ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

"During the last decade, a strikingly successful cosmological concordance model has been established. With only six free parameters, nearly all observables, comprising millions of data points, may be fitted with outstanding precision. However, in this beautiful picture a few ""blemishes"" have turned up, apparently not consistent with the standard model: While the model predicts that the universe is isotropic (i.e., looks the same in all directions) and homogeneous (i.e., the statistical properties are the same everywhere), subtle hints of the contrary are now seen. For instance, peculiar preferred directions and correlations are observed in the cosmic microwave background; some studies considering nearby galaxies suggest the existence of anomalous large-scale cosmic flows; a study of distant quasars hints towards unexpected large-scale correlations. All of these reports are individually highly intriguing, and together they hint toward a more complicated and interesting universe than previously imagined -- but none of the reports can be considered decisive. One major obstacle in many cases has been the relatively poor data quality. This is currently about to change, as the next generation of new and far more powerful experiments are coming online. Of special interest to me are Planck, an ESA-funded CMB satellite currently taking data; QUIET, a ground-based CMB polarization experiment located in Chile; and various large-scale structure (LSS) data sets, such as the SDSS and 2dF surveys, and in the future Euclid, a proposed galaxy survey satellite also funded by ESA. By combining the world s best data from both CMB and LSS measurements, I will in the proposed project attempt to settle this question: Is our universe really anisotropic? Or are these recent claims only the results of systematic errors or statistical flukes? If the claims turn out to hold against this tide of new and high-quality data, then cosmology as a whole may need to be re-written."

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31

The main objective nowadays in the field of biomaterials is to design highly performing bioinspired materials learning from natural processes. Importantly, biochemical and physical cues are key parameters that can affect cellular processes. Controlling processes that occur at the cell/material interface is also of prime importance to guide the cell response. The main aim of the current project is to develop novel functional bio-nanomaterials for in vitro biological studies. Our strategy is based on two related projects. The first project deals with the rational design of smart films with foreseen applications in musculoskeletal tissue engineering. We will gain knowledge of key cellular processes by designing well defined self-assembled thin coatings. These multi-functional surfaces with bioactivity (incorporation of growth factors), mechanical (film stiffness) and topographical properties (spatial control of the film s properties) will serve as tools to mimic the complexity of the natural materials in vivo and to present bioactive molecules in the solid phase. We will get a better fundamental understanding of how cellular functions, including adhesion and differentiation of muscle cells are affected by the materials s surface properties. In the second project, we will investigate at the molecular level a crucial aspect of cell adhesion and motility, which is the intracellular linkage between the plasma membrane and the cell cytoskeleton. We aim to elucidate the role of ERM proteins, especially ezrin and moesin, in the direct linkage between the plasma membrane and actin filaments. Here again, we will use a well defined microenvironment in vitro to simplify the complexity of the interactions that occur in cellulo. To this end, lipid membranes containing a key regulator lipid from the phosphoinositides familly, PIP2, will be employed in conjunction with purified proteins to investigate actin regulation by ERM proteins in the presence of PIP2-membranes.

1 499 996 €

Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2016-05-31

The aim of this 5,5 years project is to create around the PI a research group on the control of systems modeled by partial differential equations at the Laboratory Jacques-Louis Lions of the UPMC and to develop with this group an intensive research activity focused on nonlinear phenomena. With the ERC grant, the PI plans to hire post-doc fellows and PhD students, to offer 1-to-3 months positions to confirmed researchers, a regular seminar and workshops. A lot is known on finite dimensional control systems and linear control systems modeled by partial differential equations. Much less is known for nonlinear control systems modeled by partial differential equations. In particular, in many important cases, one does not know how to use the classical iterated Lie brackets which are so useful to deal with nonlinear control systems in finite dimension. In this project, the PI plans to develop, with the research group, methods to deal with the problems of controllability and of stabilization for nonlinear systems modeled by partial differential equations, in the case where the nonlinearity plays a crucial role. This is for example the case where the linearized control system around the equilibrium of interest is not controllable or not stabilizable. This is also the case when the nonlinearity is too big at infinity and one looks for global results. This is also the case if the nonlinearity contains too many derivatives. The PI has already introduced some methods to deal with these cases, but a lot remains to be done. Indeed, many natural important and challenging problems are still open. Precise examples, often coming from physics, are given in this proposal.

1 403 100 €

Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2016-09-30

Multicore processors have now become mainstream for both general-purpose and embedded computing. Instead of working on improving the architecture of the next generation multicore, with the DAL project, we deliberately anticipate the next few generations of multicores. While multicores featuring 1000's of cores might become feasible around 2020, there are strong indications that sequential programming style will continue to be dominant. Even future mainstream parallel applications will exhibit large sequential sections. Amdahl's law indicates that high performance on these sequential sections is needed to enable overall high performance on the whole application. On many (most) applications, the effective performance of future computer systems using a 1000-core processor chip will significantly depend on their performance on both sequential code sections and single thread. We envision that, around 2020, the processor chips will feature a few complex cores and many (may be 1000's) simpler, more silicon and power effective cores. In the DAL research project, we will explore the microarchitecture techniques that will be needed to enable high performance on such heterogeneous processor chips. Very high performance will be required on both sequential sections -legacy sequential codes, sequential sections of parallel applications- and critical threads on parallel applications -e.g. the main thread controlling the application. Our research will focus on enhancing single process performance. On the microarchitecture side, we will explore both a radically new approach, the sequential accelerator, and more conventional processor architectures. We will also study how to exploit heterogeneous multicore architectures to enhance sequential thread performance.

