ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

Aeroelastic instabilities are at the origin of large deformations of structures and are limiting the capacities of products in various industrial branches such as aeronautics, marine industry, or wind electricity production. If suppressing aeroelastic instabilities is an ultimate goal, a paradigm shift in the technological development is to take advantage of these instabilities to achieve others objectives, as reducing the drag of these flexible structures. The ground-breaking challenges addressed in this project are to design fundamentally new theoretical methodologies for (i) describing mathematically aeroelastic instabilities, (ii) suppressing them and (iii) using them to reduce mean drag of structures at a low energetic cost. To that aim, two types of aeroelastic phenomena will be specifically studied: the flutter, which arises as a result of an unstable coupling instability between two stable dynamics, that of the structures and that the flow, and vortex-induced vibrations which appear when the fluid dynamics is unstable. An aeroelastic global stability analysis will be first developed and applied to problems of increasing complexity, starting from two-dimensional free-vibrating rigid structures and progressing towards three-dimensional free-deforming elastic structures. The control of these aeroelastic instabilities will be then addressed with two different objectives: their suppression or their use for flow control. A theoretical passive control methodology will be established for suppressing linear aeroelastic instabilities, and extended to high Reynolds number flows and experimental configurations. New perturbation methods for solving strongly nonlinear problems and adjoint-based control algorithm will allow to use these aeroelastic instabilities for drag reduction. This project will allow innovative control solutions to emerge, not only in flutter or vortex-induced vibrations problems, but also in a much broader class of fluid-structure problems.

1 377 290 €

Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-06-30

The purpose of this project is to study basic questions in algebraic and Kähler geometry. It is well known that the structure of projective or Kähler manifolds is governed by positivity or negativity properties of the curvature tensor. However, many fundamental problems are still wide open. Since the mid 1980's, I have developed a large number of key concepts and results that have led to important progress in transcendental algebraic geometry. Let me mention the discovery of holomorphic Morse inequalities, systematic applications of L² estimates with singular hermitian metrics, and a much improved understanding of Monge-Ampère equations and of singularities of plurisuharmonic functions. My first goal will be to investigate the Green-Griffiths-Lang conjecture asserting that an entire curve drawn in a variety of general type is algebraically degenerate. The subject is intimately related to important questions concerning Diophantine equations, especially higher dimensional generalizations of Faltings' theorem - the so-called Vojta program. One can rely here on a breakthrough I made in 2010, showing that all such entire curves must satisfy algebraic differential equations. A second closely related area of research of this project is the analysis of the structure of projective or compact Kähler manifolds. It can be seen as a generalization of the classification theory of surfaces by Kodaira, and of the more recent results for dimension 3 (Kawamata, Kollár, Mori, Shokurov, ...) to other dimensions. My plan is to combine powerful recent results obtained on the duality of positive cohomology cones with an analysis of the instability of the tangent bundle, i.e. of the Harder-Narasimhan filtration. On these ground-breaking questions, I intend to go much further and to enhance my national and international collaborations. These subjects already attract many young researchers and postdocs throughout the world, and the grant could be used to create even stronger interactions.

1 809 345 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most serious diseases mankind is now facing as its social and economical impacts are increasing fastly. AD is very complex and the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide as well as metallic ions (mainly copper and zinc) have been linked to its aetiology. While the deleterious impact of Cu is widely acknowledged, intervention of Zn is certain but still needs to be figured out. The main objective of the present proposal, which is strongly anchored in the bio-inorganic chemistry field at interface with spectroscopy and biochemistry, is to design, synthesize and study new drug candidates (ligands L) capable of (i) targeting Cu(II) bound to Aβ within the synaptic cleft, where Zn is co-localized and ultimately to develop Zn-driven Cu(II) removal from Aβ and (ii) disrupting the aberrant Cu(II)-Aβ interactions involved in ROS production and Aβ aggregation, two deleterious events in AD. The drug candidates will thus have high Cu(II) over Zn selectively to preserve the crucial physiological role of Zn in the neurotransmission process. Zn is always underestimated (if not completely neglected) in current therapeutic approaches targeting Cu(II) despite the known interference of Zn with Cu(II) binding. To reach this objective, it is absolutely necessary to first understand the metal ions trafficking issues in presence of Aβ alone at a molecular level (i.e. without the drug candidates).This includes: (i) determination of Zn binding site to Aβ, impact on Aβ aggregation and cell toxicity, (ii) determination of the mutual influence of Zn and Cu to their coordination to Aβ, impact on Aβ aggregation, ROS production and cell toxicity. Methods used will span from organic synthesis to studies of neuronal model cells, with a major contribution of a wide panel of spectroscopic techniques including NMR, EPR, mass spectrometry, fluorescence, UV-Vis, circular-dichroism, X-ray absorption spectroscopy...

1 499 948 €

Start date: 2015-03-01, End date: 2020-02-29

Redox chemistry provides the fundamental basis for numerous energy-related electrochemical devices, among which Li-ion batteries (LIB) have become the premier energy storage technology for portable electronics and vehicle electrification. Throughout its history, LIB technology has relied on cationic redox reactions as the sole source of energy storage capacity. This is no longer true. In 2013 we demonstrated that Li-driven reversible formation of (O2)n peroxo-groups in new layered oxides led to extraordinary increases in energy storage capacity. This finding, which is receiving worldwide attention, represents a transformational approach for creating advanced energy materials for not only energy storage, but also water splitting applications as both involve peroxo species. However, as is often the case with new discoveries, the fundamental science at work needs to be rationalized and understood. Specifically, what are the mechanisms for ion and electron transport in these Li-driven anionic redox reactions? To address these seminal questions and to widen the spectrum of materials (transition metal and anion) showing anionic redox chemistry, we propose a comprehensive research program that combines experimental and computational methods. The experimental methods include structural and electrochemical analyses (both ex-situ and in-situ), and computational modeling will be based on first-principles DFT for identifying the fundamental processes that enable anionic redox activity. The knowledge gained from these studies, in combination with our expertise in inorganic synthesis, will enable us to design a new generation of Li-ion battery materials that exhibit substantial increases (20 -30%) in energy storage capacity, with additional impacts on the development of Na-ion batteries and the design of water splitting catalysts, with the feasibility to surpass current water splitting efficiencies via novel (O2)n-based electrocatalysts.

2 249 196 €

Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30

Rupture of Aortic Aneurysms (AA), which kills more than 30 000 persons every year in Europe and the USA, is a complex phenomenon that occurs when the wall stress exceeds the local strength of the aorta due to degraded properties of the tissue. The state of the art in AA biomechanics and mechanobiology reveals that major scientific challenges still have to be addressed to permit patient-specific computational predictions of AA rupture and enable localized repair of the structure with targeted pharmacologic treatment. A first challenge relates to ensuring an objective prediction of localized mechanisms preceding rupture. A second challenge relates to modelling the patient-specific evolutions of material properties leading to the localized mechanisms preceding rupture. Addressing these challenges is the aim of the BIOLOCHANICS proposal. We will take into account internal length-scales controlling localization mechanisms preceding AA rupture by implementing an enriched, also named nonlocal, continuum damage theory in the computational models of AA biomechanics and mechanobiology. We will also develop very advanced experiments, based on full-field optical measurements, aimed at characterizing localization mechanisms occurring in aortic tissues and at identifying local distributions of material properties at different stages of AA progression. A first in vivo application will be performed on genetic and pharmacological models of mice and rat AA. Eventually, a retrospective clinical study involving more than 100 patients at the Saint-Etienne University hospital will permit calibrating estimations of AA rupture risk thanks to our novel approaches and infuse them into future clinical practice. Through the achievements of BIOLOCHANICS, nonlocal mechanics will be possibly extended to other soft tissues for applications in orthopaedics, oncology, sport biomechanics, interventional surgery, human safety, cell biology, etc.

