Project acronym 4D IMAGING
Project Towards 4D Imaging of Fundamental Processes on the Atomic and Sub-Atomic Scale
Researcher (PI) Ferenc Krausz
Host Institution (HI) LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Country Germany
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2009-AdG
Summary State-of-the-art microscopy and diffraction imaging provides insight into the atomic and sub-atomic structure of matter. They permit determination of the positions of atoms in a crystal lattice or in a molecule as well as the distribution of electrons inside atoms. State-of-the-art time-resolved spectroscopy with femtosecond and attosecond resolution provides access to dynamic changes in the atomic and electronic structure of matter. Our proposal aims at combining these two frontier techniques of XXI century science to make a long-standing dream of scientist come true: the direct observation of atoms and electrons in their natural state: in motion. Shifts in the atoms positions by tens to hundreds of picometers can make chemical bonds break apart or newly form, changing the structure and/or chemical composition of matter. Electronic motion on similar scales may result in the emission of light, or the initiation of processes that lead to a change in physical or chemical properties, or biological function. These motions happen within femtoseconds and attoseconds, respectively. To make them observable, we need a 4-dimensional (4D) imaging technique capable of recording freeze-frame snapshots of microscopic systems with picometer spatial resolution and femtosecond to attosecond exposure time. The motion can then be visualized by slow-motion replay of the freeze-frame shots. The goal of this project is to develop a 4D imaging technique that will ultimately offer picometer resolution is space and attosecond resolution in time.
Summary
State-of-the-art microscopy and diffraction imaging provides insight into the atomic and sub-atomic structure of matter. They permit determination of the positions of atoms in a crystal lattice or in a molecule as well as the distribution of electrons inside atoms. State-of-the-art time-resolved spectroscopy with femtosecond and attosecond resolution provides access to dynamic changes in the atomic and electronic structure of matter. Our proposal aims at combining these two frontier techniques of XXI century science to make a long-standing dream of scientist come true: the direct observation of atoms and electrons in their natural state: in motion. Shifts in the atoms positions by tens to hundreds of picometers can make chemical bonds break apart or newly form, changing the structure and/or chemical composition of matter. Electronic motion on similar scales may result in the emission of light, or the initiation of processes that lead to a change in physical or chemical properties, or biological function. These motions happen within femtoseconds and attoseconds, respectively. To make them observable, we need a 4-dimensional (4D) imaging technique capable of recording freeze-frame snapshots of microscopic systems with picometer spatial resolution and femtosecond to attosecond exposure time. The motion can then be visualized by slow-motion replay of the freeze-frame shots. The goal of this project is to develop a 4D imaging technique that will ultimately offer picometer resolution is space and attosecond resolution in time.
Max ERC Funding
2 500 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-03-01, End date: 2015-02-28
Project acronym ACB
Project The Analytic Conformal Bootstrap
Researcher (PI) Luis Fernando ALDAY
Host Institution (HI) THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2017-ADG
Summary The aim of the present proposal is to establish a research team developing and exploiting innovative techniques to study conformal field theories (CFT) analytically. Our approach does not rely on a Lagrangian description but on symmetries and consistency conditions. As such it applies to any CFT, offering a unified framework to study generic CFTs analytically. The initial implementation of this program has already led to striking new results and insights for both Lagrangian and non-Lagrangian CFTs.
The overarching aims of my team will be: To develop an analytic bootstrap program for CFTs in general dimensions; to complement these techniques with more traditional methods and develop a systematic machinery to obtain analytic results for generic CFTs; and to use these results to gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The proposal will bring together researchers from different areas. The objectives in brief are:
1) Develop an alternative to Feynman diagram computations for Lagrangian CFTs.
2) Develop a machinery to compute loops for QFT on AdS, with and without gravity.
3) Develop an analytic approach to non-perturbative N=4 SYM and other CFTs.
4) Determine the space of all CFTs.
5) Gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The outputs of this proposal will include a new way of doing perturbative computations based on symmetries; a constructive derivation of the AdS/CFT duality; new analytic techniques to attack strongly coupled systems and invaluable new lessons about the space of CFTs and QFTs.
Success in this research will lead to a completely new, unified way to view and solve CFTs, with a huge impact on several branches of physics and mathematics.
Summary
The aim of the present proposal is to establish a research team developing and exploiting innovative techniques to study conformal field theories (CFT) analytically. Our approach does not rely on a Lagrangian description but on symmetries and consistency conditions. As such it applies to any CFT, offering a unified framework to study generic CFTs analytically. The initial implementation of this program has already led to striking new results and insights for both Lagrangian and non-Lagrangian CFTs.
The overarching aims of my team will be: To develop an analytic bootstrap program for CFTs in general dimensions; to complement these techniques with more traditional methods and develop a systematic machinery to obtain analytic results for generic CFTs; and to use these results to gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The proposal will bring together researchers from different areas. The objectives in brief are:
1) Develop an alternative to Feynman diagram computations for Lagrangian CFTs.
2) Develop a machinery to compute loops for QFT on AdS, with and without gravity.
3) Develop an analytic approach to non-perturbative N=4 SYM and other CFTs.
4) Determine the space of all CFTs.
5) Gain new insights into the mathematical structure of the space of quantum field theories.
The outputs of this proposal will include a new way of doing perturbative computations based on symmetries; a constructive derivation of the AdS/CFT duality; new analytic techniques to attack strongly coupled systems and invaluable new lessons about the space of CFTs and QFTs.
Success in this research will lead to a completely new, unified way to view and solve CFTs, with a huge impact on several branches of physics and mathematics.
Max ERC Funding
2 171 483 €
Duration
Start date: 2018-12-01, End date: 2024-05-31
Project acronym ACCELERATES
Project Acceleration in Extreme Shocks: from the microphysics to laboratory and astrophysics scenarios
Researcher (PI) Luis Miguel De Oliveira E Silva
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO
Country Portugal
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2010-AdG_20100224
Summary What is the origin of cosmic rays, what are the dominant acceleration mechanisms in relativistic shocks, how do cosmic rays self-consistently influence the shock dynamics, how are relativistic collisionless shocks formed are longstanding scientific questions, closely tied to extreme plasma physics processes, and where a close interplay between the micro-instabilities and the global dynamics is critical.
Relativistic shocks are closely connected with the propagation of intense streams of particles pervasive in many astrophysical scenarios. The possibility of exciting shocks in the laboratory will also be available very soon with multi-PW lasers or intense relativistic particle beams.
Computational modeling is now established as a prominent research tool, by enabling the fully kinetic modeling of these systems for the first time. With the fast paced developments in high performance computing, the time is ripe for a focused research programme on simulation-based studies of relativistic shocks. This proposal therefore focuses on using self-consistent ab initio massively parallel simulations to study the physics of relativistic shocks, bridging the gap between the multidimensional microphysics of shock onset, formation, and propagation and the global system dynamics. Particular focus will be given to the shock acceleration mechanisms and the radiation signatures of the various physical processes, with the goal of solving some of the central questions in plasma/relativistic phenomena in astrophysics and in the laboratory, and opening new avenues between theoretical/massive computational studies, laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations.
Summary
What is the origin of cosmic rays, what are the dominant acceleration mechanisms in relativistic shocks, how do cosmic rays self-consistently influence the shock dynamics, how are relativistic collisionless shocks formed are longstanding scientific questions, closely tied to extreme plasma physics processes, and where a close interplay between the micro-instabilities and the global dynamics is critical.
Relativistic shocks are closely connected with the propagation of intense streams of particles pervasive in many astrophysical scenarios. The possibility of exciting shocks in the laboratory will also be available very soon with multi-PW lasers or intense relativistic particle beams.
