ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

The fundamental 3D-BioMat project aims at providing a biomineralization model to explain the formation of microscopic calcareous single-crystals produced by living organisms. Although these crystals present a wide variety of shapes, associated to various organic materials, the observation of a nanoscale granular structure common to almost all calcareous crystallizing organisms, associated to an extended crystalline coherence, underlies a generic biomineralization and assembly process. A key to building realistic scenarios of biomineralization is to reveal the crystalline architecture, at the mesoscale, (i. e., over a few granules), which none of the existing nano-characterization tools is able to provide. 3D-BioMat is based on the recognized PI’s expertise in the field of synchrotron coherent x-ray diffraction microscopy. It will extend the PI’s disruptive pioneering microscopy formalism, towards an innovative high-throughput approach able at giving access to the 3D mesoscale image of the crystalline properties (crystal-line coherence, crystal plane tilts and strains) with the required flexibility, nanoscale resolution, and non-invasiveness. This achievement will be used to timely reveal the generics of the mesoscale crystalline structure through the pioneering explorations of a vast variety of crystalline biominerals produced by the famous Pinctada mar-garitifera oyster shell, and thereby build a realistic biomineralization scenario. The inferred biomineralization pathways, including both physico-chemical pathways and biological controls, will ultimately be validated by comparing the mesoscale structures produced by biomimetic samples with the biogenic ones. Beyond deciphering one of the most intriguing questions of material nanosciences, 3D-BioMat may contribute to new climate models, pave the way for new routes in material synthesis and supply answers to the pearl-culture calcification problems.

1 966 429 €

Start date: 2017-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28

Large protein complexes carry out some of the most complex functions in biology. Such structures are often assembled spontaneously from individual components through the process of self-assembly. If self-assembled protein complexes could be engineered from first principle it would enable a wide range of applications in biomedicine, nanotechnology and materials science. Recently, approaches to rationally design proteins to self-assembly into predefined structures have emerged. The highlight of this work is the design of protein cages that may be engineered into protein containers. However, current approaches for self-assembly design does not result in the assemblies with the required structural complexity to encode many of the sophisticated functions found in nature. To move forward, we have to learn how to engineer protein subunits with more than one designed interface that can assemble into tightly interacting complexes. In this proposal we propose a new protein design paradigm, shape directed protein design, in order to address shortcomings of the current methodology. The proposed method combines geometric shape matching and computational protein design. Using this approach we will de novo design assemblies with a wide variety of structural states, including protein complexes with cyclic and dihedral symmetry as well as icosahedral protein capsids built from novel protein building blocks. To enable these two design challenges we also develop a high-throughput assay to measure assembly stability in vivo that builds on a three-color fluorescent assay. This method will not only facilitate the screening of orders of magnitude more design constructs, but also enable the application of directed evolution to experimentally improve stable and assembly properties of designed containers as well as other designed assemblies.

2 325 292 €

Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31

Single-photon sources (SPSs) are systems capable of emitting photons one by one. These sources are of major importance for quantum-information science and applications. SPSs experiments generally rely on the optical excitation of two level systems of atomic-scale dimensions (single-molecules, vacancies in diamond…). Many fundamental questions related to the nature of these sources and the impact of their environment remain to be explored: Can SPSs be addressed with atomic-scale spatial accuracy? How do the nanometer-scale distance or the orientation between two (or more) SPSs affect their emission properties? Does coherence emerge from the proximity between the sources? Do these structures still behave as SPSs or do they lead to the emission of correlated photons? How can we then control the degree of entanglement between the sources? Can we remotely excite the emission of these sources by using molecular chains as charge-carrying wires? Can we couple SPSs embodied in one or two-dimensional arrays? How does mechanical stress or localised plasmons affect the properties of an electrically-driven SPS? Answering these questions requires probing, manipulating and exciting SPSs with an atomic-scale precision. This is beyond what is attainable with an all-optical method. Since they can be confined to atomic-scale pathways we propose to use electrons rather than photons to excite the SPSs. This unconventional approach provides a direct access to the atomic-scale physics of SPSs and is relevant for the implementation of these sources in hybrid devices combining electronic and photonic components. To this end, a scanning probe microscope will be developed that provides simultaneous spatial, chemical, spectral, and temporal resolutions. Single-molecules and defects in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides are SPSs that will be studied in the project, and which are respectively of interest for fundamental and more applied issues.