2 398 542 €

Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31

Recent hardware developments from the medical device manufacturers have made possible non-invasive/in-vivo acquisition of anatomical and physiological measurements. One can cite numerous emerging modalities (e.g. PET, fMRI, DTI). The nature (3D/multi-phase/vectorial) and the volume of this data make impossible in practice their interpretation from humans. On the other hand, these modalities can be used for early screening, therapeutic strategies evaluation as well as evaluating bio-markers for drugs development. Despite enormous progress made on the field of biomedical image analysis still a huge gap exists between clinical research and clinical use. The aim of this proposal is three-fold. First we would like to introduce a novel biomedical image perception framework for clinical use towards disease screening and drug evaluation. Such a framework is expected to be modular (can be used in various clinical settings), computationally efficient (would not require specialized hardware), and can provide a quantitative and qualitative anatomo-pathological indices. Second, leverage progress made on the field of machine learning along with novel, efficient, compact representation of clinical bio-markers toward computer aided diagnosis. Last, using these emerging multi-dimensional signals, we would like to perform longitudinal modelling and understanding the effects of aging to a number of organs and diseases that do not present pre-disease indicators such as brain neurological diseases, muscular diseases, certain forms of cancer, etc. Such a challenging and pioneering effort lies on the interface of medicine (clinical context), biomedical imaging (choice of signals/modalities), machine learning (manifold representations of heterogeneous multivariate variables), discrete optimization (computationally efficient inference of higher-order models), and bio-medical image inference (measurement extraction and multi-modal fusion of heterogeneous information sources).

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2011-09-01, End date: 2016-08-31

Cell motility is essential for many biological processes, including development and pathogenesis. Thus, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process have been intensively studied in many cell systems, for example, leukocytes, amoeba and even bacteria. Intriguingly, bacteria are also able to move across solid surfaces (gliding motility) like eukaryotic cells by a process that has remained largely mysterious. The emergence of bacterial cell biology: the discovery that the bacterial cell also has a dynamic cytoskeleton and specialized subcellular regions now provides new research angles to study the motility mechanism. Using cell biology approaches, we previously suggested that the mechanism may be akin to acto-myosin-based motility in eukaryotic cells and proposed that bacterial focal adhesion complexes also power locomotion. In this project, we propose two complementary research axes to define both the mechanism and its spatial regulation in the cell at molecular resolution. Using the model motility bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, we first propose to develop a “toolbox” of biophysical and cell biology assays to analyze the motility process. Specifically, we will construct a Traction Force Microscopy assay designed to image the motility forces directly by live moving cells and use microfluidics to quantitate the secretion of a mucus that may participate directly in the motility process. These assays, combined with a newly developed laser trap system to visualize dynamic focal adhesions in the cell envelope, will be instrumental not only to define new features of the motility process, but also to study the function of novel motility genes which may encode the components of the elusive motility engine. This way, we hope to establish the mechanism and structure function relationships within an entirely novel motility machinery. In a second part, we propose to investigate the mechanism that controls a polarity switch, allowing M. xanthus cells to change their direction of movement. We have previously shown that dynamic motility protein pole-to-pole oscillations convert the initial leading cell pole into the lagging pole. Here, we propose that like in a eukaryotic cells, a bacterial counterpart of small GTPases of the Ras superfamily, MglA controls the polarity cycle. To test this hypothesis, we will study both the MglA upstream regulation and the MglA downstream effectors. We thus hope to establish a model of dynamic polarity control in a bacterial

1 437 693 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31

The present project is dedicated to the characterization of chemical exchanges within water-rich bodies including icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn as well as exoplanets that may be discovered in a near future. Recent spacecraft missions, Galileo (1996-2003) and Cassini-Huygens (2004-today), have revealed that complex chemical exchanges between their warm silicate inner core and their water-rich outer layer have occur on Enceladus, Europa and Titan. Similar exchange processes are also likely to occur within water-rich planets outside our Solar System. Here I propose to combine experimental investigations and numerical modelling to quantify the degree of interaction between seafloors, oceans, ice shells, and surfaces, atmospheres of water-rich worlds. This innovative approach will provide the first complete description of exchange processes on water-rich bodies and will constrain the conditions for which such water-rich environments are favourable for the development of life. The proposed sophisticated modeling of interactions between the interior and surface will provide precious tools for the interpretation of Galileo/Cassini observations and will significantly improve our current understanding of planetary processes. The output of these numerical simulations will also help for the definition of measurements that should be done by future exploration missions (EJSM and TSSM) in order to constrain the composition and size of icy moon s ocean. The detection of water-rich around other stars is within our reach. When the first detections of a water-rich planet and the first identification of atmospheric components will occur, my proposed modelling efforts will provide a theoretical framework for the data interpretation in term of physical and chemical conditions of their ocean and atmosphere. This will provide key constraints to define if a detected planet outside our Solar System is a good candidate for harbouring life.

