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 DYBHO
Project The dynamics of black holes: testing the limits of Einstein's theory
Researcher (PI) Vitor Manuel Dos Santos Cardoso
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO
Country Portugal
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE2, ERC-2010-StG_20091028
Summary From astrophysics to high-energy physics and quantum gravity, black holes (BHs) have acquired an ever increasing role in fundamental physics, and are now part of the terminology of many important branches of theoretical and observational physics. It has been established that supermassive BHs lurk at the center of many galaxies and provide fertile ground for stellar growth and evolution. Millions of stellar-mass BHs populate the galaxies, and power violent processes such as gamma-ray bursts, etc. In high-energy physics, the gauge/gravity duality has created a powerful framework for the study of strongly coupled gauge theories and found applications in connection with the experimental program on heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC, among many others. As emphasized by Maldacena and Witten, BHs play a special role in the correspondence: confinement in QCD may be related via the Hawking-Page phase transition to BHs in anti-de Sitter (AdS).
Given the central role that BHs have been claiming in physics, a major task for theoreticians
is to understand processes in which they are involved. With the advent of techniques to evolve BH spacetimes numerically, the field is undergoing a phase transition from a promising branch of general relativity to one of the most exciting fields in 21st century research that will open up unprecedented opportunities to expand and test our understanding of fundamental physics and the universe.
This project aims at evolving numerically BHs in generic backgrounds, in a fully non-linear framework. We intend to generalize all the machinery developed in the last 30 years for asymptotically flat, (3+1) dimensional spacetimes to other geometries and field equations.
This allows a number of fundamental questions to be tackled, from tests of the cosmic censorship to an understanding of the stability and phase diagrams of these objects and
how different field equations can impact on gravitational-wave emission
Summary
From astrophysics to high-energy physics and quantum gravity, black holes (BHs) have acquired an ever increasing role in fundamental physics, and are now part of the terminology of many important branches of theoretical and observational physics. It has been established that supermassive BHs lurk at the center of many galaxies and provide fertile ground for stellar growth and evolution. Millions of stellar-mass BHs populate the galaxies, and power violent processes such as gamma-ray bursts, etc. In high-energy physics, the gauge/gravity duality has created a powerful framework for the study of strongly coupled gauge theories and found applications in connection with the experimental program on heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC, among many others. As emphasized by Maldacena and Witten, BHs play a special role in the correspondence: confinement in QCD may be related via the Hawking-Page phase transition to BHs in anti-de Sitter (AdS).
Given the central role that BHs have been claiming in physics, a major task for theoreticians
is to understand processes in which they are involved. With the advent of techniques to evolve BH spacetimes numerically, the field is undergoing a phase transition from a promising branch of general relativity to one of the most exciting fields in 21st century research that will open up unprecedented opportunities to expand and test our understanding of fundamental physics and the universe.
This project aims at evolving numerically BHs in generic backgrounds, in a fully non-linear framework. We intend to generalize all the machinery developed in the last 30 years for asymptotically flat, (3+1) dimensional spacetimes to other geometries and field equations.
This allows a number of fundamental questions to be tackled, from tests of the cosmic censorship to an understanding of the stability and phase diagrams of these objects and
how different field equations can impact on gravitational-wave emission
Max ERC Funding
915 000 €
Duration
Start date: 2010-12-01, End date: 2015-11-30
Project acronym InPairs
Project In Silico Pair Plasmas: from ultra intense lasers to relativistic astrophysics in the laboratory
Researcher (PI) LuIs Miguel DE OLIVEIRA E SILVA
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO
Country Portugal
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2015-AdG
Summary How do extreme electromagnetic fields modify the dynamics of matter? Will quantum electrodynamics effects be important at the focus of an ultra intense laser? How are the magnetospheres of compact stellar remnants formed, and can we capture the physics of these environments in the laboratory? These are all longstanding questions with an overarching connection to extreme plasma physics.
Electron-positron pair plasmas are pervasive in all these scenarios. Highly nonlinear phenomena such as QED processes, magnetogenesis, radiation, field dynamics in complex geometries, and particle acceleration, are all linked with the collective dynamics of pair plasmas through mechanisms that remain poorly understood.
Building on our state-of-the-art models, on the availability of enormous computational power, and on our recent transformative discoveries on ab initio modelling of plasmas under extreme conditions, the time is ripe to answer these questions in silico. InPairs aims to understand the multidimensional dynamics of electron-positron plasmas under extreme laboratory and astrophysical fields, to determine the signatures of the radiative processes on pair plasmas, and to identify the physics of the magnetospheres of compact stellar remnants, focusing on the electrodynamics of pulsars, that can be mimicked in laboratory experiments using ultra high intensity lasers and charged particle beams.
This proposal relies on massively parallel simulations to bridge the gap, for the first time, between the pair plasma creation mechanisms, the collective multidimensional microphysics, and their global dynamics in complex geometries associated with laboratory and astrophysical systems. Emphasis will be given to detectable signatures e.g. radiation and accelerated particles, with the ultimate goal of solving some of the central questions in extreme plasma physics, thus opening new connections between computational studies, laboratory experiments, and relativistic plasma astrophysics.