1 996 848 €

Start date: 2018-06-01, End date: 2023-05-31

Our aim is to provide a theoretical framework for studies of dynamical aspects of magnetic materials and magnetisation reversal, which has potential for applications for magnetic data storage and magnetic memory devices. The project focuses on developing and using an atomistic spin dynamics simulation method. Our goal is to identify novel materials and device geometries with improved performance. The scientific questions which will be addressed concern the understanding of the fundamental temporal limit of magnetisation switching and reversal, and the mechanisms which govern this limit. The methodological developments concern the ability to, from first principles theory, calculate the interatomic exchange parameters of materials in general, in particular for correlated electron materials, via the use of dynamical mean-field theory. The theoretical development also involves an atomistic spin dynamics simulation method, which once it has been established, will be released as a public software package. The proposed theoretical research will be intimately connected to world-leading experimental efforts, especially in Europe where a leading activity in experimental studies of magnetisation dynamics has been established. The ambition with this project is to become world-leading in the theory of simulating spin-dynamics phenomena, and to promote education and training of young researchers. To achieve our goals we will build up an open and lively environment, where the advances in the theoretical knowledge of spin-dynamics phenomena will be used to address important questions in information technology. In this environment the next generation research leaders will be fostered and trained, thus ensuring that the society of tomorrow is equipped with the scientific competence to tackle the challenges of our future.

2 130 000 €

Start date: 2010-01-01, End date: 2014-12-31

We propose to investigate a new frontier in Physics: the study of Magnetic systems using attosecond laser pulses. The main disciplines concerned are: Ultrafast laser sciences, Magnetism and Spin-Photonics, Relativistic Quantum Electrodynamics. Three issues of modern magnetism are addressed. 1. How fast can one modify and control the magnetization of a magnetic system ? 2. What is the role and essence of the coherent interaction between light and spins ? 3. How far spin-photonics can bring us to the real world of data acquisition and storage ? - We want first to provide solid ground experiments, unravelling the mechanisms involved in the demagnetization induced by laser pulses in a variety of magnetic materials (ferromagnetic nanostructures, aggregates and molecular magnets). We will explore the ultrafast magnetization dynamics of magnets using an attosecond laser source. - Second we want to explore how the photon field interacts with the spins. We will investigate the dynamical regime when the potential of the atoms is dressed by the Coulomb potential induced by the laser field. A strong support from the relativistic Quantum Electro-Dynamics is necessary towards that goal. - Third, even though our general approach is fundamental, we want to provide a benchmark of what is realistically possible in ultrafast spin-photonics, breaking the conventional thought that spin photonics is hard to implement at the application level. We will realize ultimate devices combining magneto-optical microscopy with the conventional magnetic recording. This new field will raise the interest of a number of competitive laboratories at the international level. Due to the overlapping disciplines the project also carries a large amount of educational impact both fundamental and applied.

2 492 561 €

Start date: 2010-05-01, End date: 2015-04-30

In the bioSPINspired project, I propose to use my experience and skills in spintronics, non-linear dynamics and neuromorphic nanodevices to realize bio-inspired spin torque computing architectures. I will develop a bottom-up approach to build spintronic data processing systems that perform low power ‘cognitive’ tasks on-chip and could ultimately complement our traditional microprocessors. I will start by showing that spin torque nanodevices, which are multi-functional and tunable nonlinear dynamical nano-components, are capable of emulating both neurons and synapses. Then I will assemble these spin-torque nano-synapses and nano-neurons into modules that implement brain-inspired algorithms in hardware. The brain displays many features typical of non-linear dynamical networks, such as synchronization or chaotic behaviour. These observations have inspired a whole class of models that harness the power of complex non-linear dynamical networks for computing. Following such schemes, I will interconnect the spin torque nanodevices by electrical and magnetic interactions so that they can couple to each other, synchronize and display complex dynamics. Then I will demonstrate that when perturbed by external inputs, these spin torque networks can perform recognition tasks by converging to an attractor state, or use the separation properties at the edge of chaos to classify data. In the process, I will revisit these brain-inspired abstract models to adapt them to the constraints of hardware implementations. Finally I will investigate how the spin torque modules can be efficiently connected together with CMOS buffers to perform higher level computing tasks. The table-top prototypes, hardware-adapted computing models and large-scale simulations developed in bioSPINspired will lay the foundations of spin torque bio-inspired computing and open the path to the fabrication of fully integrated, ultra-dense and efficient CMOS/spin-torque nanodevice chips.