1 481 400 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31

This proposal aims at generalising the central decidability results of Büchi and Rabin to more general settings, and understanding the consequences of those extensions both at theoretical and applicative levels. The original results of Büchi and Rabin state the decidability of monadic second-order logic (monadic logic for short) over infinite words and trees respectively. Those results are of such importance that Rabin's theorem is also called the `Mother of all decidability results'. The primary goal of this project is to demonstrate that it is possible to go significantly beyond the expressiveness of monadic logic, while retaining similar decidability results. We are considering extensions in two distinct directions. The first consists of enriching the logic with the ability to speak in a weak form about set cardinality. The second direction is an extension of monadic logic by topological capabilities. Those two branches form the core of the proposal. The second aspect of this proposal is the study of the `applicability' of this theory. Three tasks are devoted to this. The first task is to precisely determine the cost of using the more complex techniques we will be developing rather than using the classical theory. The second task will be devoted to the description and the study of weaker formalisms allowing better complexities, namely corresponding temporal logics. Finally, the last task will be devoted to the study of related model checking problems. The result of the completion of this program would be twofold. At a theoretical level, new deep results would be obtained, and new techniques in automata, logic and games would be developed for solving them. At a more applicative level, this program would define and validate new directions of research in the domain of the verification of open systems and related problems.

931 760 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31

We propose to undertake a new challenge: the control of gene expression systems by physico-chemical means to achieve the following objectives: i) developing robust tools for spatio-temporal control of protein expression; ii) understanding the role of micro-environmental factors in gene regulation; and iii) constructing and implementing in vivo smart nanomachines able to express active molecules in response to a stimulus and deliver them to a targeted cell. First, various biochemical processes (transcription, translation) will be controlled by light in vitro, based on photo-induced conformational changes of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) and chromatin. Based on conformational changes rather than specific template-protein interaction, and combined with microfluidic methodologies, this novel approach will provide a ubiquitous tool to address gene expression using light regardless of the sequence, with unique control and spatio-temporal resolution. Second, by reconstituting photo-responsive gene expression systems in well-defined giant liposomes, we will study the dynamics of gene expression in response to light stimulation. This will allow us to establish the respective roles of the membrane (surface charge, permeability) and of the inner micro-environment composition (viscosity, molecular crowding). Third, we will develop stable, long-circulating polymer nanocapsules (polymersomes) encapsulating a gene expression material that can be triggered by light and/or molecules of biological interest. In response to the signal, an exogenous, potentially immunogenic enzyme will be expressed inside the protecting nanocapsule to locally and catalytically convert a non toxic precursor present in the medium into a cytotoxic drug that will be delivered to a cell (e.g., a cancer cell). This new concept of triggerable gene-carrying nanomachines with unique amplification capacity of drug secretion shall open new horizons for the development of smart biological probes and future therapeutics.

1 450 320 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31

Microcavity polaritons are half-light, half-matter composite bosons, which are formed in monolithic semiconductor microcavities of the proper design. Recently, Bose-Einstein condensation of polaritons has been reported, that constitutes a new class of quantum fluid out of equilibrium. Unlike cold atoms, superfluid Helium or superconductors, polaritons are in a driven-dissipative situation, and their mass amounts only to a negligible fraction of an electrons’. This unusual situation has already revealed very interesting phenomena. Moreover, every observables of the polariton fluid, including momentum, energy spectrum and coherence properties are directly accessed via optical spectroscopy experiments. In this project, we will fabricate and investigate new wide band-gap semiconductor nanostructures both capable of taking unprecedented control over the polariton environment, and capable of sustaining very hot and very dense quantum degenerate polariton fluids. Various confinement configurations - two, one and zero-dimensional -will be realized as well as advanced nanostructures based on traps and tunnel barriers. In these peculiar situations, the quantum degenerate polariton fluid will display a new and rich phenomenology. Hence, many premieres will be achieved like room temperature 1D quantum degeneracy, 1D quasi-condensate in solid-state systems, Josephson oscillations of polariton superfluids, and the fascinating Tonks-Girardeau state where strongly interacting bosons are expected to behave like fermions.

1 488 307 €

Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2015-10-31

In biological systems many tissue types have evolved a barrier function to selectively allow the transport of matter from the lumen to tissue beneath. Characterization of these barriers is very important as their disruption or malfunction is often indicative of toxicity/disease. The degree of barrier integrity is also a key indicator of the appropriateness of in vitro models for use in toxicology/drug screening. The advent of organic electronics has created a unique opportunity to interface the worlds of electronics and biology, using devices such as the organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), that provides a very sensitive way to detect minute ionic currents. This proposal aims to integrate the barrier function of biological systems with OECTs to yield devices that can detect minute disruptions in barrier function. Specifically, OECTs will be integrated with cell monolayers that form tight junctions and with membranes that incorporate ion channels. A disruption in tight junctions or a change in permeability of ion channels will be detected by the OECT. These devices will have unprecedented sensitivity, in a format that can be mass produced at low-cost. The potential benefits of this multidisciplinary project are numerous: It will be a vehicle for fundamental research in life sciences and the development of new in vitro models for toxicology screening of disruptive agents and the development of drugs to treat disorders linked with barrier tissue malfunction (e.g. mutations in ion channels). Moreover, through the use of various cell lines and ion channels, this platform will also lead to the engineering of new sensors and biomedical instrumentation, with a host of applications in medical diagnostics, food/water safety, homeland security and environmental protection.