1 999 396 €

Start date: 2015-05-01, End date: 2020-04-30

Developing brain implants is crucial to better decipher the neuronal information and intervene in a very thin way on neural networks using microstimulations. This project aims to address two major challenges: to achieve the realization of a highly mechanically stable implant, allowing long term connection between neurons and microelectrodes and to provide neural implants with a high temporal and spatial resolution. To do so, the present project will develop implants with structural and mechanical properties that resemble those of the natural brain environment. According to the literature, using electrodes and electric leads with a size of a few microns allows for a better neural tissue reconstruction around the implant. Also, the mechanical mismatch between the usually stiff implant material and the soft brain tissue affects the adhesion between tissue cells and electrodes. With the objective to implant a highly flexible free-floating microelectrode array in the brain tissue, we will develop a new method using micro-nanotechnology steps as well as a combination of polymers. Moreover, the literature and preliminary studies indicate that some surface chemistries and nanotopographies can promote neurite outgrowth while limiting glial cell proliferation. Implants will be nanostructured so as to help the neural tissue growth and to be provided with a highly adhesive property, which will ensure its stable contact with the brain neural tissue over time. Implants with different microelectrode configurations and number will be tested in vitro and in vivo for their biocompatibility and their ability to record and stimulate neurons with high stability. This project will produce high-performance generic implants that can be used for various fundamental studies and applications, including neural prostheses and brain machine interfaces.

1 499 850 €

Start date: 2015-08-01, End date: 2021-07-31

How can simple molecules self-organize into a growing synthetic reaction network like biochemical metabolism? This proposal takes a novel synthesis-driven approach to the question by mimicking a central self-amplifying CO2-fixing biochemical reaction cycle known as the reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle. The intermediates of this cycle are the synthetic precursors to all major classes of biomolecules and are built from CO2, an anhydride and electrons from simple reducing agents. Based on the nature of the reactions in the cycle and the specific structural features of the intermediates that comprise it, we propose that the entire cycle may be enabled in a single reaction vessel with a surprisingly small number of simple, mutually compatible catalysts from the recent synthetic organic literature. However, since one of the required reactions does not yet have an efficient synthetic equivalent in the literature and since those that do have not yet been carried out sequentially in a single reaction vessel, we will first independently develop the new reaction and sequences before attempting to combine them into the entire cycle. The new reaction and sequences will be useful green synthetic methods in their own right. Most significantly, this endeavour could provide the first experimental evidence of an exciting new alternative model for early biochemical evolution that finally illuminates the origins and necessity of biochemistry’s core reactions.

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31

Every year, software bugs cost hundreds of millions of euros to companies and administrations. Hence, software quality is a prevalent notion and interactive theorem provers based on type theory have shown their efficiency to prove correctness of important pieces of software like the C compiler of the CompCert project. One main interest of such theorem provers is the ability to extract directly the code from the proof. Unfortunately, their democratization suffers from a major drawback, the mismatch between equality in mathematics and in type theory. Thus, significant Coq developments have only been done by virtuosos playing with advanced concepts of computer science and mathematics. Recently, an extension of type theory with homotopical concepts such as univalence is gaining traction because it allows for the first time to marry together expected principles of equality. But the univalence principle has been treated so far as a new axiom which breaks one fundamental property of mechanized proofs: the ability to compute with programs that make use of this axiom. The main goal of the CoqHoTT project is to provide a new generation of proof assistants with a computational version of univalence and use them as a base to implement effective logical model transformation so that the power of the internal logic of the proof assistant needed to prove the correctness of a program can be decided and changed at compile time—according to a trade-off between efficiency and logical expressivity. Our approach is based on a radically new compilation phase technique into a core type theory to modularize the difficulty of finding a decidable type checking algorithm for homotopy type theory. The impact of the CoqHoTT project will be very strong. Even if Coq is already a success, this project will promote it as a major proof assistant, for both computer scientists and mathematicians. CoqHoTT will become an essential tool for program certification and formalization of mathematics.

1 498 290 €

Start date: 2015-06-01, End date: 2020-05-31

This project proposes a new application for computational reasoning. More specifically, the purpose of this interdisciplinary project is to demonstrate the usefulness of an algorithmic perspective in studies of complex biological systems. We focus on the domain of collective behavior, and demonstrate the benefits of using techniques from the field of theoretical distributed computing in order to establish algorithmic insights regarding the behavior of biological ensembles. The project includes three related tasks, for which we have already obtained promising preliminary results. Each task contains a purely theoretical algorithmic component as well as one which integrates theoretical algorithmic studies with experiments. Most experiments are strategically designed by the PI based on computational insights, and are physically conducted by experimental biologists that have been carefully chosen by the PI. In turn, experimental outcomes will be theoretically analyzed via an algorithmic perspective. By this integration, we aim at deciphering how a biological individual (such as an ant) “thinks”, without having direct access to the neurological process within its brain, and how such limited individuals assemble into ensembles that appear to be far greater than the sum of their parts. The ultimate vision behind this project is to enable the formation of a new scientific field, called algorithmic biology, that bases biological studies on theoretical algorithmic insights.

1 894 947 €

Start date: 2015-05-01, End date: 2021-04-30

Chemical transformations in nanoporous materials are vital in many application domains, such as catalysis, molecular separations, sustainable chemistry,…. Model-guided design is indispensable to tailoring materials at the nanometer scale level. At real operating conditions, chemical transformations taking place at the nanometer scale have a very complex nature, due to the interplay of several factors such as the number of particles present in the pores of the material, framework flexibility, competitive pathways, entropy effects,… The textbook concept of a single transition state is far too simplistic in such cases. A restricted number of configurations of the potential energy surface is not sufficient to capture the complexity of the transformation. My objective is to simulate complex chemical transformations in nanoporous materials using first principle molecular dynamics methods at real operating conditions, capturing the full complexity of the free energy surface. To achieve these goals advanced sampling methods will be used to explore the interesting regions of the free energy surface. The number of guest molecules at real operating conditions will be derived and the diffusion of small molecules through pores with blocking molecules will be studied. New theoretical models will be developed to keep track of both the framework flexibility and entropy of the lattice. The selected applications are timely and rely on an extensive network with prominent experimental partners. The applications will encompass contemporary catalytic conversions in zeolites, active site engineering in metal organic frameworks and structural transitions in nanoporous materials, and the expected outcomes will have the potential to yield groundbreaking new insights. The results are expected to have impact far beyond the horizon of the current project as they will contribute to the transition from static to dynamically based modeling tools within heterogeneous catalysis