1 907 767 €

Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31

Topology provides mathematical tools to sort objects according to global properties regardless of local details, and manifests itself in various fields of physics. In solid-state physics, specific topological properties of the band structure, such as a band inversion, can for example robustly enforce the appearance of spin-polarized conducting states at the boundaries of the material, while its bulk remains insulating. The boundary states of these ‘topological insulators’ in fact provide a support system to encode information non-locally in ‘topological quantum bits’ robust to local perturbations. The emerging ‘topological quantum computation’ is as such an envisioned solution to decoherence problems in the realization of quantum computers. Despite immense theoretical and experimental efforts, the rise of these new materials has however been hampered by strong difficulties to observe robust and clear signatures of their predicted properties such as spin-polarization or perfect conductance. These challenges strongly motivate my proposal to study two-dimensional topological insulators, and in particular explore the unknown dynamics of their topological edge states in normal and superconducting regimes. First it is possible to capture information both on charge and spin dynamics, and more clearly highlight the basic properties of topological edge states. Second, the dynamics reveals the effects of Coulomb interactions, an unexplored aspect that may explain the fragility of topological edge states. Finally, it enables the manipulation and characterization of quantum states on short time scales, relevant to quantum information processing. This project relies on the powerful toolbox offered by radiofrequency and current-correlations techniques and promises to open a new field of dynamical explorations of topological materials.

1 499 940 €

Start date: 2018-02-01, End date: 2023-01-31

For nearly thirty years, the search for a room-temperature superconductor has focused on exotic materials known as cuprates, obtained by doping a parent Mott insulator, and which can carry currents without losing energy as heat at temperatures up to 164 Kelvin. Conventionally three main players were identified as being crucial i) the Mott insulating phase, ii) the anti-ferromagnetic order and iii) the superconducting (SC) phase. Recently a body of experimental probes suggested the presence of a fourth forgotten player, charge ordering-, as a direct competitor for superconductivity. In this project we propose that the relationship between charge ordering and superconductivity is more intimate than previously thought and is protected by an emerging SU(2) symmetry relating the two. The beauty of our theory resides in that it can be encapsulated in one simple and universal “gap equation”, which in contrast to strong coupling approaches used up to now, can easily be connected to experiments. In the first part of this work, we will refine the theoretical model in order to shape it for comparison with experiments and consistently test the SU(2) symmetry. In the second part of the work, we will search for the experimental signatures of our theory through a back and forth interaction with experimental groups. We expect our theory to generate new insights and experimental developments, and to lead to a major breakthrough if it correctly explains the origin of anomalous superconductivity in these materials.

1 318 145 €

Start date: 2016-08-01, End date: 2021-07-31

"Electronic spins are usually detected by their interaction with electromagnetic fields at microwave frequencies. Since this interaction is very weak, only large ensembles of spins can be detected. In circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) on the other hand, artificial superconducting atoms are made to interact strongly with microwave fields at the single photon level, and quantum-limited detection of few-photon microwave signals has been developed. The goal of this project is to apply the concepts and techniques of cQED to the detection and manipulation of electronic and nuclear spins, in order to reach a novel regime in which a single electronic spin strongly interacts with single microwave photons. This will lead to 1) A considerable enhancement of the sensitivity of spin detection by microwave methods. We plan to detect resonantly single electronic spins in a few milliseconds. This could enable A) to perform electron spin resonance spectroscopy on few-molecule samples B) to measure the magnetization of various nano-objects at millikelvin temperatures, using the spin as a magnetic sensor with nanoscale resolution. 2) Applications in quantum information science. Strong interaction with microwave fields at the quantum level will enable the generation of entangled states of distant individual electronic and nuclear spins, using superconducting qubits, resonators and microwave photons, as “quantum data buses” mediating the entanglement. Since spins can have coherence times in the seconds range, this could pave the way towards a scalable implementation of quantum information processing protocols. These ideas will be primarily implemented with NV centers in diamond, which are electronic spins with properties suitable for the project."

1 999 995 €

Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2019-02-28

Quantum computing is based on the manipulation of quantum bits (qubits) to enhance the efficiency of information processing. In solid-state systems, two approaches have been explored: • static qubits, coupled to quantum buses used for manipulation and information transmission, • flying qubits which are mobile qubits propagating in quantum circuits for further manipulation. Flying qubits research led to the recent emergence of the field of electron quantum optics, where electrons play the role of photons in quantum optic like experiments. This has recently led to the development of electronic quantum interferometry as well as single electron sources. As of yet, such experiments have only been successfully implemented in semi-conductor heterostructures cooled at extremely low temperatures. Realizing electron quantum optics experiments in graphene, an inexpensive material showing a high degree of quantum coherence even at moderately low temperatures, would be a strong evidence that quantum computing in graphene is within reach. One of the most elementary building blocks necessary to perform electron quantum optics experiments is the electron beam splitter, which is the electronic analog of a beam splitter for light. However, the usual scheme for electron beam splitters in semi-conductor heterostructures is not available in graphene because of its gapless band structure. I propose a breakthrough in this direction where pn junction plays the role of electron beam splitter. This will lead to the following achievements considered as important steps towards quantum computing: • electronic Mach Zehnder interferometry used to study the quantum coherence properties of graphene, • two electrons Aharonov Bohm interferometry used to generate entangled states as an elementary quantum gate, • the implementation of on-demand electronic sources in the GHz range for graphene flying qubits.