Summary
How do extreme electromagnetic fields modify the dynamics of matter? Will quantum electrodynamics effects be important at the focus of an ultra intense laser? How are the magnetospheres of compact stellar remnants formed, and can we capture the physics of these environments in the laboratory? These are all longstanding questions with an overarching connection to extreme plasma physics.
Electron-positron pair plasmas are pervasive in all these scenarios. Highly nonlinear phenomena such as QED processes, magnetogenesis, radiation, field dynamics in complex geometries, and particle acceleration, are all linked with the collective dynamics of pair plasmas through mechanisms that remain poorly understood.
Building on our state-of-the-art models, on the availability of enormous computational power, and on our recent transformative discoveries on ab initio modelling of plasmas under extreme conditions, the time is ripe to answer these questions in silico. InPairs aims to understand the multidimensional dynamics of electron-positron plasmas under extreme laboratory and astrophysical fields, to determine the signatures of the radiative processes on pair plasmas, and to identify the physics of the magnetospheres of compact stellar remnants, focusing on the electrodynamics of pulsars, that can be mimicked in laboratory experiments using ultra high intensity lasers and charged particle beams.
This proposal relies on massively parallel simulations to bridge the gap, for the first time, between the pair plasma creation mechanisms, the collective multidimensional microphysics, and their global dynamics in complex geometries associated with laboratory and astrophysical systems. Emphasis will be given to detectable signatures e.g. radiation and accelerated particles, with the ultimate goal of solving some of the central questions in extreme plasma physics, thus opening new connections between computational studies, laboratory experiments, and relativistic plasma astrophysics.
Max ERC Funding
1 951 124 €
Duration
Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31
Project acronym MaGRaTh
Project Matter and strong-field gravity: New frontiers in Einstein’s theory
Researcher (PI) VITOR MANUEL DOS SANTOS CARDOSO
Host Institution (HI) INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TECNICO
Country Portugal
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2014-CoG
Summary Gravity is the weakest but the most intriguing fundamental interaction in the Universe. In the last decades a formidable intellectual effort has shown that the full-fledged geometric nature of gravity offers much more than a beautiful description and understanding of all stellar and galactic. In the quest for the ultimate theory of gravity, new and spectacular connections between high-energy physics, astrophysics, cosmology and theoretical physics have emerged. Triggered by breakthroughs at the observational, experimental and conceptual levels, strong gravity physics is experiencing a Golden Age, making it one of the most active fields of research of the 21st century.
My group in Lisbon has been involved in groundbreaking research into the nature of strong-field effects in curved spacetime with applications in various fields, thus establishing international leadership in the field. This proposal aims at understanding,
via perturbative techniques and full-blown nonlinear evolutions, the strong-field regime of gravity, and includes challenging nonlinear evolutions describing gravitational collapse, compact binary inspirals and collisions in the presence of fundamental fields. The proposed programme will significantly advance our knowledge of Einstein's field equations and their role in fundamental questions (e.g. cosmic censorship, hoop conjecture, spacetime stability, no hair theorems), but also its interplay with high energy, astro and particle physics (testing the precise nature of the interaction between compact objects and matter --such as dark matter candidates or accretion disks-- and its imprint on gravitational wave emission, understanding gravitational-led turbulence,etc).
This is a cross-cutting and multidisciplinary program with an impact on our understanding of gravity at all scales, on our perception of black hole-powered phenomena and on gravitational-wave and particle physics.
Summary
Gravity is the weakest but the most intriguing fundamental interaction in the Universe. In the last decades a formidable intellectual effort has shown that the full-fledged geometric nature of gravity offers much more than a beautiful description and understanding of all stellar and galactic. In the quest for the ultimate theory of gravity, new and spectacular connections between high-energy physics, astrophysics, cosmology and theoretical physics have emerged. Triggered by breakthroughs at the observational, experimental and conceptual levels, strong gravity physics is experiencing a Golden Age, making it one of the most active fields of research of the 21st century.
My group in Lisbon has been involved in groundbreaking research into the nature of strong-field effects in curved spacetime with applications in various fields, thus establishing international leadership in the field. This proposal aims at understanding,
via perturbative techniques and full-blown nonlinear evolutions, the strong-field regime of gravity, and includes challenging nonlinear evolutions describing gravitational collapse, compact binary inspirals and collisions in the presence of fundamental fields. The proposed programme will significantly advance our knowledge of Einstein's field equations and their role in fundamental questions (e.g. cosmic censorship, hoop conjecture, spacetime stability, no hair theorems), but also its interplay with high energy, astro and particle physics (testing the precise nature of the interaction between compact objects and matter --such as dark matter candidates or accretion disks-- and its imprint on gravitational wave emission, understanding gravitational-led turbulence,etc).
This is a cross-cutting and multidisciplinary program with an impact on our understanding of gravity at all scales, on our perception of black hole-powered phenomena and on gravitational-wave and particle physics.
Max ERC Funding
1 588 817 €
Duration
Start date: 2015-12-01, End date: 2021-11-30