1 993 750 €

Start date: 2015-08-01, End date: 2020-07-31

Quantum effects have been studied on photon propagation in the context of quantum optics since the second half of the last century. In particular, using single photon emitters, fundamental tests of quantum mechanics were explored by manipulating single to few photons in Hanbury-Brown and Twiss and Hong Ou Mandel experiments. In nanophysics, there is a growing interest to translate these concepts of quantum optics to electrons propagating in nanostructures. Single electron emitters have been realized such that single elementary electronic excitations can now be manipulated in the analog of pioneer quantum optics experiments. Electron quantum optics goes beyond the mere reproduction of optical setups using electron beams, as electrons, being interacting fermions, differ strongly from photons. Contrary to optics, understanding the propagation of an elementary excitation requires replacing the single body description by a many body one. The purpose of this proposal is to specifically explore the emergence of many body physics and its effects on electronic propagation using the setups and concepts of electron quantum optics. The motivations are numerous: firstly single particle emission initializes a simple and well controlled state. I will take this unique opportunity to test birth, life and death scenarii of Landau quasiparticles and observe the emergence of many-body physics. Secondly, I will address the generation of entangled few electrons quantum coherent states and study how they are affected by interactions. Finally, I will attempt to apply electron quantum optics concepts to a regime where the ground state itself is a strongly correlated state of matter. In such a situation, elementary excitations are no longer electrons but carry a fractional charge and obey fractional statistics. No manipulation of single quasiparticles has been reported yet and the determination of some quasiparticle characteristics, such as the fractional statistics remains elusive.

1 997 878 €

Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30

Public key cryptography is the backbone of internet security. Yet it is very likely that within the next few decades some government or corporate entity will succeed in building a general-purpose quantum computer that is capable of breaking all of today's public key protocols. Lattice cryptography, which appears to be resilient to quantum attacks, is currently viewed as the most promising candidate to take over as the basis for cryptography in the future. Recent theoretical breakthroughs have additionally shown that lattice cryptography may even allow for constructions of primitives with novel capabilities. But even though the progress in this latter area has been considerable, the resulting schemes are still extremely impractical. The central objective of the FELICITY project is to substantially expand the boundaries of efficient lattice-based cryptography. This includes improving on the most crucial cryptographic protocols, some of which are already considered practical, as well as pushing towards efficiency in areas that currently seem out of reach. The methodology that we propose to use differs from the bulk of the research being done today. Rather than directly working on advanced primitives in which practical considerations are ignored, the focus of the project will be on finding novel ways in which to break the most fundamental barriers that are standing in the way of practicality. For this, I believe it is productive to concentrate on building schemes that stand at the frontier of what is considered efficient -- because it is there that the most critical barriers are most apparent. And since cryptographic techniques usually propagate themselves from simple to advanced primitives, improved solutions for the fundamental ones will eventually serve as building blocks for practical constructions of schemes having advanced capabilities.

1 311 688 €

Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30

Cells must move and position internal components to perform their function. We here focus on the physical designs which allow microtubule (MT) asters to exert forces in order to move and position themselves in vivo. These are arrays of MTs radiating from the centrosome, which fill up large portions of cells. They orchestrate nuclear positioning and spindle orientation for polarity, division and development. Forces that move asters are generated at nanometer and second scales by MT-associated motors from sites in the cytoplasm or at the cell surface. How MTs and force-generators self-organize to control aster motion and position at millimeter and hour scales is not known. We will use a suit of biophysical experiments and models to address how aster micro-mechanics contribute to aster migration, centration, de-centration and orientation in a single in vivo system, using the early stages of Sea urchin development as a quantitative model. We aim to: 1) Elucidate mechanisms that drive aster large-scale motion, using sperm aster migration after fertilization during which asters grow and move rapidly and persistently to the large-egg center. We will investigate how speeds and trajectories depend on boundary conditions and on the dynamic spatial organization of force-generators. 2) Implement magnetic-based subcellular force measurements of MT asters. We will use this to understand how single force-events are integrated at the scale of asters, how global forces may evolve will aster size, shape, in centration and de-centration processes, using various stages of development, and cell manipulation; and to compute aster friction. 3) Couple computational models and 3D imaging to understand and predict stereotyped division patterns driven by subsequent aster positioning and aster-pairs orientation in the early divisions of Sea urchin embryos and in other tissues. This framework bridging multiple scales will bring unprecedented insights on the physics of living active matter.

2 199 310 €

Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-12-31

Efficient use of computational resources with a reliable outcome is a definite target in numerical simulations of partial differential equations (PDEs). Although this has been an important subject of numerical analysis and scientific computing for decades, still, surprisingly, often more than 90% of the CPU time in numerical simulations is literally wasted and the accuracy of the final outcome is not guaranteed. The reason is that addressing this complex issue rigorously is extremely challenging, as it stems from linking several rather disconnected domains like modeling, analysis of PDEs, numerical analysis, numerical linear algebra, and scientific computing. The goal of this project is to design novel inexact algebraic and linearization solvers, with each step being adaptively steered by optimal (guaranteed and robust) a posteriori error estimates, thus online interconnecting all parts of the numerical simulation of complex environmental porous media flows. The key novel ingredients will be multilevel algebraic solvers, tailored to porous media simulations, with problem- and discretization-dependent restriction, prolongation, and smoothing, yielding mass balance on all grid levels, accompanied by local adaptive stopping criteria. We shall theoretically prove the convergence of the new algorithms and justify their optimality, with in particular guaranteed (without any unknown constant) error reduction and overall computational load. Implementation into established numerical simulation codes and assessment on renowned academic and industrial benchmarks will consolidate the theoretical results. As a final outcome, the total simulation error will be certified and current computational burden cut by orders of magnitude. This would represent a cardinal technological advance both theoretically as well as practically in urgent environmental applications, namely the nuclear waste storage and the geological sequestration of CO2.

1 283 088 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31

"The transition from order to chaos has been a central theme of investigation in dynamical systems in the last two decades. Structures that exhibit a mix of deterministic and chaotic properties, for example, quasi-crystals, naturally arise in problems of geometry and mathematical physics. Despite intense study, key questions about these structures remain wide open. The proposed research is an investigation of intermediate chaos in ergodic theory of dynamical systems. Specific examples include systems of geometric origin such as interval exchange maps, translation and Hamiltonian flows on surfaces of higher genus, symbolic substitution systems important in the study of quasi-crystals as well as dynamical systems arising in asymptotic combinatorics and mathematical physics such as determinantal and Pfaffian point processes. Specific tasks include computation of the Hausdorff dimension for the spectral measure of interval exchange maps (problem posed by Ya. Sinai), limit theorems for Hamiltonian flows on surfaces of higher genus (question of A. Katok), development of entropy theory and functional limit theorems for determinantal point processes and a description of the ergodic decomposition for infinite orthogonally-invariant measures on the space of infinite real matrices (the real case of the problem, posed in 2000 by A. Borodin and G. Olshanski, of harmonic analysis on the infinite-dimensional analogue of the Grassmann manifold). The project consolidates the proposer's past work, in particular, his limit theorems for translation flows (Annals of Math. 2014), his proof of the 1985 Vershik-Kerov entropy conjecture (GAFA 2012) and his solution of the complex case of the Borodin-Olshanski problem (preprint 2013). The proposer is currently PI of project ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02 (1.11.2013--30.10.2015; budget 360000 euro) under the Programme "Investissements d'avenir" of the Government of the French Republic."