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2016-05-01, End date: 2021-04-30

Self-assembly is the key construction principle that nature uses so successfully to fabricate its molecular machinery and highly elaborate structures. In this project we will follow nature’s strategies and make a concerted experimental and theoretical effort to study, understand and control self-assembly for a new generation of colloidal building blocks. Starting point will be recent advances in colloid synthesis strategies that have led to a spectacular array of colloids of different shapes, compositions, patterns and functionalities. These allow us to investigate the influence of anisotropy in shape and interactions on aggregation and self-assembly in colloidal suspensions and mixtures. Using responsive particles we will implement colloidal lock-and-key mechanisms and then assemble a library of “colloidal molecules” with well-defined and externally tunable binding sites using microfluidics-based and externally controlled fabrication and sorting principles. We will use them to explore the equilibrium phase behavior of particle systems interacting through a finite number of binding sites. In parallel, we will exploit them and investigate colloid self-assembly into well-defined nanostructures. Here we aim at achieving much more refined control than currently possible by implementing a protein-inspired approach to controlled self-assembly. We combine molecule-like colloidal building blocks that possess directional interactions and externally triggerable specific recognition sites with directed self-assembly where external fields not only facilitate assembly, but also allow fabricating novel structures. We will use the tunable combination of different contributions to the interaction potential between the colloidal building blocks and the ability to create chirality in the assembly to establish the requirements for the controlled formation of tubular shells and thus create a colloid-based minimal model of synthetic virus capsid proteins.

2 498 040 €

Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31

"The physics of complex quantum systems with controllable interactions is emerging as a fundamental topic for a broad community, providing an opportunity to test theories of strongly correlated quantum many-body systems and opening interesting applications such as quantum simulators. Recently, in solid-state structures with effective photon-photon interactions the rich physics of quantum fluids of light has been explored, albeit not yet in the regime of strong photonic correlations. Exciting advances in cavity Quantum Electro-Dynamics (QED) and superconducting circuit QED make strong photon-photon interactions now accessible. A growing interest is focusing on lattices of coupled resonators, implementing Hubbard-like Hamiltonians for photons injected by pump driving fields. Similarly to electronic systems, the physics of large two-dimensional (2D) photonic lattices is a fundamental theoretical challenge in the regime of strong correlations. CORPHO has the ambition to develop novel scalable theoretical methods for 2D lattices of cavities, including spatially inhomogeneous driving and dissipation. The proposed methods are based on a hybrid strategy combining cluster mean-field theory and Wave Function Monte Carlo on a physical ‘Corner’ of the Hilbert space in order to calculate the steady-state density matrix and the properties of the non-equilibrium phases. We will study 2D lattices with complex unit cells and ‘fractional’ driving (only a fraction of the sites is pumped), a configuration that, according to recent preliminary studies, is expected to dramatically enhance and enrich quantum correlations. We will also investigate the interplay between driving and geometric frustration in 2D lattices with polarization-dependent interactions. Finally, the quantum control of strongly correlated photonic systems will be explored, including quantum feedback processes, cooling of thermal fluctuations and switching between multi-stable phases."

1 378 440 €

Start date: 2014-06-01, End date: 2019-05-31

Music performance is considered by many to be one of the most breath taking feats of human intelligence. That music performance is a creative act is no longer a disputed fact, but the very nature of this creative work remains illusive. Taking the view that the creative work of performance is the making and shaping of music structures, and that this creative thinking is a form of problem solving, COSMOS proposes an integrated programme of research to transform our understanding of the human experience of performed music, which is almost all music that we hear, and of the creativity of music performance, which addresses how music is made. The research themes are as follows: i) to find new ways to represent, explore, and talk about performance; ii) to harness volunteer thinking (citizen science) for music performance research by focussing on structures experienced and problem solving; iii) to create sandbox environments to experiment with making performed structures; iv) to create theoretical frameworks to discover the reasoning behind the structures perceived and made; and, v) to foster community engagement by training experts to provide feedback on structure solutions so as to increase public understanding of the creative work in music performance. Analysis of the perceived and designed structures will be based on a novel duality paradigm that turns conventional computational music structure analysis on its head to reverse engineer why a perceiver or a performer chooses a particular structure. Embedded in the approach is the use of computational thinking to optimise representations and theories to ensure accuracy, robustness, efficiency, and scalability. The PI is an established performer and a leading authority in music representation, music information research, and music perception and cognition. The project will have far reaching impact, reconfiguring expert and public views of music performance and time-varying music-like sequences such as cardiac arrhythmia.