1 496 539 €

Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31

Magmas, i.e. silicate melts, have played a key role in the chemical and thermal evolution of the Earth and other planets. The Earth's interior today is the outcome of mass transfers which occurred primarily in its early history and still occur now via magmatic events. Present day magmatic and volcanic processes are controlled by the properties of molten silicate at high pressure, considering that magmas are produced at depth. However, the physical properties of molten silicates remain largely unexplored across the broad range of relevant P-T conditions, and their chemical properties are very often assumed constant and equal to those known at ambient conditions. This blurs out our understanding of planetary differentiation and current magmatic processes. The aim of this proposal is to place fundamental constraints on magma generation and transport in planetary interiors by measuring the properties of silicate melts in their natural high pressures (P) and high temperatures (T) conditions using a broad range of in situ key diagnostic probes (X-ray and neutron scattering techniques, X-ray absorption, radiography, Raman spectroscopy). The completion of this proposal will result in a comprehensive key database in the composition-P-T space that will form the foundation for modelling planetary formation and differentiation, and will provide answers to the very fundamental questions on magma formation, ascent or trapping at depth in the current and past Earth. This experimental program is allowed by the recent advancements in in situ high P-T techniques, and comes in conjunction with a large and fruitful theoretical effort; time has thus come to understand Earth's melts and their keys to Earth's evolution.

1 332 160 €

Start date: 2011-06-01, End date: 2017-05-31

We propose to investigate the enzymes responsible for DNA replication and repair in micromanipulation experiments with a resolution of a single base. The detailed mechanism by which DNA is synthesized base after base and the coordination of the enzymes involved in this process are not fully understood. We shall develop new magnetic tweezers using lithographic techniques associated with evanescent field detection to address these issues. We shall build arrays of these devices working in parallel, each one on a single DNA molecule and where the measurement of its extension reveals enzymatic activity. The DNA molecule in these devices will form a hairpin the opening of which can be detected with a single base resolution. We will study the different enzymes involved in DNA replication. Firstly, we wish to follow in real time the incorporation of bases one by one by a DNA-polymerase and investigate the proof-reading mechanism of this enzyme. We shall also investigate the translocation mechanisms of different helicases involved in DNA replication and repair. Finally, we plan to study the cooperative action between different enzymes involved in the replication machinery with the help of parallelized micro-tweezers: the coupling between helicase and primase in the lagging strand synthesis, the coupling between the helicase and polymerase during leading strand synthesis and the coordination between leading and lagging strand synthesis. Moreover observing a DNA-polymerase at the single base level is the first step of a DNA sequencing method. Preliminary experiments demonstrate that the unzipping assay is a new way to determine the position of a small DNA sequence with single base resolution. We shall investigate different experimental schemes to achieve this goal.

2 193 566 €

Start date: 2011-09-01, End date: 2016-08-31

General anaesthesia is an important method in today's hospital practice and especially in surgery. To supervise the depth of anaesthesia during surgery, the anaesthesist applies electroencephalography (EEG) and monitors the brain activity of the subject on the scalp. The applied monitoring machine calculates the change of the power spectrum of the brain signals to indicate the anaesthetic depth. This procedure is based on the finding that the concentration increase of the anaesthetic drug changes the EEG-power spectrum in a significant way. Although this procedure is applied world-wide, the underlying neural mechanism of the spectrum change is still unknown. The project aims to elucidate the underlying neural mechanism by a detailed investigating a mathematical model of neural populations. The investigation is based on analytical calculations in a neural population model of the cortex involving intrinsic neural properties of brain areas and feedback loops to other areas, such as the loop between the cortex and the thalamus. Currently, there are two proposed mechanisms for the charactertisic change of the power spectrum: a highly nonlinear jump in the activation (so-called phase transition) and a linear behavior. The project mainly focusses on the nonlinear jump to finally rule it out or support it. A subsequent comparison to previous experimenta results aims to fit the physiological parameters. Since the cortex population is embedded into a network of other cortical areas and the thalamus, the corresponding analytical investigations takes into account external stochastic (from other brain areas) and time-periodic (thalamic) forces. To this end it is necessary to develop several novel nonlinear analysis technique of neural populations to derive the power spectrum close to the phase transition and conditions for physiological parameters.

856 500 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-10-31

Understanding electronic correlations remains one of the biggest challenges of theoretical condensed matter physics. Mesoscopic systems, where electronic confinement can be externally controlled, are natural test beds for understanding the effects of correlations, and the lack of proper techniques to take them into account is acute. This project aims at developing new tools for simulating correlated quantum mesoscopic devices. We will combine standard approaches for transport in mesoscopic quantum systems with new quantum Monte-Carlo algorithms designed to capture correlations in those devices. We will use modern programming paradigms to develop a versatile numerical platform designed to be easily used by other research groups. These numerical tools will be closely related to existing analytical approaches so that we shall be able to make contact with standard many-body theory while go beyond the limitations of the analytical approaches. We will apply this new set of techniques to several problems that have been puzzling the community for some time including quantum transport in low-density two-dimensional gases for both bulk disordered systems (“Two dimensional metal-insulator transition”) and quantum point contacts (“0.7 anomaly”). We will also apply our techniques to several new problems of increasing importance: at finite-frequency, electron-electron interactions play a central role and must be taken into account properly. We will discuss high frequency measurements such as quantum capacitances, ac conductance or photo-assisted transport in a variety of materials (twodimensional gases of electrons or holes, graphene, semi-conductor nanowires…) and leverage on our new numerical tools to go beyond the standard mean field description.