1 696 937 €

Start date: 2016-01-01, End date: 2020-12-31

Spectroscopy is a powerful tool to probe matter. By measuring the spectrum of elementary excitations, one reveals the symmetries and interactions inherent in a physical system. Mesoscopic devices, which preserve quantum coherence over lengths larger than the atomic scale, offer a unique possibility to both engineer and investigate excitations at the single quanta level. Unfortunately, conventional spectroscopy techniques are inadequate for coupling radiation to mesoscopic systems and detecting their small absorption signals. I propose an on-chip, Josephson-junction based spectrometer which surpasses state-of-the-art instruments and is ideally suited for probing elementary excitations in mesoscopic systems. It has an original design providing uniform wideband coupling from 2-2000 GHz, low background noise, high sensitivity, and narrow linewidth. I describe the operating principle and design of the spectrometer, show preliminary results demonstrating proof-of-concept, and outline three experiments which exploit the spectrometer to address important issues in condensed matter physics. The experiments are: measuring the lifetime of single quasiparticle and excited Cooper pair states in superconductors, a topic relevant for quantum information processing; determining whether graphene has a bandgap, a fundamental yet unresolved question; and recording a clear spectroscopic signature of Majorana bound states in topological superconductor weak links. Various applications of the superconducting circuits developed for the spectrometer include a Josephson vector network analyzer, a cryogenic mixer, a THz camera, a detector for radioastronomy, and a scanning microwave impedance microscope. In itself the proposed JJ spectrometer is a general purpose tool that will benefit researchers studying mesoscopic systems. Ultimately, Josephson junction spectroscopy should not only be useful to detect existing elementary excitations but also to discover new ones.

1 997 498 €

Start date: 2015-04-01, End date: 2020-03-31

Observing the process of planetary accretion is crucial to inform models of planet formation. Most of the key action is expected to happen in the gaps of protostellar disks – a spatial realm over which aperture masking interferometry has demonstrated a unique ability to deliver incisive imaging. Masking offers twin advantages of higher dynamic range at the diffraction limit (lambda/D) than differential imaging, while at the same time giving nearly complete Fourier coverage compared to long baseline interferometry. The founding objective of this proposal is to create expertise and technology to understand the astrophysical phenomena so far only glimpsed in faint detections in stellar gaps such as those published in T Cha (Huelamo et al. 2011), HD142527 (Biller et al. 2012) and FL Cha (Cieza et al. 2013). But the central goal of this project is to further advance the experimental technique. Reaching even higher dynamic range for fainter detections is essential for probing planetary birth. The way to improve the dynamic range is clear: increase the accuracy of the primary closure phase observable. To do so, we will follow two paths. The first will use laboratory experimentations to analyse and understand the sources of bias to the closure phase. The resulting end-product will be better software offered to the community, and better techniques for a next generation of aperture masking devices. The second path is to amplify the closure phase signal by combining nulling with closure phase (Lacour et al. 2014). This second path is the most challenging, but will be an important breakthrough to the field. Nulling is to aperture masking what coronagraphy is to classical imaging. Without a first level of nulling, the aperture masking technique will always be limited by the photon noise due to the stellar light. We propose to build on our experience of Lithium Niobate integrated optics devices to bring aperture masking to a new level of performance in high dynamic range imaging.

1 851 881 €

Start date: 2015-03-01, End date: 2020-02-29

The solar system beyond Neptune’s contains largely unaltered material from the primordial circum-solar disk. It also kept the memory of the early planetary migrations, and thus contains essential information on the origin and evolution of our planetary system. Here I propose to study the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) using the stellar occultation technique. It consists in observing the passage of remote TNOs in front of those “Lucky Stars”, that reveal shapes, atmosphere and rings of bodies from sub-km to thousand-km in size. Very few teams in the world master this method. The European-led network that I coordinate is now leader in predictions, instrumentation, observations and analysis related to stellar occultations, with innovative approaches and unprecedented results. In the last decade, our group led the field by discovering rings around the asteroid-like object Chariklo, detecting sub-km TNOs and drastic variations of Pluto’s atmospheric pressure. Based on those noteworthy discoveries and unique skills of ours, I will coordinate the following work packages: (1) Rings around small bodies - Understand the newly found Chariklo’s rings, tackle the theory of rings’ origins and evolutions around small bodies, discover new ring systems around other bodies. (2) Very small, sub-km TNOs and Oort Cloud objects - Constrain the collisional history of our early outer solar system, and possibly detect Oort Cloud objects. (3) Pluto’s atmosphere – Explore Pluto’s atmosphere and its atypical seasonal cycle, search for atmospheres around other TNOs. (4) Explore specific, large TNOs – Provide their sizes, shapes, albedos and densities. These programs are timely in view of NASA/New Horizons Pluto flyby in July 2015, and the ESA/GAIA mission expected to provide a greatly improved astrometric catalog release in 2016. Most of the budget will be dedicated to human power to conduct observations and their analysis, plus the associated travel and telescope time expenses.

2 423 750 €

Start date: 2015-11-01, End date: 2020-10-31

In recent years, there has been an increased effort by scientists to obtain new composite materials with extreme properties. Inspired by natural and biological processes, scientists have proposed the use of hierarchical architectures (i.e., assembly of structural components) spanning several length scales from nanometer to centimeter sizes. Depending each time on the desired properties of the composite material, optimization with respect to its stiffness, weight, density, toughness and other properties is carried out. In the present subject, the interest is in magneto-mechanical coupling and tailored instabilities. Hierarchical materials, such as magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) which combine magnetic particles (at the scale of nanometers and micrometers) embedded in a soft polymeric non-magnetic matrix, give rise to a coupled magneto-mechanical response at the macroscopic (order of millimeters and centimeters) scale when they are subjected to combined magneto-mechanical external stimuli. These composite materials can deform at very large strains due to the presence of the soft polymeric matrix without fracturing. From an unconventional point of view, a remarkable property of these materials is that while they can become unstable by combined magneto-mechanical loading, their response is well controlled in the post-instability regime. This, in turn, allows us to try to operate these materials in this critically stable region, similar to most biological systems. These instabilities can lead to extreme responses such as wrinkles (for haptic applications), actively controlled stiffness (for cell-growth) and acoustic properties with only marginal changes in the externally applied magnetic fields. Unlike the current modeling of hierarchical composites, MREs require the development of novel experimental techniques and advanced coupled nonlinear magneto-mechanical models in order to tailor the desired macroscopic instability response at finite strains.

1 499 206 €

Start date: 2015-04-01, End date: 2020-03-31

"While magnetic nanomaterials are increasingly used as clinical agents for imaging and therapy, their use as a tool for tissue engineering opens up challenging perspectives that have rarely been explored. Lying at the interface between biophysics and nanomedicine, and based on magnetic techniques, the proposed project aims to magnetically design functional tissues and to explore the tissular fate of nanomaterials. Magnetic nanoparticles will be safely introduced into therapeutic cells, thus allowing them to be remotely manipulated by external magnets. 3D manipulations of the magnetized cells (patented in 2012) will be used to form tissues with a controlled size and shape through the development of a unique magnetic bioreactor. In a self-integrating all-in-one process, 3D tissue will be shaped from cellular "bricks" without the need for a scaffold. The magnetic tissue will be amenable to mechanical stimulation and in situ imaging at each step of its maturation. The project is inherently multidisciplinary: 1) From a biophysics standpoint, controlled tissue stimulation, forced cell alignment, and mapping of cell-cell forces, will be used to answer pressing questions on the role of physical stresses in cell and tissue functions, such as differentiation. 2) From a regenerative medicine standpoint, this magnetic technology will be applied to cartilage and cardiac tissue repair. The functionality of the constructs and their centimetric size range, combined with a surgeon-friendly tissue handling with a dedicated magnetic tool, and the inherent magnetic resonance imaging properties of the constructs will be major advantages for clinical translation. 3) From a nanomaterials standpoint, nanomaterial fate will be explored in situ using nanomagnetic methods, both at the tissue scale (macroscopic) and at the nanoscale. This is a necessary corollary for the use of nanomaterials in regenerative medicine, and one that is largely unexplored."