2 495 776 €

Start date: 2019-06-01, End date: 2024-05-31

In France, the UK, Germany, the US, and Israel, a growing number of films and television series are set ‘behind the scenes’ of democratic regimes faced with terrorist threats. These works reveal a moral state of the world. They may be analysed as ‘mirrors’ of society, or as ideological tools. But they can also be understood as new resources for the education, creativity, and perfectibility of their audiences; as the emergence of a form of ‘soft power’ that can serve as a resource for public policies and democratic conversation. Because of their format (weekly/seasonal regularity, home viewing) and the participatory qualities of the Internet (tweeting, sharing, liking, chat forums), series allow for a new form of education by expressing complex issues through narrative and characters. As a result, TV series are increasingly recognised in current research. However, their aesthetic potential for visualising ethical issues and their capacity at enabling a democratic empowerment of viewers has not yet been analysed ; nor their power for confronting cultural and social upheavals underway, and developing a collective inquiry into democratic values and human security. DEMOSERIES brings together a team of scholars of moral philosophy, film studies, digital media and cultural data, sociology, law and political science, to explore a corpus of TV ‘security series’ from conception to reception. Doing so requires a particularist ethics based on attention to multi-faceted situations, paired with qualitative methods (interviews with security experts, showrunners, viewers; analyses of images, tropes, words; ethnography of reception) and quantitative methods (tweets and web analytics). By elucidating how these series are conceived by their creators and audiences, DEMOSERIES thus aims to understand if and how they might play a crucial role in building the awareness necessary for the safety of individuals and societies, and in creating shared and shareable values in the EU and beyond.

2 216 375 €

Start date: 2020-01-01, End date: 2024-12-31

"The elegant Dirac equation, describing the linear dispersion (energy/momentum) relation of electrons at relativistic speeds, has profound consequences such as the prediction of antiparticles, reflection less tunneling (Klein paradox) and others. Recent discovery of graphene and topological insulators (TI) highlights the scientific importance and technological promise of materials with “relativistic Dirac dispersion"" of electrons for functional materials and device applications with novel functionalities. One might use term ‘Dirac materials’ to encompass a subset of (materials) systems in which the low energy phase space for fermion excitations is reduced compared to conventional band structure predictions (i.e. point or lines of nodes vs. full Fermi Surface). Dirac materials are characterized by universal low energy properties due to presence of the nodal excitations. It is this reduction of phase space due to additional symmetries that can be turned on and off that opens a new door to functionality of Dirac materials. We propose to use the sensitivity of nodes in the electron spectrum of Dirac materials to induce controlled modifications of the Dirac points/lines via band structure engineering in artificial structures and via inelastic scattering processes with controlled doping. Proposed research will expand our theoretical understanding and guide design of materials and engineered geometries that allow tunable energy profiles of Dirac carriers."

1 700 000 €

Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31

Control of cell migration is crucial for many biological processes. Cells sense mechanical cues to guide their migration. As opposed to passive materials, living cells actively respond to the mechanical stimuli of their environment through the transduction of mechanical information into biochemical signaling events. These responses, particularly to rigidity, include differentiation, migration and alterations in cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesion and thus occur over a wide range of time and length scales. I propose to address the effect of substrate mechanical properties on cell migration using quantitative in vitro methods based on micro-fabrication and micro-mechanical techniques. My main objectives are to: 1/ Discover specific mechanisms that guide single cells toward stiffer substrates (a process known as durotaxis), investigate the range of stiffness-sensitive responses and determine the molecular mechanisms based on actin dynamics and cell adhesion assembly. 2/ Characterize the emergence of coordinated cell movements and thus how cells move in concert under external mechanical constraints. In addition to cell-substrate interactions, the role of cell-cell junctions is crucial in the transmission of mechanical signals over the cell population. By analyzing tissue dynamics at both mesoscopic and molecular scales, we hope to unravel how epithelial cell sheets mechanically integrate multiple adhesive cues to drive collective cell migration.3/ Elucidate the role of 3D mechanical environments in collective cell migration. In contrast to migration in 2D, cells in 3D must overcome the biophysical resistance of their surrounding milieu. Based on optical and innovative micro-fabrication techniques to modify the stiffness of 3D scaffolds, we will study its influence on cell migration modes and invasion. The goal of this interdisciplinary project is to understand how cells integrate mechanical adhesive signals to adapt their internal organization and ensure tissue integrity