Computational modeling is now established as a prominent research tool, by enabling the fully kinetic modeling of these systems for the first time. With the fast paced developments in high performance computing, the time is ripe for a focused research programme on simulation-based studies of relativistic shocks. This proposal therefore focuses on using self-consistent ab initio massively parallel simulations to study the physics of relativistic shocks, bridging the gap between the multidimensional microphysics of shock onset, formation, and propagation and the global system dynamics. Particular focus will be given to the shock acceleration mechanisms and the radiation signatures of the various physical processes, with the goal of solving some of the central questions in plasma/relativistic phenomena in astrophysics and in the laboratory, and opening new avenues between theoretical/massive computational studies, laboratory experiments and astrophysical observations.
Max ERC Funding
1 588 800 €
Duration
Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2016-07-31
Project acronym AccelOnChip
Project Attosecond physics, free electron quantum optics, photon generation and radiation biology with the accelerator on a photonic chip
Researcher (PI) Peter HOMMELHOFF
Host Institution (HI) FRIEDRICH-ALEXANDER-UNIVERSITAET ERLANGEN-NUERNBERG
Country Germany
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2019-ADG
Summary Resting on our demonstration of laser-driven nanophotonics-based particle acceleration, we propose to build a miniature particle accelerator on a photonic chip, comprising high gradient acceleration and fully optical field-based electron control. The resulting electron beam has outstanding space-time properties: It is bunched on sub-femtosecond timescales, is nanometres wide and coherent. We aim at utilizing this new form of all-optical free electron control in a broad research program with five exciting objectives:
(1) Build a 5 MeV accelerator on a photonic chip in a shoebox-sized vessel,
(2) Perform ultrafast diffraction with attosecond and even zeptosecond electron pulses,
(3) Generate photons on chip at various wavelengths (IR to x-ray),
(4) Couple quantum-coherently electron wavepackets and light in multiple interaction zones, and
(5) Conduct radiobiological experiments, akin to the new FLASH radiotherapy and Microbeam cell treat-ment.
AccelOnChip will enable five science objectives potentially shifting the horizons of today’s knowledge and capabilities around ultrafast electron imaging, photon generation, (quantum) electron-light coupling, and radiotherapy dramatically. Moreover, AccelOnChip promises to democratize accelerators: the accelerator on a chip will be based on inexpensive nanofabrication technology. We foresee that every university lab can have access to particle and light sources, today only accessible at large facilities. Last, AccelOnChip will take decisive steps towards an ultracompact electron beam radiation device to be put into the tip of a catheter, a potentially disruptive radiation therapy device facilitating new treatment forms. AccelOnChip is a cross-disciplinary high risk/high return project combining and benefiting nanophotonics, accelerator science, ultra-fast physics, materials science, coherent light-matter coupling, light generation, and radiology - and is based on my group’s unique expertise acquired in recent years.
Summary
Resting on our demonstration of laser-driven nanophotonics-based particle acceleration, we propose to build a miniature particle accelerator on a photonic chip, comprising high gradient acceleration and fully optical field-based electron control. The resulting electron beam has outstanding space-time properties: It is bunched on sub-femtosecond timescales, is nanometres wide and coherent. We aim at utilizing this new form of all-optical free electron control in a broad research program with five exciting objectives:
(1) Build a 5 MeV accelerator on a photonic chip in a shoebox-sized vessel,
(2) Perform ultrafast diffraction with attosecond and even zeptosecond electron pulses,
(3) Generate photons on chip at various wavelengths (IR to x-ray),
(4) Couple quantum-coherently electron wavepackets and light in multiple interaction zones, and
(5) Conduct radiobiological experiments, akin to the new FLASH radiotherapy and Microbeam cell treat-ment.
AccelOnChip will enable five science objectives potentially shifting the horizons of today’s knowledge and capabilities around ultrafast electron imaging, photon generation, (quantum) electron-light coupling, and radiotherapy dramatically. Moreover, AccelOnChip promises to democratize accelerators: the accelerator on a chip will be based on inexpensive nanofabrication technology. We foresee that every university lab can have access to particle and light sources, today only accessible at large facilities. Last, AccelOnChip will take decisive steps towards an ultracompact electron beam radiation device to be put into the tip of a catheter, a potentially disruptive radiation therapy device facilitating new treatment forms. AccelOnChip is a cross-disciplinary high risk/high return project combining and benefiting nanophotonics, accelerator science, ultra-fast physics, materials science, coherent light-matter coupling, light generation, and radiology - and is based on my group’s unique expertise acquired in recent years.