1 589 000 €

Start date: 2015-07-01, End date: 2020-12-31

Collider physics is about exploring the smallest constituents of matter, and unravelling the basic laws of the Universe. Unfortunately there can be a huge gap between a one-line formula of a fundamental theory and the experimental reality it implies. Phenomenology is intended to fill that gap, e.g. to explore the consequences of a theory such that it can be directly compared with data. Nowhere is the gap more striking than for QCD, the theory of strong interactions, which dominates in most high-energy collisions, like at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) at CERN. And yet, when such collisions produce hundreds of outgoing particles, calculational complexity is insurmountable. Instead ingenious but approximate QCD-inspired models have to be invented. Such models are especially powerful if they can be cast in the form of computer code, and combined to provide a complete description of the collision process. An event generator is such a code, where random numbers are used to emulate the quantum mechanical uncertainty that leads to no two collision events being quite identical. The Principal Investigator is the main author of PYTHIA, the most widely used event generator of the last 30 years and vital for physics studies at the LHC. It is in a state of continuous extension: new concepts are invented, new models developed, new code written, to provide an increasingly accurate understanding of collider physics. But precise LHC data has put a demand on far more precise descriptions, and have also shown that some models need to be rethought from the ground up. This project, at its core, is about conducting more frontline research with direct implications for event generators, embedded in a broader phenomenology context. In addition to the PI, the members of the theoretical high energy physics group in Lund and of the PYTHIA collaboration will participate in this project, as well as graduate students and postdocs.

1 990 895 €

Start date: 2015-11-01, End date: 2020-10-31

New models of fluid transport are expected to emerge from the confinement of liquids at the nanoscale, where the behaviour of matter strongly departs from common expectations. This is the field of the Nanofluidics: taking inspiration from the solution found by evolved biological systems, new functionalities will emerge from the nanometre scale, with potential applications in ultrafiltration, desalination and energy conversion. Nevertheless, advancing our fundamental understanding of fluid transport on the smallest scales requires mass and ion dynamics to be ultimately characterized across channels with dimensions close to the molecular size. A major challenge for nanofluidics thus lies in building distinct and well-controlled nanochannels, amenable to the systematic exploration of their properties. This project will tackle several complementary challenges. On the first hand the realization of new kind of fluidic devices allowing the study of fluid and ion transport at the nanoscale: these new experimental devices will be obtained by using nanostructures like building blocks as already shown by realising a fluidics set-up based on transmembrane nanotubes; in parallel a dedicated plateform for the characterization of fluid transport will be developed based on electrokinetics and optical detection set-ups. On the other hand, profiting of such experimental set-ups, I will look for the limit of the classical description of the fluid dynamics, focusing on new functionalities emerging from exotic behaviour of fluids at the nanometer level. This will be done by studying different kind of nanofluidics set-up such as carbon and boron-nitride nanotube, ultrathin pierced graphene and h-BN sheet and composite materials. I aim the creation of a link between fundamental research on soft matter and nanoscience-condensed matter with a an attention on the energy production domain, assuring a fruitful transfer between the fundamental findings and new industrial applications.

1 494 000 €

Start date: 2015-04-01, End date: 2020-03-31

The fluctuation-dissipation theorem is a prominent milestone in Physics: It links the dissipative response of a physical system to its fluctuations, and provides a microscopic understanding of macroscopic irreversibility. Recent theoretical advances that have generalized the original fluctuation-dissipation theorem to non-linear quantum systems even far from equilibrium, ask for an experimental test, which is the aim of the project. We will measure the current fluctuations and dissipative response of driven quantum systems whose non-linearity arises from strong interactions. We will exploit the flexibility offered by nano-patterned high purity 2D electron gases in order to realize single electron channels in different regimes: 1/ interacting strongly with a single electromagnetic mode (Dynamical Coulomb Blockade of a quantum point contact), 2/ interacting with a single magnetic impurity (Kondo effect in quantum dots), 3/ driving the 2D gas in the fractional quantum Hall effect where current is carried by strongly correlated 1D channels prototypical of Luttinger liquids. Last, we will address a fundamental issue raised in the early days of quantum mechanics: how long does it take for a particle to cross a classically forbidden barrier? While Wigner-Smith’s theorem links the issue to the density fluctuations within the barrier, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem links it further to a quantum relaxation resistance. A full investigation of fluctuation-dissipation relations including quantum effects requires measurements at frequencies hf>k_BT. With the available dilution refrigeration techniques it implies measuring in the few GHz range. Since quantum conductors have an impedance h/e^2~25.8 kohm much larger than the 50ohm impedance of microwave components, new microwave methods able to deal with large impedance values will be developed. They will be based on the extension to finite magnetic field of the wide-band impedance matching methods recently developed by the PI.

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2015-05-01, End date: 2020-04-30

Integral membrane metalloproteins are involved in the transport and homeostasis of metal ions, as well as in key redox reactions that have a tremendous impact on many fields within life sciences, environment, energy, and industry. Most of our understanding of fine details of biochemical processes derives from atomic or molecular structures obtained by diffraction methods on single crystal samples. However, in the case of integral membrane systems, single crystals large enough for X-ray diffraction cannot be easily obtained, and the problem of structure elucidation is largely unsolved. We have recently pioneered a breakthrough approach using Magic-Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS-NMR) for the atomic-level characterization of paramagnetic materials and complex biological macromolecules. The proposed project aims to leverage these new advances through a series of new concepts i) to improve the resolution and sensitivity of MAS-NMR from nuclei surrounding a paramagnetic metal ion, such as e.g. cobalt, nickel and iron, and ii) to extend its applicability to large integral membrane proteins in lipid membrane environments. With these methods, we will enable the determination of structure-activity relationships in integral membrane metalloenzymes and transporters, by combining the calculation of global structure and dynamics with measurement of the electronic features of metal ions. These goals require a leap forward with respect to today’s protocols, and we propose to achieve this through a combination of innovative NMR experiments and isotopic labeling, faster MAS rates and high magnetic fields. As outlined here, the approaches go well beyond the frontier of current research. The project will yield a broadly applicable method for the structural characterization of essential cellular processes and thereby will provide a powerful tool to solve challenges at the forefront of molecular and chemical sciences today.

