rotting, melting ice, and examine the combination of factors which stabilise them. State-of-the-science analytical and observational methods will be employed to characterise the complex mosaic of wet ice habitats, dependent on factors such as the hydrology, nutrient status, particulate content and light fields within these continually evolving ice-water-particulate-microbe systems. We will quantitatively assess why and how the fine light mineral dust particulates contained within the melting ice amplify the growth of ice algae. The particulate content and composition of different layers in the GrIS is dependent on age, and so the algae that the melting ice can support may fundamentally change over time. We look back to understand if the ice biome has changed through the Anthropocene via analyse of fjord sediments. The first draft genome of ice algae will show their key adaptations to glacier surface habitats. DEEP PURPLE looks forward by providing the critical field data sets and conceptual models of ice algal growth that will facilitate the next generation of predictive models of sea level rise due to biologically enhanced melting of the GrIS.
Max ERC Funding
11 007 344 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-01-01, End date: 2025-12-31
Project acronym NEXUS1492
Project NEXUS 1492. New World Encounters in a Globalising World
Researcher (PI) Corinne Lisette Hofman, Gareth Rees Davies, Ulrik Brandes, Willem Johannes Hyacinthus Willems
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN
Country Netherlands
Call Details Synergy Grants (SyG), SyG, ERC-2012-SyG
Summary NEXUS1492 investigates the impacts of colonial encounters in the Caribbean, the nexus of the first interactions between the New and the Old World. This Synergy Programme intends to rewrite a crucial and neglected chapter in global history initiated by European colonisation by focussing on transformations to indigenous, Amerindian cultures and societies. NEXUS1492 will address intercultural Amerindian-European-African dynamics at multiple temporal and spatial scales across the historical divide of 1492. The unique trans-disciplinary synergy of four PIs and their teams of archaeologists, social, natural and computer scientists, and heritage experts will pioneer new analytical tools, and apply multi-disciplinary cutting-edge techniques, theoretical frameworks and skill sets to provide a novel perspective on New World encounters in a globalising world. NEXUS1492 will work with local experts to develop sustainable heritage management strategies, creating a future for the past. This past is under threat from looting and illegal trade, construction development and natural disasters (e.g., climate change, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions). By placing the Caribbean’s indigenous past within a contemporary heritage agenda, this programme strives to increase the awareness and protection of heritage resources. The innovative approach and outcomes of NEXUS1492 will be of global scientific significance and high societal relevance.
Four interlocking projects will address:
1. Transformations of lifeways and deathways, landscapes, and material culture through archaeological investigations.
2. Human mobility and the circulation of materials and objects through isotope geochemistry and archaeometry.
3.Socio-cultural relationships and interactions through the reconstruction of archaeological networks.
4. Heritage preservation through investigation of regulatory, legislative, and curatorial standards and community engagement efforts.
Summary
NEXUS1492 investigates the impacts of colonial encounters in the Caribbean, the nexus of the first interactions between the New and the Old World. This Synergy Programme intends to rewrite a crucial and neglected chapter in global history initiated by European colonisation by focussing on transformations to indigenous, Amerindian cultures and societies. NEXUS1492 will address intercultural Amerindian-European-African dynamics at multiple temporal and spatial scales across the historical divide of 1492. The unique trans-disciplinary synergy of four PIs and their teams of archaeologists, social, natural and computer scientists, and heritage experts will pioneer new analytical tools, and apply multi-disciplinary cutting-edge techniques, theoretical frameworks and skill sets to provide a novel perspective on New World encounters in a globalising world. NEXUS1492 will work with local experts to develop sustainable heritage management strategies, creating a future for the past. This past is under threat from looting and illegal trade, construction development and natural disasters (e.g., climate change, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions). By placing the Caribbean’s indigenous past within a contemporary heritage agenda, this programme strives to increase the awareness and protection of heritage resources. The innovative approach and outcomes of NEXUS1492 will be of global scientific significance and high societal relevance.
Four interlocking projects will address:
1. Transformations of lifeways and deathways, landscapes, and material culture through archaeological investigations.
2. Human mobility and the circulation of materials and objects through isotope geochemistry and archaeometry.
3.Socio-cultural relationships and interactions through the reconstruction of archaeological networks.
4. Heritage preservation through investigation of regulatory, legislative, and curatorial standards and community engagement efforts.
Max ERC Funding
14 826 037 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-09-01, End date: 2019-08-31