Max ERC Funding
2 498 508 €
Duration
Start date: 2020-10-01, End date: 2025-09-30
Project acronym AdS-CFT-solvable
Project Origins of integrability in AdS/CFT correspondence
Researcher (PI) Vladimir Kazakov
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Country France
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2012-ADG_20120216
Summary Fundamental interactions in nature are well described by quantum gauge fields in 4 space-time dimensions (4d). When the strength of gauge interaction is weak the Feynman perturbation techniques are very efficient for the description of most of the experimentally observable consequences of the Standard model and for the study of high energy processes in QCD.
But in the intermediate and strong coupling regime, such as the relatively small energies in QCD, the perturbation theory fails leaving us with no reliable analytic methods (except the Monte-Carlo simulation). The project aims at working out new analytic and computational methods for strongly coupled gauge theories in 4d. We will employ for that two important discoveries: 1) the gauge-string duality (AdS/CFT correspondence) relating certain strongly coupled gauge Conformal Field
Theories to the weakly coupled string theories on Anty-deSitter space; 2) the solvability, or integrability of maximally supersymmetric (N=4) 4d super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory in multicolor limit. Integrability made possible pioneering exact numerical and analytic results in the N=4 multicolor SYM at any coupling, effectively summing up all 4d Feynman diagrams. Recently, we conjectured a system of functional equations - the AdS/CFT Y-system – for the exact spectrum of anomalous dimensions of all local operators in N=4 SYM. The conjecture has passed all available checks. My project is aimed at the understanding of origins of this, still mysterious integrability. Deriving the AdS/CFT Y-system from the first principles on both sides of gauge-string duality should provide a long-awaited proof of the AdS/CFT correspondence itself. I plan to use the Y-system to study the systematic weak and strong coupling expansions and the so called BFKL limit, as well as for calculation of multi-point correlation functions of N=4 SYM. We hope on new insights into the strong coupling dynamics of less supersymmetric gauge theories and of QCD.
Summary
Fundamental interactions in nature are well described by quantum gauge fields in 4 space-time dimensions (4d). When the strength of gauge interaction is weak the Feynman perturbation techniques are very efficient for the description of most of the experimentally observable consequences of the Standard model and for the study of high energy processes in QCD.
But in the intermediate and strong coupling regime, such as the relatively small energies in QCD, the perturbation theory fails leaving us with no reliable analytic methods (except the Monte-Carlo simulation). The project aims at working out new analytic and computational methods for strongly coupled gauge theories in 4d. We will employ for that two important discoveries: 1) the gauge-string duality (AdS/CFT correspondence) relating certain strongly coupled gauge Conformal Field
Theories to the weakly coupled string theories on Anty-deSitter space; 2) the solvability, or integrability of maximally supersymmetric (N=4) 4d super Yang-Mills (SYM) theory in multicolor limit. Integrability made possible pioneering exact numerical and analytic results in the N=4 multicolor SYM at any coupling, effectively summing up all 4d Feynman diagrams. Recently, we conjectured a system of functional equations - the AdS/CFT Y-system – for the exact spectrum of anomalous dimensions of all local operators in N=4 SYM. The conjecture has passed all available checks. My project is aimed at the understanding of origins of this, still mysterious integrability. Deriving the AdS/CFT Y-system from the first principles on both sides of gauge-string duality should provide a long-awaited proof of the AdS/CFT correspondence itself. I plan to use the Y-system to study the systematic weak and strong coupling expansions and the so called BFKL limit, as well as for calculation of multi-point correlation functions of N=4 SYM. We hope on new insights into the strong coupling dynamics of less supersymmetric gauge theories and of QCD.