1 222 176 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2015-12-31

Atomic nuclei are finite systems composed of fermions, the nucleons, and essentially governed by the strong force and quantum mechanical laws. Their structure is characterized by single-particle orbitals grouped in energy shells, separated by energy gaps. The numbers of nucleons that correspond to fully filled shells are called magic and represent the backbone of nuclear structure. In this proposal, we propose a new approach to investigate the most neutron-rich systems ever reached and establish the shell structure in new regions of the nuclear chart where new magic numbers or strong shell reordering are expected or controversial. This will open new horizons in the terra incognita of the nuclear landscape. Beyond the fundamental question of the nuclear force, the assessment of new shell closures in the nuclear landscape is of primary importance to better understand the stellar nucleosynthesis in the Universe. In-flight gamma spectroscopy of rare isotopes at intermediate energy is one of the most efficient tools to populate and measure excited states in exotic nuclei. We propose to develop a new method that will increase the sensitivity of prompt-gamma spectroscopy by more than one order of magnitude compared to existing setups. Experiments will be performed at the most competitive fragmentation radioactive-beam facilities worldwide. In the future, this program will take advantage of the European FAIR facility, Germany, coupled to the European new-generation gamma array AGATA spectrometer. When coupled to AGATA, the improvement will reach a factor of several hundreds. This new experimental technique will be strengthened by original developments in the theory of reaction mechanisms, which are also included in this proposal.

1 121 520 €

Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2015-10-31

The purpose of the project is to study linear and nonlinear models arising in quantum mechanics and which are used to describe matter at the microscopic and nanoscopic scales. The project focuses on physically-oriented questions (rigorous derivation of a given model from first principles), analytic problems (existence and properties of bound states, study of solutions to timedependent equations) and numerical issues (development of reliable algorithmic strategies). Most of the models are nonlinear and describe physical systems possessing an infinite number of quantum particles, leading to specific difficulties. The first part of the project is devoted to the study of relativistic atoms and molecules, while taking into account quantum electrodynamics effects like the polarization of the vacuum. The models are all based on the Dirac operator. The second part is focused on the study of quantum crystals. The goal is to develop new strategies for describing their behavior in the presence of defects and local deformations. Both insulators, semiconductors and metals are considered (including graphene). In the third part, attractive systems are considered (like stars or a few nucleons interacting via strong forces in a nucleus). The project aims at rigorously understanding some of their specific properties, like Cooper pairing or the possible dynamical collapse of massive gravitational objects. Finally, the last part is devoted to general properties of infinite quantum systems, in particular the proof of the existence of the thermodynamic limit

905 700 €

Start date: 2010-10-01, End date: 2015-09-30

The aim of this interdisciplinary project is to develop new mathematical and statistical tools, probabilistic approaches, and inversion and optimal design methods to address emerging modalities in medical imaging, nondestructive testing, and environmental inverse problems. It merges the complementary expertise of the investigators in order to make a breakthrough in the field of mathematical imaging and optimal design by solving the most challenging problems posed by new imaging modalities. The PI and Co-PI are leading experts in their respective fields (applied analysis and probability) and their researches have very strong interdisciplinary nature. The goal of this project is to synergize asymptotic imaging, stochastic modelling, and analysis of both deterministic and stochastic wave propagation phenomena. We want to throw a bridge across the deterministic and stochastic aspects and tools of mathematical imaging. This requires a deep understanding of the different scales in the physical problem, an accurate modelling of the noise sources, and fine mathematical analysis of complex phenomena. The emphasis of this project will be put on deriving for each of the challenging imaging problems that we will consider, the best possible imaging functionals in the sense of stability and resolution. For optimal design problems, we will evaluate the effect of uncertainties on the geometrical or physical parameters and design accurate optimal design methodologies. In this project, we will build an exceptional interdisciplinary research and an innovative approach to training in applied mathematics. We will train a new generation of applied mathematicians who will master both the probabilistic and analytical tools to best meet the challenges of emerging technologies.

1 920 000 €

Start date: 2011-04-01, End date: 2016-03-31

These last fifty years have seen Von Neumann computing architectures boom. Nevertheless, even the most powerful digital computers cannot rapidly solve apparently simple problems such as image interpretation. However, because its structure is massively parallel and analog, the human brain is able to perform such tasks in a fraction of second. Neuromorphic circuits allow to go beyond conventional digital architectures. An on-chip implementation of these circuits requires to be able to fabricate nanometer sized, analog, reconfigurable, fast components. While the spiking neurons can easily be fabricated with classical CMOS technology, the synapse plasticity is challenging to achieve. In 1971 L. Chua has introduced a new circuit element, called memristor , a non-linear resistance which by definition includes a memory effect. Only last year, a team in Hewlett-Packard has for the first time proposed a device for synaptic applications showing memristive properties based on electromigration of oxygen vacancies in Titanium Oxide. The project NanoBrain aims first at developing alternative memristors based on different physical principles (spintronics and ferroelectricity), avoiding in particular the potential over-heating and fragility of the electromigration-based devices. The final goal of the project is to prove the efficiency of these new nano-synapses by integrating them into functional neural networks.

1 495 803 €

Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2015-10-31

The objective of this project is to explore novel phenomena of heavy fermion systems. The focus will be on low temperature novel properties such as quantum criticality, unconventional superconductivity and multipole ordering, which will leads to new horizon not only of heavy fermion physics, but also of material science. We will concentrate on: (1) new materials and high quality single crystals, (2) precise temperature-pressure-field (T,P,H) phase diagrams, (3) quantum singularities and Fermiology, (4) the mechanism of unconventional superconductivity including ferromagnetic superconductor, (5) field-induced phenomena. To reach our targets, we will first attempt to grow many new compounds based on U, Ce, Yb and other rare earth elements with a careful choice of target, using various techniques. Very high quality single crystals can be a breakthrough in this field of research, in particular for unconventional superconductivity. Then, we will measure their low temperature properties with various experimental techniques under extreme conditions, namely low temperature, high field, high pressure. Activities of material growth and studies of their properties will be coordinated in order to provide rapid a feedback. This work will be comforted by theoretical work. To carry out specific experiments, we will develop a new AC calorimetry system under extreme conditions and a de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) measurement system. With this experimental method, we aim to directly observe the heavy electronic state. This is a major issue to clarify the possible Fermi surface instability at quantum singularities. The high quality samples will be supplied to other groups in order to extend our macroscopic and microscopic experimental multi approach.