1 762 734 €

Start date: 2014-06-01, End date: 2019-05-31

We will develop and use imaging techniques for direct probing of electron dynamics in low dimensional structures with orders of magnitude improvements in time and spatial resolution. We will perform our measurements not only on static structures, but on complex structures under operating conditions. Finally as our equipment can also probe structural properties from microns to single atom defects we can directly correlate our observations of electron dynamics with knowledge of geometrical structure. We hope to directly answer central questions in nanophysics on how complex geometric structure on several length-scales induces new and surprising electron dynamics and thus properties in nanoscale objects. The low dimensional semiconductors and metal (nano) structures studied will be chosen to have unique novel properties that will have potential applications in IT, life-science and renewable energy. To radically increase our diagnostics capabilities we will combine PhotoEmission Electron Microscopy and attosecond XUV/IR laser technology to directly image surface electron dynamics with attosecond time resolution and nanometer lateral resolution. Exploring a completely new realm in terms of timescale with nm resolution we will start with rather simple structure such as Au nanoparticles and arrays nanoholes in ultrathin metal films, and gradually increase complexity. As the first group in the world we have shown that atomic resolved structural and electrical measurements by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy is possible on complex 1D semiconductors heterostructures. Importantly, our new method allows for direct studies of nanowires in devices. We can now measure atomic scale surface chemistry and surface electronic/geometric structure directly on operational/operating nanoscale devices. This is important both from a technology point of view, and is an excellent playground for understanding the fundamental interplay between electronic and structural properties.

1 419 120 €

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

During the last three decades, Islam has gained visibility in European public spheres through new religious symbols, but as well as new public figures, men and women, pious and secular who carry Islam in European public life. Islamic entry in the public sphere, and the claims for religious visibility provoke a series of debates on gender equality, freedom of expression and cultural (civilisational) differences in European publics. EUROPUBLICISLAM sets itself the intellectual research agenda of bringing together different fields of knowledge and analysis of the transformative forces that appear in the contemporary meeting of Islam and Europe. It proposes to develop an innovative understanding of the sporadic and at times violent ways in which Islam intervenes in the making of the European public sphere. EUROPUBLICISLAM engages with the European scholarly agenda on migration, the construction of a European public sphere, and Islam. It aims at shifting the contemporary theorization of Islam in Europe away from the integration and security paradigms, and towards a new theory of dynamics of interaction and mutual change. A new research field is marked out in combining and transforming the contemporary theorizations of European public sphere and European Islam. EUROPUBLICISLAM proposes to study religious symbols, artistic cultural productions and public figures affecting the everyday politics of cultural discord. It aims to re-conceptualize the place of Islam in the making of a European public sphere. An innovative methodology is proposed to study the constellations , the assemblages that bring together cultural differences in proximity and in confrontation across national public spheres, following a transnational dynamics. EUROPUBLICISLAM will thus contribute to the production of innovative research on the making and imaging a European public sphere where transformative cultural and aesthetic mixes and thus political pluralism are taking place.

1 414 645 €

Start date: 2008-12-01, End date: 2013-03-31

Turbulence in natural flows is an outstanding challenge with key implications for the energetics of planets, stars, oceans, and the Earth’s climate system. Such natural flows interact with waves, radiation or a combination thereof: surface waves and solar radiation on oceans and lakes, bulk waves and radiation inside the rapidly rotating and electrically conducting solar interior, etc. Standard simplified models often discard waves, radiation, or both, with dramatic consequences for the energy budget of natural flows: geostrophic models neglect waves, and Rayleigh-Bénard thermal convection considers heat diffusively injected through a solid boundary, in strong contrast with radiative heating. The purpose of the present multidisciplinary project is to develop a consistent and coupled description of natural flows interacting with waves and radiation, to properly assess their energy budget: • Because resolving surface waves in global ocean models will remain out-of-reach for decades, I will derive and investigate reduced equations describing their two-way coupling to the ocean currents, with timely implications for the upwelling of nutrients, the strength of the global ocean circulation and ultimately CO2 sequestration and the climate system. • Building on my recent advances in the field of rotating and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, I will derive a set of reduced equations to simulate such turbulent flows in the vicinity of the transition where bulk 3D waves appear on a 2D turbulent flow. This approach will allow me to reach unprecedented parameter regimes, orders of magnitude beyond state-of-the-art 3D direct numerical simulations (DNS). • Finally, I will combine state-of-the-art DNS with a versatile experimental platform to determine the structure, kinetic energy and heat transport of turbulent radiative convection in various geometries. I will extrapolate the resulting scaling-laws to the ocean circulation, the mixing in lakes and the solar tachocline.