Max ERC Funding
1 456 140 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-11-01, End date: 2018-10-31
Project acronym ALMA
Project Attosecond Control of Light and Matter
Researcher (PI) Anne L'huillier
Host Institution (HI) MAX IV Laboratory, Lund University
Country Sweden
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2008-AdG
Summary Attosecond light pulses are generated when an intense laser interacts with a gas target. These pulses are not only short, enabling the study of electronic processes at their natural time scale, but also coherent. The vision of this proposal is to extend temporal coherent control concepts to a completely new regime of time and energy, combining (i) ultrashort pulses (ii) broadband excitation (iii) high photon energy, allowing scientists to reach not only valence but also inner shells in atoms and molecules, and, when needed, (iv) high spatial resolution. We want to explore how elementary electronic processes in atoms, molecules and more complex systems can be controlled by using well designed sequences of attosecond pulses. The research project proposed is organized into four parts: 1. Attosecond control of light leading to controlled sequences of attosecond pulses We will develop techniques to generate sequences of attosecond pulses with a variable number of pulses and controlled carrier-envelope-phase variation between consecutive pulses. 2. Attosecond control of electronic processes in atoms and molecules We will investigate the dynamics and coherence of phenomena induced by attosecond excitation of electron wave packets in various systems and we will explore how they can be controlled by a controlled sequence of ultrashort pulses. 3. Intense attosecond sources to reach the nonlinear regime We will optimize attosecond light sources in a systematic way, including amplification of the radiation by injecting a free electron laser. This will open up the possibility to develop nonlinear measurement and control schemes. 4. Attosecond control in more complex systems, including high spatial resolution We will develop ultrafast microscopy techniques, in order to obtain meaningful temporal information in surface and solid state physics. Two directions will be explored, digital in line microscopic holography and photoemission electron microscopy.
Summary
Attosecond light pulses are generated when an intense laser interacts with a gas target. These pulses are not only short, enabling the study of electronic processes at their natural time scale, but also coherent. The vision of this proposal is to extend temporal coherent control concepts to a completely new regime of time and energy, combining (i) ultrashort pulses (ii) broadband excitation (iii) high photon energy, allowing scientists to reach not only valence but also inner shells in atoms and molecules, and, when needed, (iv) high spatial resolution. We want to explore how elementary electronic processes in atoms, molecules and more complex systems can be controlled by using well designed sequences of attosecond pulses. The research project proposed is organized into four parts: 1. Attosecond control of light leading to controlled sequences of attosecond pulses We will develop techniques to generate sequences of attosecond pulses with a variable number of pulses and controlled carrier-envelope-phase variation between consecutive pulses. 2. Attosecond control of electronic processes in atoms and molecules We will investigate the dynamics and coherence of phenomena induced by attosecond excitation of electron wave packets in various systems and we will explore how they can be controlled by a controlled sequence of ultrashort pulses. 3. Intense attosecond sources to reach the nonlinear regime We will optimize attosecond light sources in a systematic way, including amplification of the radiation by injecting a free electron laser. This will open up the possibility to develop nonlinear measurement and control schemes. 4. Attosecond control in more complex systems, including high spatial resolution We will develop ultrafast microscopy techniques, in order to obtain meaningful temporal information in surface and solid state physics. Two directions will be explored, digital in line microscopic holography and photoemission electron microscopy.