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2015-10-31

The long-standing challenge of string theory, confronting the real world, has become more pressing and at the same time tangible in view of the upcoming LHC. Since the low energy limit of the theory is the main stage where predictions can be compared with experimental data, the goal of this project is to develop a new unified framework to formulate, compute and analyze this limit and its phenomenology. Understanding the low energy limit of string theory at the level where it can be confronted with precision experiments requires two key elements. On one hand one must obtain the full low energy Lagrangians resulting from compactifications from ten to four dimensions. On the other hand, one must analyze the couplings of quarks and leptons, represented by open strings attached to branes. Attempts to construct four-dimensional effective theories have focused in the past on a particular class of six-dimensional spaces, but my work in the last few years has shown that realistic solutions arise from manifolds whose differential properties are actually much weaker and that these compactifications have an elegant reformulation in terms of a generalized version of Riemannian geometry. I plan to use the formalism of generalized geometry to obtain the full tree level, perturbative and non-perturbative corrections to the 4D LEEL resulting from compactifications on these manifolds, and to study their phenomenology. Obtaining the full LEEL is the key step towards understanding if the world as we see it today comes from a string theory compactification: only full knowledge of the Lagrangian allows us to determine in detail how these manifolds lead to theories having 4D isolated vacua with a tiny positive cosmological constant, and support branes whose gauge theory spectrum and couplings are those of the Standard Model. Furthermore, the LEEL will be compared with the data of tomorrow: masses and couplings of supersymmetric partners, if supersymmetry is found at the LHC.

945 000 €

Start date: 2011-02-01, End date: 2016-09-30

Gamma-ray Astronomy pinpoints celestial high energy particle accelerators and may reveal the origin of the cosmic-rays, a century after their discovery. Now is a time of extraordinary opportunity. Cherenkov telescopes have opened up a new domain and more than 70 very-high energy gamma-ray sources have been detected above 100 GeV, especially by the European experiments H.E.S.S. and MAGIC. NASA's Fermi Large Area Telescope, devoted to the study of the gamma-ray sky between 20 MeV and 300 GeV, was launched in June 2008 and has published the positions of 1500 previously unknown gamma-ray sources spread across the sky. However, among all the sources detected by satellite and Cherenkov telescopes, hundreds of Galactic gamma-ray sources have no obvious counterpart at optical, radio, or X-ray wavelengths. What are these sources ? What role do they play in the Galaxy's energy budget ? Many of them must be pulsars or nebulae powered by pulsars. In this project, I propose to use my expertise in both TeV and GeV gamma-ray analysis together with the excellent links of our team with radio observatories to identify the nature of these sources, focusing on pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae as primary candidates. I further propose to use the theoretical models of these cosmic accelerators that I have developed in the past both to enhance the search, and to interpret the results. The range of competences required for the proposed research project is very large and difficult to gather in one single team: pulsar timing, experience with data analysis of extended sources and theoretical know-how in pulsar wind nebulae and high energy phenomena. The P-WIND team would therefore be unique in gamma-ray Astronomy.

592 680 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2013-12-31

The main goal of this proposal to the ERC Starting Grant scheme is to make ground-breaking progress in our understanding of the dynamical processes that shape the structure of protoplanetary disks. This will be achieved by performing state-of-the-art high resolution numerical simulations of protoplanetary disks, using novel computing techniques and taking advantage of the future European petascale supercomputers. The project will address the following fundamental questions in accretion disks theory: - What are the properties of MHD turbulence in protoplanetary disks? - What are the effects of radiative processes on protoplanetary disks structure? - What are the consequences of dead zones for protoplanetary disk structure? In addition, the project will look for potential observational signatures of these processes that might be detected by ALMA. Since planetary systems like our own are believed to emerge from protoplanetary disks, the project will make decisive contributions in describing the structure of the environment in which planetary systems form, the interest of which extends to the entire planet formation community.

1 093 152 €

Start date: 2011-09-01, End date: 2016-08-31

Security protocols are short distributed computer programs dedicated to securing communications on digital networks. They are designed to achieve various goals such as data privacy and data authenticity, even when communication channels are controlled by malicious users. Their increasing penetration in many important applications makes it a very important research challenge to design and establish security properties. In the last decade, formal approaches and automated verification techniques have been successfully applied for detecting potential attacks. However, the security guarantees obtained so far usually hold in a rather abstract model, and are limited to isolated specific protocols analyzed for a few set of specific security properties. Moreover new types of protocols are still emerging in order to face new technological and societal challenges. The goal of the project is to propose foundations for a careful analysis and design of large classes of up-to-date protocols. Proposing a secure environment for network-based communications has a societal as well as an economical prominent impact. To achieve this goal, we foresee three main tasks. First, we plan to develop general verification techniques for new classes of protocols that are of primary interest in nowadays life like e-voting protocols, routing protocols or APIs. Second, we will consider the cryptographic part of the primitives that are used in such protocols (encryption, signatures, ...), obtaining higher security guarantees. Third, we will propose modular results both for the analysis and design of protocols. As a particular outcome, each of the tasks will allow to characterize simple design principles that ease the analysis (thus the security) of protocols and discard families of attacks.