2 499 375 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31

The discovery of extra-solar planets orbiting other stars has been one of the major breakthroughs in astronomy of the past decades. Exoplanets are common objects in the universe and planetary systems seem to be more diverse than originally predicted. The use of radius-mass relationships has been generalized as a means for understanding exoplanets compositions, in combination with equations of state of main planetary components extrapolated to TeraPascal (TPa) pressures. In the most current description, Earth-like planets are assumed to be fully differentiated and made of a metallic core surrounded by a silicate mantle, and possibly volatile elements at their surfaces in supercritical, liquid or gaseous states. This model is currently used to infer mass-radius relationship for planets up to 100 Earth masses but rests on poorly known equations of states for iron alloys and silicates, as well as even less known melting properties at TPa pressures. This proposal thus aims at providing experimental references for equations of state and melting properties up to TPa pressure range, with the combined use of well-calibrated static experiments (laser-heated diamond-anvil cells) and laser-compression experiments capable of developing several Mbar pressures at high temperature, coupled with synchrotron or XFEL X-ray sources. I propose to establish benchmarking values for the equations of states, phase diagrams and melting curves relations at unprecedented P-T conditions. The proposed experiments will be focused on simple silicates, oxides and carbides (SiO2, MgSiO3, MgO, SiC), iron alloys (Fe-S, Fe-Si, Fe-O, Fe-C) and more complex metals (Fe,Si,O,S) and silicates (Mg,Fe)SiO3. In this proposal, I will address key questions concerning planets with 1-5 Earth masses as well as fundamental questions about the existence of heavy rocky cores in giant planets.

3 498 938 €

Start date: 2016-01-01, End date: 2020-12-31

Particle acceleration and radiation in plasmas has a wide variety of applications, ranging from cancer therapy and lightning initiation, to the improved design of fusion devices for large scale energy production. The goal of this project is to build a flexible ensemble of theoretical and numerical models that describes the acceleration processes and the resulting fast particle dynamics in two focus areas: magnetic fusion plasmas and laser-produced plasmas. This interdisciplinary approach is a new way of studying charged particle acceleration. It will lead to a deeper understanding of the complex interactions that characterise fast particle behaviour in plasmas. Plasmas are complex systems, with many kinds of interacting electromagnetic (EM) waves and charged particles. For such a system it is infeasible to build one model which captures both the small scale physics and the large scale phenomena. Therefore we aim to develop several complementary models, in one common framework, and make sure they agree in overlapping regions. The common framework will be built layer-by-layer, using models derived from first principles in a systematic way, with theory closely linked to numerics and validated by experimental observations. The key object of study is the evolution of the velocity-space particle distribution in time and space. The main challenge is the strong coupling between the distribution and the EM-field, which requires models with self-consistent coupling of Maxwell’s equations and kinetic equations. For the latter we will use Vlasov-Fokker-Planck solvers extended with advanced collision operators. Interesting aspects include non-Maxwellian distributions, instabilities, shock-wave formation and avalanches. The resulting theoretical framework and the corresponding code-suite will be a novel instrument for advanced studies of charged particle acceleration. Due to the generality of our approach, the applicability will reach far beyond the two focus areas.

1 948 750 €

Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30

The presence of organic compounds was essential to the emergence of life on Earth 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago. Such compounds may have had several different origins; amongst them the ocean-atmosphere coupled system (the primordial soup theory), or exogenous inputs by meteorites, comets and Interplanetary Dust Particles. Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the best known observable analogue of the Early Earth. I recently identified a totally new source of prebiotic material for this system: the upper atmosphere. Nucleobases have been highlighted as components of the solid aerosols analogues produced in a reactor mimicking the chemistry that occurs in the upper atmosphere. The specificity of this external layer is that it receives harsh solar UV radiations enabling the chemical activation of molecular nitrogen N2, and involving a nitrogen rich organic chemistry with high prebiotic interest. As organic solid aerosols are initiated in the upper atmosphere of Titan, a new question is raised that I will address: what is the evolution of these organic prebiotic seeds when sedimenting down to the surface? Aerosols will indeed undergo the bombardment of charged particles, further UV radiation, and/or coating of condensable species at lower altitudes. I expect possible changes on the aerosols themselves, but also on the budget of the gas phase through emissions of new organic volatiles compounds. The aerosols aging may therefore impact the whole atmospheric system. An original methodology will be developed to address this novel issue. The successive aging sequences will be experimentally simulated in chemical reactors combining synchrotron and plasma sources. The interpretation of the experimental results will moreover be supported by a modelling of the processes. This complementary approach will enable to decipher the aerosols evolution in laboratory conditions and to extrapolate the impact on Titan atmospheric system.

1 487 500 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31

Understanding the physical processes that control the life-cycle of the interstellar medium (ISM) is one of the key themes in the astrophysics of galaxies today. This importance originates from the role of the ISM as the birthplace of new stars, and therefore, as an indivisible component of galaxy evolution. Exactly how the conversion of the ISM to stars takes place is intricately linked to how the internal structure of the cold, molecular clouds in the ISM forms and evolves. Despite this pivotal role, our picture of the molecular cloud structure has a fundamental lacking: it is based largely on observations of low-mass molecular clouds. Yet, it is the massive, giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in which most stars form and which impact the ISM of galaxies most. I present a program that will fill this gap and make profound progress in the field. We have developed a new observational technique that provides an unparalleled view of the structure of young GMCs. I also have developed a powerful tool to study the most important structural characteristics of molecular clouds, e.g., the probability distribution of volume densities, which have not been accessible before. With this program, the full potential of these tools will be put into use. We will produce a unique, high-fidelity column density data set for a statistically interesting volume in the Galaxy, including thousands of molecular clouds. The data set will be unmatched in its quality and extent, providing an unprecedented basis for statistical studies. We will then connect this outstanding observational view with state-of-the-art numerical simulations. This approach allows us to address the key question in the field: Which processes drive the structure formation in massive molecular clouds, and how do they do it? Most crucially, we will create a new, observationally constrained framework for the evolution of the molecular cloud structure over the entire mass range of molecular clouds and star formation in the ISM.

1 266 750 €

Start date: 2016-02-01, End date: 2021-01-31

The quantum nature of an electronic fluid is ubiquitous in many solid-state systems subjected to correlations or confinement. This is particularly true for two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in which fascinating quantum states of matter, such as the integer and fractional quantum Hall (QH) states, arise under strong magnetic fields. The understanding of QH systems relies on the existence of one-dimensional (1D) conducting channels that propagate unidirectionally along the edges of the system, following the confining potential. Due to the buried nature of 2DEG commonly built in semiconducting heterostructures, the considerable real space structure of this 1D electronic fluid and its energy spectrum remain largely unexplored. This project consists in exploring at the local scale the intimate link between the spatial structure of QH edge states, coherent transport and the coupling with superconductivity at interfaces. We will use graphene as a surface-accessible 2DEG to perform a pioneering local investigation of normal and superconducting transport through QH edge states. A new and unique hybrid Atomic Force Microscope and Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) operating in the extreme conditions required for this physics, i.e. below 0.1 kelvin and up to 14 teslas, will be developed and will allow unprecedented access to the edge of a graphene flake where QH edge states propagate. Overall, the original combination of magnetotransport measurements with scanning tunnelling spectroscopy will solve fundamental questions on the considerable real-space structure of integer and fractional QH edge states impinged by either normal or superconducting electrodes. Our world-unique approach, which will provide the first STM imaging and spectroscopy of QH edge channels, promises to open a new field of investigation of the local scale physics of the QH effect.