Max ERC Funding
2 250 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2008-12-01, End date: 2013-11-30
Project acronym Ampl2Einstein
Project Scattering Amplitudes for Gravitational Wave Theory
Researcher (PI) David Kosower
Host Institution (HI) COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
Country France
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2019-ADG
Summary Four years ago, the LIGO/Virgo observation of a black-hole binary merger
heralded the dawn of gravitational-wave astronomy. The promise of future
observations calls for an invigorated effort to underpin the theoretical
framework and supply the predictions needed for detecting future signals and
exploiting them for astronomical and astrophysical studies. Ampl2Einstein
will take ideas and techniques from recent years' dramatic advances in Quantum
Scattering Amplitudes, creating new tools for taking their classical limits
and using it for gravitational physics. The powerful `square root' relation
between gravity and a generalization of electrodynamics known as Yang--Mills
theory will play a key role in making this route simpler than direct classical
calculation. We will transfer these ideas to classical General Relativity to
compute new perturbative orders, spin-dependent observables, and the
dependence on the internal structure of merging objects. We will exploit
symmetries and structure we find in order to extrapolate to even higher orders
in the gravitational theory. We will make such calculations vastly simpler,
pushing the known frontier much further in perturbation theory and in
complexity of observables. These advances will give rise to a new generation
of gravitational-wave templates, dramatically extending the observing power of
detectors. They will allow observers to see weaker signals and will be key to
resolving long-standing puzzles about the internal structure of neutron stars.
We will apply novel technologies developed for scattering amplitudes to
bound-state calculations in both quantum and classical theory. Our research
will also lead to a deeper understanding of the classical limit of quantum
field theory, relevant to gravitational-wave observations and beyond. The
transfer of ideas to the new domain of General Relativity will dramatically
enhance our ability to reveal new physics encoded in the subtlest of
gravitational-wave signals.
Summary
Four years ago, the LIGO/Virgo observation of a black-hole binary merger
heralded the dawn of gravitational-wave astronomy. The promise of future
observations calls for an invigorated effort to underpin the theoretical
framework and supply the predictions needed for detecting future signals and
exploiting them for astronomical and astrophysical studies. Ampl2Einstein
will take ideas and techniques from recent years' dramatic advances in Quantum
Scattering Amplitudes, creating new tools for taking their classical limits
and using it for gravitational physics. The powerful `square root' relation
between gravity and a generalization of electrodynamics known as Yang--Mills
theory will play a key role in making this route simpler than direct classical
calculation. We will transfer these ideas to classical General Relativity to
compute new perturbative orders, spin-dependent observables, and the
dependence on the internal structure of merging objects. We will exploit
symmetries and structure we find in order to extrapolate to even higher orders
in the gravitational theory. We will make such calculations vastly simpler,
pushing the known frontier much further in perturbation theory and in
complexity of observables. These advances will give rise to a new generation
of gravitational-wave templates, dramatically extending the observing power of
detectors. They will allow observers to see weaker signals and will be key to
resolving long-standing puzzles about the internal structure of neutron stars.
We will apply novel technologies developed for scattering amplitudes to
bound-state calculations in both quantum and classical theory. Our research
will also lead to a deeper understanding of the classical limit of quantum
field theory, relevant to gravitational-wave observations and beyond. The
transfer of ideas to the new domain of General Relativity will dramatically
enhance our ability to reveal new physics encoded in the subtlest of
gravitational-wave signals.
Max ERC Funding
2 372 571 €
Duration
Start date: 2021-01-01, End date: 2025-12-31
Project acronym ANDLICA
Project Anderson Localization of Light by Cold Atoms
Researcher (PI) Robin KAISER
Host Institution (HI) CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
Country France
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2018-ADG
Summary I propose to use large clouds of cold Ytterbium atoms to observe Anderson localization of light in three dimensions, which has challenged theoreticians and experimentalists for many decades.
After the prediction by Anderson of a disorder-induced conductor to insulator transition for electrons, light has been proposed as ideal non interacting waves to explore coherent transport properties in the absence of interactions. The development in experiments and theory over the past several years have shown a route towards the experimental realization of this phase transition.
Previous studies on Anderson localization of light using semiconductor powders or dielectric particles have shown that intrinsic material properties, such as absorption or inelastic scattering of light, need to be taken into account in the interpretation of experimental signatures of Anderson localization. Laser-cooled clouds of atoms avoid the problems of samples used so far to study Anderson localization of light. Ab initio theoretical models, available for cold Ytterbium atoms, have shown that the mere high spatial density of the scattering sample is not sufficient to allow for Anderson localization of photons in three dimensions, but that an additional magnetic field or additional disorder on the level shifts can induce a phase transition in three dimensions.