1 499 094 €

Start date: 2018-03-01, End date: 2023-02-28

Biological imaging is essential for revealing the inner workings of living systems. Among the numerous imaging modalities, light microscopy has revolutionized biological research. In addition to advances in optics and detectors, imaging has benefited from the development of molecular tools to observe biomolecules in action. Although the last decade’s breakthroughs in imaging have led to new discoveries in biology, there are still extraordinary opportunities for basic and clinical research in further advancing imaging capabilities. This project proposes to develop new classes of probes to advance biological imaging and allow the study of biological processes in all their complexity. First, I propose to push the boundaries of multiplexing and super-resolution imaging in living cells developing a new class of fluorogenic probes that act as genetically encoded fluorescence on/off switches. Highly multiplexed images will be built up over sequential activation of orthogonal fluorescence on/off switches, while continuous switching will allow implementing innovative dynamic super-resolution techniques in living cells. Then, I will develop dynamic fluorescence on/off switches enabling to reveal the dynamics of intracellular processes, focusing in particular on the visualization of interaction dynamics in real-time, and the dynamic detection of endogenous molecules (e.g. proteins, nucleic acids) in living cells. The final part will be dedicated to the development of probes acting as molecular integrator switches to identify active cell circuits in whole tissues or organisms through permanent labeling of transiently activated cells. Overall, this project will enable to push back the frontiers of biological imaging providing innovative tools to interrogate quantitatively and comprehensively living systems at the molecular, cellular and network levels.

2 000 000 €

Start date: 2017-05-01, End date: 2022-04-30

How long does it take a random walker to reach a given target? This quantity, known as a first-passage time (FPT), has been the subject of a growing number of theoretical studies over the past decade. The importance of FPTs originates from the crucial role played by properties related to first encounters in various real situations, including transport in disordered media, diffusion limited reactions, or more generally target search processes. First-passage times in confinement, their optimization and their relationship to biophysical experiments are at the heart of this project. The following two issues will be investigated. 1) We will determine key first-passage observables of general scale-invariant random walks in confinement, which up to now have remained inaccessible: FPT distribution in the presence of several targets and/or several searchers, statistical properties of the explored territory, FPT distribution of a non-Markovian random walker. Beyond their theoretical interest, these developments will allow us to address in close connection with single-molecule experiments the importance of transport and spatial organization for gene transcription kinetics and stochastic gene expression. 2) We will address the question of the optimization of the search time. We have recently introduced a new type of search strategies, the intermittent strategies, which minimize the search time under general conditions. Here, the objectives are: (i) to determine new first-passage observables of these intermittent processes (eg the full FPT distribution) to allow the comparison of optimal strategies to experimental situations; (ii) to understand the physical mechanisms underlying real intermittent pathways and assess their optimality at the molecular (homologous recombination kinetics), cellular (search for infection markers by dendritic cells) and macroscopic scales (individual search behavior of ants); (iii) to use intermittent strategies to design efficient searches.

1 242 800 €

Start date: 2011-10-01, End date: 2017-09-30

Oxide compounds are usually highly ionic, with metal and oxygen ions carrying large positive and negative point charges. When inversion symmetry is broken as in ferroelectrics or at surfaces or interfaces, oxides can thus harbour large electric fields. This unleashes a quantum phenomenon known as the Rashba spin-orbit coupling that allows the generation of spin currents from charge currents and vice versa without ferromagnets, circumventing their drawbacks to perform these tasks. In the FRESCO project, we will combine the advantages of Rashba-driven spin-orbitronics phenomena with the ultralow switching energy of ferroelectrics. Building upon our demonstrations of giant spin-charge conversion at polar oxide interfaces and of non-volatile electoresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions, we will aim at a non-volatile electrical control of interconverted spin and charge currents in materials systems combining Rashba spin-orbit coupling with ferroelectricity. Guided by first-principles calculations, we will design and explore several families of atomically engineered polar heterostructures combining oxides and transition metal compounds. We will assess their spin-charge interconversion efficiency, its controllability by electric fields and its connection with the energy dependent spin Berry curvature. We will harness this controllability in spin-based non-volatile logic architectures operating through ferroelectricity-controlled spin-charge conversion. Building upon this, we will propose and explore several classes of devices including light-activated sources of spin currents based on photoferroelectricity, reconfigurable non-volatile logic gates, and tuneable THz sources and modulators. FRESCO will pioneer a new approach to generate spin currents and manipulate the static (or dynamic) magnetic states by electric fields beyond conventional magnetoelectricity, but retaining its advantageous low operating power, with a view towards attojoule electronics.