1 470 000 €

Start date: 2011-02-01, End date: 2016-01-31

Ultra cold atoms offer unprecedented possibilities to shed a new light on intriguing quantum phenomenon that were discovered in Photon Quantum Optics (PQO), such as Hanbury Brown and Twiss correlations, Bell’s inequality tests of entanglement, Hong Ou Mandel effect, non classical states of light. It becomes possible to develop a Quantum Atom Optics (QAO), which is more than a simple analogue to PQO. Atoms add two new ingredients to the situations (i) controlled interactions, tunable from zero to giant values; (ii) the possibility to choose between fermions and bosons. The first part of this project aims at revisiting with this new perspective some milestones of Quantum Optics, and to address open questions like possible interaction induced decoherence effects. For this, we will develop single atom detectors and atom-atom correlation measurements techniques, both for metastable Helium and for alkali atoms, and build all optical cooling machines for these species, including a guided atom laser with control of the atomic interactions. We will also consider measurements below the standard quantum limits, to apply them to inertial and gravitational sensors based on atom interferometers. In the second part of this project, experimental tools and concepts of QAO will be used to address fundamental questions of Condensed Matter Physics (CMP). A 1D horizontally guided Atom Laser will allow us to study transport properties of an interacting Bose gas in the presence of disorder, akin to conductivity measurements in CMP. Atom-atom correlation techniques developed to test Bell inequalities will allow us to investigate non trivial symmetries in paired atomic states BCS-like. Using larger samples of ultra-cold Bose or Fermi atoms, we will investigate the effect of interactions on Anderson localization in 1D, 2D and 3D, as well as other phenomenon beyond the mean field description, e.g. correlations in strongly interacting 1D quantum gases.

2 130 000 €

Start date: 2011-08-01, End date: 2016-07-31

This project is dedicated to the study of two distinct classes of dynamical systems which display a quasiperiodic component. The first class consists of quasiperiodic cocycles, and we will largely focus on connections with the spectral theory of quasiperiodic Schrodinger operators. Up to very recently, our understanding had been mostly restricted to situations where the potential would have some clear characteristics of large or small potentials. In particular, no genuinely global theory had been devised that could go so far as give insight on the phase-transition between large-like and small-like potentials. With the introduction by the PI of techniques to analyze the parameter dependence of one-frequency potentials which involve much less control of the dynamics of associated cocycles, and the discovery of new regularity features of this dependence, it is now possible to elaborate a precise conjectural global picture, whose proof is one of the major goals of the project. The second class consists of translation flows on higher genus surfaces. The Teichmuller flow acts as renormalization in this class, and its chaotic features have permitted a detailed description of the dynamics of typical translation flows. This project will concentrate on the the development of techniques suitable to the analysis of non-typical families of translation flows, which arise naturally in the context of certain applications, as for rational billiards. We aim to obtain results regarding the spectral gap for restrictions of the SL(2,R action, the existence of polynomial deviations outside exceptional cases, and the weak mixing property for certain billiards.

1 020 840 €

Start date: 2010-12-01, End date: 2015-11-30

The following list of questions describe the four main directions which I want to develop. 1) Topology of real uniruled manifolds. May the connected sum of two closed hyperbolic manifolds of dimension at least three be Lagrangian embedded in a uniruled symplectic manifold? Being able to answer to this question through the negative using the symplectic field theory introduced by Eliashberg-Givental and Hofer requires to understand pseudo-holomorphic curves in the cotangent bundle of such a connected sum. For this purpose, one needs some understanding of closed geodesics on such manifolds. Conversely, what are the simplest real three-dimensional projective manifolds which have hyperbolic or SOL manifolds in their real loci? 2) Enumerative problems in real uniruled manifolds. Is it possible to extract integer valued invariants from the count of real rational curves of given degree in the projective three-space (for instance) which interpolate an adequate number of real lines? Same question in dimensions greater than three for curves passing through points. 3) Lagrangian strings in symplectic manifolds. I would like to investigate the interactions between closed Lagrangian strings and open Lagrangian strings in symplectic manifolds. These strings -which I recently introduced- interact through holomorphic disks both punctured on their boundaries and interiors. What can be the analogous TQFT associated to coherent sheaves on complex projective manifolds? How are these strings related to Gromov-Witten invariants? 4) Volume of linear systems of real divisors. The theory of closed positive currents provides probabilistic informations on the topology of real hypersurfaces in Kähler manifolds. I want to push a work in progress as far as possible in this subject.

932 626 €

Start date: 2010-12-01, End date: 2015-11-30

Sequence-controlled polymerizations play a key role in Nature. Although formed from a rather modest library of monomers, sequence-defined macromolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids are largely responsible for the complexity and diversity of the biological world. By analogy, one may predict that synthetic sequence-defined polymers could play an important role in modern applied materials science. Paradoxically, very little effort has been spent within the last decades for developing sequence-specific polymerization methods. In this scientific context, the target of the present proposal is to develop new approaches for controlling macromolecular sequences. In particular, new possibilities for controlling comonomer sequences in standard synthetic processes such as chain-growth polymerizations (e.g. controlled radical polymerization) and step-growth polymerizations will be investigated. The strategies for controlling sequences will be principally chemical (e.g. controlled monomer insertion, organocatalysis, sequential monomer additions) but physical (e.g. confinement, transient monomer complexation) and eventually biochemical (e.g. biocatalysis) routes will be also considered. The essence of this project is indeed highly fundamental. Indeed, the control over polymer sequences remains one of the last holy grails in polymer science. Nevertheless, on a longer term, this research may be also extremely relevant for applications. Indeed, sequence-controlled polymers are most likely the key towards new generations of functional sub-nanometric materials.