The role of disorder in atom-light interactions has important consequences for the next generation of high precision atomic clocks and quantum memories. By connecting the mesoscopic physics approach to quantum optics and cooperative scattering, this project will allow better control of cold atoms as building blocks of future quantum technologies. Time-resolved transport experiments will connect super- and subradiant assisted transmission with the extended and localized eigenstates of the system.
Having pioneered studies on weak localization and cooperative scattering enables me to diagnostic strong localization of light by cold atoms.
Summary
I propose to use large clouds of cold Ytterbium atoms to observe Anderson localization of light in three dimensions, which has challenged theoreticians and experimentalists for many decades.
After the prediction by Anderson of a disorder-induced conductor to insulator transition for electrons, light has been proposed as ideal non interacting waves to explore coherent transport properties in the absence of interactions. The development in experiments and theory over the past several years have shown a route towards the experimental realization of this phase transition.
Previous studies on Anderson localization of light using semiconductor powders or dielectric particles have shown that intrinsic material properties, such as absorption or inelastic scattering of light, need to be taken into account in the interpretation of experimental signatures of Anderson localization. Laser-cooled clouds of atoms avoid the problems of samples used so far to study Anderson localization of light. Ab initio theoretical models, available for cold Ytterbium atoms, have shown that the mere high spatial density of the scattering sample is not sufficient to allow for Anderson localization of photons in three dimensions, but that an additional magnetic field or additional disorder on the level shifts can induce a phase transition in three dimensions.
The role of disorder in atom-light interactions has important consequences for the next generation of high precision atomic clocks and quantum memories. By connecting the mesoscopic physics approach to quantum optics and cooperative scattering, this project will allow better control of cold atoms as building blocks of future quantum technologies. Time-resolved transport experiments will connect super- and subradiant assisted transmission with the extended and localized eigenstates of the system.
Having pioneered studies on weak localization and cooperative scattering enables me to diagnostic strong localization of light by cold atoms.
Max ERC Funding
2 490 717 €
Duration
Start date: 2019-10-01, End date: 2024-09-30
Project acronym ASTEX
Project Attosecond Science by Transmission and Emission of X-rays
Researcher (PI) Jonathan Philip Marangos
Host Institution (HI) IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Country United Kingdom
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2011-ADG_20110209
Summary "This is a programme of advanced research with potential for high scientific impact and applications to areas of great strategic importance such as renewable energy and biomolecular technology. The aim is to develop and apply a combination of cutting-edge tools to observe and understand dynamics in molecules and condensed phase matter with attosecond temporal and nanometre spatial resolutions. The programme, will exploit two new types of measurements that my group have already begun to develop: high harmonic generation (HHG) spectroscopy and attosecond absorption pump-probe spectroscopy, and will apply them to the measurement of attosecond electron dynamics in large molecules and the condensed phase. These methods rely upon the emission and transmission of soft X-ray attosecond fields that make accessible measurement not only of larger molecules in the gas phase but also thin (micron to nanometre) samples in the condensed phase. This is a research project that will open new frontiers both experimentally and theoretically. The challenge of this research is high and will be met by a concerted programme that is well matched to my teams experimental and theoretical expertise in attosecond physics, ultrafast intense-field science, soft X-ray techniques and advanced techniques for creating gaseous and condensed phase samples."
Summary
"This is a programme of advanced research with potential for high scientific impact and applications to areas of great strategic importance such as renewable energy and biomolecular technology. The aim is to develop and apply a combination of cutting-edge tools to observe and understand dynamics in molecules and condensed phase matter with attosecond temporal and nanometre spatial resolutions. The programme, will exploit two new types of measurements that my group have already begun to develop: high harmonic generation (HHG) spectroscopy and attosecond absorption pump-probe spectroscopy, and will apply them to the measurement of attosecond electron dynamics in large molecules and the condensed phase. These methods rely upon the emission and transmission of soft X-ray attosecond fields that make accessible measurement not only of larger molecules in the gas phase but also thin (micron to nanometre) samples in the condensed phase. This is a research project that will open new frontiers both experimentally and theoretically. The challenge of this research is high and will be met by a concerted programme that is well matched to my teams experimental and theoretical expertise in attosecond physics, ultrafast intense-field science, soft X-ray techniques and advanced techniques for creating gaseous and condensed phase samples."