1 761 412 €

Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30

In porous media, mixing interfaces such as contaminant plume fringes or boundaries between water bodies create highly reactive localized hotspots of chemical and microbiological activity, whether in engineered or natural systems. These reactive fronts are characterized by high concentration gradients, complex flow dynamics, variable water saturation, fluctuating redox conditions and multifunctional biological communities. The spatial and temporal variability of velocity gradients is expected to elongate mixing interfaces and steepen concentration gradients, thus strongly affecting biochemical reactivity. However, a major issue with porous media flows is that these essential micro-scale interactions are inaccessible to direct observation. Furthermore, the lack of a validated upscaling framework from fluid- to system-scale represents a major barrier to the application of reactive transport models to natural or industrial problems. The ambition of the ReactiveFronts project is to address this knowledge gap by setting up a high level interdisciplinary team that will provide a new theoretical understanding and novel experimental imaging capacities for micro-scale interactions between flow, mixing and reactions and their impact on reactive front kinetics at the system scale. ReactiveFronts will develop an original approach to this long-standing problem; combining theoretical, laboratory and field experimental methods.The focus on reactive interface dynamics, which represents a paradigm shift for reactive transport modelling in porous media, will require the development of original theoretical approaches (WP1) and novel microfluidic experiments (WP2). This will form a strong basis for the study of complex features at increasing spatial scales, including the coupling between fluid dynamics and biological activity (WP4), the impact of 3D flow topologies and chaotic mixing on effective reaction kinetics (WP3), and the field scale assessment of these interactions (WP5).

1 998 747 €

Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30

The rotation of the Earth has long been used as a measure of time, and the stars as reference points to determine travellers’ whereabouts on the globe. Today, precise timescales are provided using atomic clocks and precise positioning is determined using geodetic techniques such as GPS grounded on two reference frames: the terrestrial frame, fixed relative to the Earth and rotating synchronously with the planet, and the celestial frame, which is immobile in space, where the artificial satellites such as those of GPS are moving. The relationship between these frames is complicated by the fact that the rotation and orientation of the Earth is subject to irregularities induced by global mass redistributions with time and external forcing such as the gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon. With the advance of observation precision, the causes of Earth orientation changes are progressively being identified by geodesists and geophysicists. The term ‘precession’ describes the long-term trend of the orientation of the axis of spin, while ‘nutation’ is the name given to shorter-term periodic variations, which are the prime focus of the present project. The rotation axis of the Earth is moving in space at the level of 1.5km/year due to precession and has periodic variations at the level of 600 meters as seen from space in a plane tangent to the pole. The present observations allow scientists to measure these at the sub-centimetre level enabling them to identify further physics of the Earth’s interior to be taken into account in the Earth orientation models such as the coupling mechanisms at the boundary between the liquid core and the viscoelastic mantle, as well as many other factors (sometimes not yet definitely identified). The proposed research will address many of these and will result in the development of improved global orientation of the Earth with an unprecedented accuracy - at the sub-centimetre level.

2 500 000 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31

"Non linear wave equations are central in the description of many canonical models in physics from nonlinear optics to fluid mechanics. A phenomenon of particular interest is singularity formation which corresponds to the concentration of the energy of the wave packet. The existence and description of such dynamics is still mostly mysterious, but fundamental progress have been made in the past ten years on canonical models like nonlinear wave and Schr\"odinger equations, with in particular the discovery of the fundamental role played by a specific class of nonlinear wave packets: the solitary waves. These very recent works open up a huge field of investigation on problems which were considered out of reach ten years ago. The aim of the SINGWAVES project is to strenghten our research group in the setting of an intense international activity with two main directions of investigation: the construction and classification of singular bubbles for some canonical models like non linear Schr\"odinger equations, the exploration of new deeply nonlinear dynamics in connection with classical models at the frontier of current research."

1 211 055 €

Start date: 2015-08-01, End date: 2020-07-31

Compared to existing Random Access Memories, the Magnetic RAM (MRAM) has the advantage of being non-volatile. Though the basic requirements for reading and writing a single memory element are fulfilled, the present approach based on Spin Transfer Torque (STT) suffers from an innate lack of flexibility. The solution that I propose is based on the discovery of a novel phenomenon, where instead of transferring spin angular momentum from a neighbouring layer, magnetization reversal is achieved by angular momentum transfer directly from the crystal lattice. There is a long list of advantages that this novel approach has compared to STT, but the goal of this project is to focus only on their most generic difference: flexibility. The singularity of spin-orbit torque is that the in-plane current injection geometry decouples the “read” and “write” mechanisms. The disconnection is essential, as unlike STT where the pillar shape of the magnetic trilayer sets the current path, in the case of SOT the composing elements may be shaped separately. The liberty of shaping the current distribution allows to spatially modulate the torque exerted on the local magnetization. The central goal of my project is to explore the new magnetization dynamics, specific to the Spin-Orbit Torque (SOT) geometry, and design novel magnetization switching schemes. I will begin by tackling the fundamental questions about the origin of SOT and try to control it by mastering its dependence on the layer structure. Materials with on-demand SOT will serve as playground for the testing of a broad range of magnetization reversal techniques. The most successful among them will become the building-blocks of complex magnetic objects whose switching behaviour is tightly related to their shape. To study their magnetization dynamics I plan to build a time-resolved near-field magneto-optical microscope, a unique tool for the ultimate spatial and temporal resolution.

1 476 000 €

Start date: 2015-10-01, End date: 2020-09-30

The rise of the Internet and the ubiquity of electronic devices has deeply changed our way of life. Many face to face and paper transactions have nowadays digital counterparts: home banking, e- commerce, e-voting, etc. The security of such transactions is ensured by the means of cryptographic protocols. While historically the main goals of protocols were to ensure confidentiality and authentication the situation has changed. The ability of people to stay connected constantly combined with ill-conceived systems seriously threatens people’s privacy. E-voting protocols need to guarantee privacy of votes, while ensuring transparency of the voting process; RFID and mobile telephone protocols have to guarantee that people cannot be traced. Moreover due to viruses and malware, personal computers and mobile phones must not be considered anymore to be trustworthy; yet they have to be used to execute protocols that need to achieve security goals. To detect flaws, prove the security of protocols and propose new design principles the Spooc project will develop solid foundations and practical tools to analyze and formally prove security properties that ensure the privacy of users as well as techniques for executing protocols on untrusted platforms. We will - develop foundations and practical tools for specifying and formally verifying new security properties, in particular privacy properties; - develop techniques for the design and automated analysis of protocols that have to be executed on untrusted platforms; - apply these methods in particular to novel e-voting protocols, which aim at guaranteeing strong security guarantees without need to trust the voter client software. The Spooc project will significantly advance formal verification of security protocols and contribute to the development of a rich framework that provides techniques and tools to analyze and design security protocols guaranteeing user’s privacy and relaxing trust assumptions on the execution platforms.

1 903 500 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31

STRIGES is a theoretical project aimed at developing new computational approaches and descriptors essentially rooted on Density Functional Theory enabling to design new single molecule architectures able to undergo to significant light induced electronic and structural reorganization. In this respect the present project concerns beside fundamental goals, such as the development of new theoretical approaches for the description of photochemical and photophysical processes in molecular systems, the description and prediction of photoinduced phenomena which is indeed of fundamental importance also in many research fields of technological relevance, ranging from artificial photosynthesis to molecular electronics. To this end, we will develop, implement and apply suitable theoretical tools enabling the accurate description of potential energy surfaces of the lowest lying excited states not exclusively within the Franck-Condon region. From the application point of view, the end point of this project is the in-silico design and optimization of two new classes of photomolecular devices.