1 200 000 €

Start date: 2010-11-01, End date: 2014-10-31

The goal of this project is to study the topology of Stein manifolds from the viewpoint of symplectic and contact geometry. It addresses the fundamental questions of the subject: - How does the Lagrangian skeleton of a Stein manifold determine the Stein structure? - To what extent the study of Stein structures can be reduced to a combinatorial study of the skeleton? - How are the symplectic invariants of Stein manifolds, respectively the contact invariants of their boundary, determined by the skeleton? For the topological part, we will use as a source of inspiration the theory of spines and shadows of 3- and 4- manifolds. One of the goals of this research project is to adapt it to the setup of Stein manifolds and develop a calculus of Lagrangian shadows. Concerning invariants of contact manifolds, we aim to interpret symplectic homology of Stein manifolds and contact homology of their boundaries in topological terms, with the skeleton playing a central role. Further ramifications of this research project include the development of string topology on singular (stratified) spaces and the symplectic study of singularities.

1 053 101 €

Start date: 2010-09-01, End date: 2016-08-31

The Applicant has an outstanding record of achievement and an international reputation for independent research in many areas of physical chemistry and more specifically over the last 25 years in nanosciences. This large expertise makes it possible, through this project, to come to a decisive turning point in her career. This high-impact and challenging proposal brings together innovative ideas in nanomaterials within a single inter- and multi-disciplinary project to open up new horizons across materials science. The challenging and innovating issue of this project consists in authenticating and detailing the emergence of new chemical and physical properties directly related to the ordering of atoms in nanocrystals (nanocrystallinity) and the ordering of nanocrystals in supracrystals (supracrystallinity). Au, Ag, and Co nanocrystals with different nanocrystallinities (single domain, multiply-twinned and polycrystalline particles) will be synthesized by new methods. Nanocrystals will be used to produce supracrystals of these metals with different supracrystallinities (fcc, hcp, or bcc). The influence of nanocrystallinity on the diffusivity of different atoms within Ag and Co nanocrystals will be investigated. Physical properties of both nanocrystals and supracrystals such as the vibrational, electronic and mechanical properties and their dependence on crystallinity will be explored. From the data thus obtained it should be possible to point out analogies between the properties of atoms in nanocrystals or in the bulk phase and those of nanocrystals ordered in supracrystals. Moreover, correlations between the studied properties could emerge. This research will result in important scientific knowledge and may ultimately open new technological applications.

2 133 990 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-06-30

We propose to investigate traffic phenomena from the macroscopic point of view, using models derived from fluid-dynamics consisting in hyperbolic conservation laws. In fact, even if the continuum hypothesis is clearly not physically satisfied, macroscopic quantities can be regarded as measures of traffic features and allow to depict the spatio-temporal evolution of traffic waves. Continuum models have shown to be in good agreement with empirical data. Moreover, they are suitable for analytical investigations and very efficient from the numerical point of view. Therefore, they provide the right framework to state and solve control and optimization problems, and we believe that the use of macroscopic models can open new horizons in traffic management. The major mathematical difficulties related to this study follow from the mandatory use of weak (possibly discontinuous) solutions in distributional sense. Indeed, due to the presence of shock waves and interactions among them, standard techniques are generally useless for solving optimal control problems, and the available esults are scarce and restricted to particular and unrealistic cases. This strongly limits their applicability. Our scope is to develop a rigorous analytical framework and fast and efficient numerical tools for solving optimization and control problems, such as queues lengths control or buildings exits design. This will allow to elaborate reliable predictions and to optimize traffic fluxes. To achieve this goal, we will move from the detailed structure of the solutions in order to construct ad hoc methods to tackle the analytical and numerical difficulties arising in this study. The foreseen applications target the sustainability and safety issues of modern society.

809 000 €

Start date: 2010-10-01, End date: 2016-03-31

Digital video is everywhere, at home, at work, and on the Internet. Yet, effective technology for organizing, retrieving, improving, and editing its content is nowhere to be found. Models for video content, interpretation and manipulation inherited from still imagery are obsolete, and new ones must be invented. With a new convergence between computer vision, machine learning, and signal processing, the time is right for such an endeavor. Concretely, we will develop novel spatio-temporal models of video content learned from training data and capturing both the local appearance and nonrigid motion of the elements---persons and their surroundings---that make up a dynamic scene. We will also develop formal models of the video interpretation process that leave behind the architectures inherited from the world of still images to capture the complex interactions between these elements, yet can be learned effectively despite the sparse annotations typical of video understanding scenarios. Finally, we will propose a unified model for video restoration and editing that builds on recent advances in sparse coding and dictionary learning, and will allow for unprecedented control of the video stream. This project addresses fundamental research issues, but its results are expected to serve as a basis for groundbreaking technological advances for applications as varied as film post-production, video archival, and smart camera phones.

2 454 090 €

Start date: 2011-01-01, End date: 2016-12-31