Max ERC Funding
2 344 390 €
Duration
Start date: 2012-04-01, End date: 2017-03-31
Project acronym AtomicGaugeSimulator
Project Classical and Atomic Quantum Simulation of Gauge Theories in Particle and Condensed Matter Physics
Researcher (PI) Uwe-Jens Richard Christian Wiese
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAET BERN
Country Switzerland
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary Gauge theories play a central role in particle and condensed matter physics. Heavy-ion collisions explore the strong dynamics of quarks and gluons, which also governs the deep interior of neutron stars, while strongly correlated electrons determine the physics of high-temperature superconductors and spin liquids. Numerical simulations of such systems are often hindered by sign problems. In quantum link models - an alternative formulation of gauge theories developed by the applicant - gauge fields emerge from discrete quantum variables. In the past year, in close collaboration with atomic physicists, we have established quantum link models as a framework for the atomic quantum simulation of dynamical gauge fields. Abelian gauge theories can be realized with Bose-Fermi mixtures of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice, while non-Abelian gauge fields arise from fermionic constituents embodied by alkaline-earth atoms. Quantum simulators, which do not suffer from the sign problem, shall be constructed to address non-trivial dynamics, including quantum phase transitions in spin liquids, the real-time dynamics of confining strings as well as of chiral symmetry restoration at finite temperature and baryon density, baryon superfluidity, or color-flavor locking. New classical simulation algorithms shall be developed in order to solve severe sign problems, to investigate confining gauge theories, and to validate the proposed quantum simulators. Starting from U(1) and SU(2) gauge theories, an atomic physics tool box shall be developed for quantum simulation of gauge theories of increasing complexity, ultimately aiming at 4-d Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This project is based on innovative ideas from particle, condensed matter, and computational physics, and requires an interdisciplinary team of researchers. It has the potential to drastically increase the power of simulations and to address very challenging problems that cannot be solved with classical simulation methods.
Summary
Gauge theories play a central role in particle and condensed matter physics. Heavy-ion collisions explore the strong dynamics of quarks and gluons, which also governs the deep interior of neutron stars, while strongly correlated electrons determine the physics of high-temperature superconductors and spin liquids. Numerical simulations of such systems are often hindered by sign problems. In quantum link models - an alternative formulation of gauge theories developed by the applicant - gauge fields emerge from discrete quantum variables. In the past year, in close collaboration with atomic physicists, we have established quantum link models as a framework for the atomic quantum simulation of dynamical gauge fields. Abelian gauge theories can be realized with Bose-Fermi mixtures of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice, while non-Abelian gauge fields arise from fermionic constituents embodied by alkaline-earth atoms. Quantum simulators, which do not suffer from the sign problem, shall be constructed to address non-trivial dynamics, including quantum phase transitions in spin liquids, the real-time dynamics of confining strings as well as of chiral symmetry restoration at finite temperature and baryon density, baryon superfluidity, or color-flavor locking. New classical simulation algorithms shall be developed in order to solve severe sign problems, to investigate confining gauge theories, and to validate the proposed quantum simulators. Starting from U(1) and SU(2) gauge theories, an atomic physics tool box shall be developed for quantum simulation of gauge theories of increasing complexity, ultimately aiming at 4-d Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This project is based on innovative ideas from particle, condensed matter, and computational physics, and requires an interdisciplinary team of researchers. It has the potential to drastically increase the power of simulations and to address very challenging problems that cannot be solved with classical simulation methods.
Max ERC Funding
1 975 242 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