1 202 500 €

Start date: 2015-11-01, End date: 2020-10-31

This project is founded on a new formulation of Einstein's equations in dimension 4, which I developed together with my co-authors. This new approach reveals a surprising link between four-dimensional Einstein manifolds and six-dimensional symplectic geometry. My project will exploit this interplay in both directions: using Riemannian geometry to prove results about symplectic manifolds and using symplectic geometry to prove results about Reimannian manifolds. Our new idea is to rewrite Einstein's equations using the language of gauge theory. The fundamental objects are no longer Riemannian metrics, but instead certain connections over a 4-manifold M. A connection A defines a metric g_A via its curvature, analogous to the relationship between the electromagnetic potential and field in Maxwell's theory. The total volume of (M,g_A) is an action S(A) for the theory, whose critical points give Einstein metrics. At the same time, the connection A also determines a symplectic structure \omega_A on an associated 6-manifold Z which fibres over M. My project has two main goals. The first is to classify the symplectic manifolds which arise this way. Classification of general symplectic 6-manifolds is beyond current techniques of symplectic geometry, making my aims here very ambitious. My second goal is to provide an existence theory both for anti-self-dual Poincaré--Einstein metrics and for minimal surfaces in such manifolds. Again, my aims here go decisively beyond the state of the art. In all of these situations, a fundamental problem is the formation of singularities in degenerating families. What makes new progress possible is the fresh input coming from the symplectic manifold Z. I will combine this with techniques from Riemannian geometry and gauge theory to control the singularities which can occur.

1 162 880 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31

Imagine a world, in which countless embedded microelectronic components continuously monitor our health and allow us to seamlessly interact with our digital environment. One particularly promising platform for the realisation of this concept is based on wearable electronic textiles. In order for this technology to become truly pervasive, a myriad of devices will have to operate autonomously over an extended period of time without the need for additional maintenance, repair or battery replacement. The goal of this research programme is to realise textile-based thermoelectric generators that without additional cost can power built-in electronics by harvesting one of the most ubiquitous energy sources available to us: our body heat. Current thermoelectric technologies rely on toxic inorganic materials that are both expensive to produce and fragile by design, which renders them unsuitable especially for wearable applications. Instead, in this programme we will use polymer semiconductors and nanocomposites. Initially, we will focus on the preparation of materials with a thermoelectric performance significantly beyond the state-of-the-art. Then, we will exploit the ease of shaping polymers into light-weight and flexible articles such as fibres, yarns and fabrics. We will explore both, traditional weaving methods as well as emerging 3D-printing techniques, in order to realise low-cost thermoelectric textiles. Finally, within the scope of this programme we will demonstrate the ability of prototype thermoelectric textiles to harvest a small fraction of the wearer’s body heat under realistic conditions. We will achieve this through integration into clothing to power off-the-shelf sensors for health care and security applications. Eventually, it can be anticipated that the here interrogated thermoelectric design paradigms will be of significant benefit to the European textile and health care sector as well as society in general.

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2015-06-01, End date: 2020-05-31

Reconstructing the nature and habitat of early life is a difficult task that strongly depends on the study of rare microfossils in the ancient rock record. The preservation of such organic structures critically depends on rapid entombment in a mineral matrix. Throughout most of Earth’s history the oceans were silica-supersaturated, leading to precipitation of opal deposits that incorporated superbly preserved microbial cells. As we trace this record of life back in deep time, however, three important obstacles are encountered; 1) microorganisms lack sufficient morphologic complexity to be easily distinguished from each other and from certain abiologic microstructures, 2) the ancient rock record has been subjected to increased pressures and temperatures causing variable degradation of different types of microorganism, and 3) early habitats of life were dominated by hydrothermal processes that can generate abiologic organic microstructures. TRACES will study the critical transformations that occur when representative groups of microorganisms are subjected to artificial silicification and thermal alteration. At incremental steps during these experiments the (sub)micron-scale changes in structure and composition of organic cell walls are monitored. This will be compared with fossilized life in diagenetic hot spring sinters and metamorphosed Precambrian chert deposits. The combined work will lead to a dynamic model for microfossil transformation in progressively altered silica-matrices. The critical question will be answered whether certain types of microorganisms are more likely to be preserved than others. In addition, the critical nano-scale structural differences will be determined between abiologic artefacts – such as carbon coatings on botryoidal quartz or adsorbed carbon on silica biomorphs – and true microfossils in hydrothermal cherts. This will provide a solid scientific basis for tracing life in the oldest, most altered part of the rock record.

1 999 250 €

Start date: 2015-05-01, End date: 2020-04-30

Nano-electro-mechanical devices (NEMS) are extremely small objects that can be actuated and detected by electric means. They are in the first place transducers that can be used as probes for forces down to the molecular level. Top-down fabricated NEMS using conventional microelectronics techniques are simple devices that intimately link mechanical and electrical degrees of freedom. As such, they can be viewed as model systems from basic (linear) harmonic motion up to complex nonlinear dynamics. The most intriguing experimental situation is attained when the devices are cold enough to behave according to the laws of quantum mechanics, instead of classical physics. This leads to a unique approach of the classical-to-quantum crossover with truly macroscopic position-states. Complementarily, at low temperatures the forces sensed by the NEMS arise from materials themselves cold enough to exhibit exotic quantum properties, originating either in the devices’ constitutive amorphous materials and their intrinsic elusive Tunneling Systems, or from their interaction with a sophisticated fluid like superfluid 3He. I propose unique research linking ultra-low temperature physics and nano-mechanics, building on my knowledge of both fields and my experience in superconducting quantum circuits. The research has two identified axes, which aim at pushing both the “sensor” and “model system” aspects of NEMS down to their quantum retrenchments. Macroscopic quantum position-states can be engineered with a hybrid quantum circuit arrangement (a combination of NEMS, microwaves and quantum bit), while topological states of confined superfluid 3He with their elementary excitations can be mechanically probed by dedicated NEMS (measuring friction). The scientific impact of this research is extremely wide, tackling fundamental questions like: what/where is the boundary between quantum and classical worlds, and do Majorana particles (potentially obtained in topological 3He) exist at all?

1 990 574 €

Start date: 2015-11-01, End date: 2020-10-31

We propose to address some of the most important outstanding questions for a microscopic understanding of water: What is the structure and dynamics of the hydrogen-bonding network that give rise to all the unique properties of water? How is the structure and dynamics affected by temperature, pressure and by perturbation through interaction with solutes and interfaces? Here we point to the opportunity to exploit the completely new avenues that the novel x-ray free-electron lasers open up for probing both structure and dynamics of water from hot temperatures down to the deeply supercooled regime where the anomalous properties become extreme. We plan to further develop fast cooling and ultrafast x-ray probing allowing access to below the homogeneous ice nucleation limit, to probe equilibrium dynamics through probe-probe techniques based on x-ray correlation spectroscopy, to access low-energy vibrational mode dynamics through THz pump and x-ray scattering probe and to transfer x-ray spectroscopies into the time domain. We will address one of the currently most debated issues related to a potential liquid-liquid transition and 2nd critical point in liquid water. The goal is to determine experimentally if water, as hypothesized in certain models, can really exist as two liquids, if there is reversible phase transition between the hypothesized liquids, evaluate if these hypothesized liquids can equilibrate on a time scale faster then the rate of ice nucleation and if there exists a critical point that can explain the fluctuations related to the diverging response functions. We will continue to critically investigate our proposed hypothesis that water at ambient temperature encompasses fluctuations around two local structures and that the dominating structure is a strongly distorted hydrogen bonded environment. We will investigate if these concepts can be used to describe the observed perturbations of water structure by solutes and interfaces.

2 486 951 €

Start date: 2015-09-01, End date: 2020-08-31