2 977 038 €

Start date: 2020-02-01, End date: 2025-01-31

Animal welfare is a topic of highest societal and scientific priority. Here, I propose to use genomic and epigenetic tools to provide a new perspective on the biology of animal welfare. This will reveal mechanisms involved in modulating stress responses. Groundbreaking aspects include new insights into how environmental conditions shape the orchestration of the genome by means of epigenetic mechanisms, and how this in turn modulates coping patterns of animals. The flexible epigenome comprises the interface between the environment and the genome. It is involved in both short- and long-term, including transgenerational, adaptations of animals. Hence, populations may adapt to environmental conditions over generations, using epigenetic mechanisms. The project will primarily be based on chickens, but will also be extended to a novel species, the dog. We will generate congenic chicken strains, where interesting alleles and epialleles will be fixed against a common background of either RJF or domestic genotypes. In these, we will apply a broad phenotyping strategy, to characterize the effects on different welfare relevant behaviors. Furthermore, we will characterize how environmental stress affects the epigenome of birds, and tissue samples from more than 500 birds from an intercross between RJF and White Leghorn layers will be used to perform an extensive meth-QTL-analysis. This will reveal environmental and genetic mechanisms affecting gene-specific methylation. The dog is another highly interesting species in the context of behavior genetics, because of its high inter-breed variation in behavior, and its compact and sequenced genome. We will set up a large-scale F2-intercross experiment and phenotype about 400 dogs in standardized behavioral tests. All individuals will be genotyped on about 1000 genetic markers, and this will be used for performing an extensive QTL-analysis in order to find new loci and alleles associated with personalities and coping patterns.

2 499 828 €

Start date: 2013-03-01, End date: 2018-02-28

While amorphous solids constitute most of the solid matter found in Nature, their understanding is much poorer than for crystalline solids, at the point that most solid state textbooks are entirely focused on crystals. The reason underlying this uncomfortable situation is that amorphous solids display all kind of anomalies with respect to a simple description in terms of phonon excitations around a perfect lattice. In particular, they display an excess of low-frequency vibrational modes, their thermodynamic and transport coefficients behave differently from crystals, they respond non-linearly to arbitrarily small strains, and have highly cooperative dynamics. Traditionally, each of these aspects has been studied independently of the others, by almost distinct communities, and in terms of microscopic elements that are specific to a given material. The objective of this proposal is to take a different approach and seek a universal explanation of all the anomalies of amorphous solids, in terms of criticality associated with a new phase transition between two distinct glass phases. This goal is both ambitious and reachable. It is reachable because such a phase transition has just been theoretically predicted to exist on rigorous grounds, in an abstract limit of infinite spatial dimensions; its existence allows one to compute the critical exponents of jamming, in strikingly good agreement with numerical simulations; and the transition has been observed numerically in a realistic model of glass. It is ambitious because it requires to firmly establish the universal nature of the transition, and connect it to the experimentally observed anomalies through concrete analytical and numerical calculations, which will open the way to a direct experimental test. Both tasks require solving a number of difficult conceptual and technical problems. But, if successful, this project could lead to a revolution in our understanding of amorphous solid matter.

1 362 125 €

Start date: 2017-09-01, End date: 2022-08-31

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

Chemical protein synthesis is an indispensable method in chemical and synthetic biology. However, at the present moment, it is laborious and involves multiple optimization and purification steps. High-throughput approaches for total synthesis of combinatorial libraries of custom-modified protein variants are needed. To change the situation, the work will be carried out in two directions: (1) implementation of microfluidic techniques for automation, miniaturization and multiplexing of experimental steps involved in the total synthesis of proteins, and (2) design and synthesis of novel catalytic proteins for efficient enzyme-assisted peptide ligations under denatured conditions. This innovative research technology will allow robust chemical synthesis of protein libraries with (100–10,000)-compounds with natural and unnatural modifications, bearing variety of post-translational modifications and also protein-like biopolymers. In this project, the new methodology will be validated by chemical synthesis of library of phosphorylated analogues of high mobility group protein A (HMGA), which is involved in gene-transcription and cancer development. Other potential future applications include protein design, biological problems where post-translational modifications play a crucial role (ranging from the ‘histone code’ hypothesis to understanding long-term memory) and functional annotation of newly discovered genes.

1 500 000 €

Start date: 2017-03-01, End date: 2022-02-28

HisTochText addresses written Buddhist culture of the northern Silk Road in an innovative and path-breaking way, by going beyond the frontier of disciplines which have been cultivated separately: philology, digital humanities and in-depth analysis of materials, edition of Tocharian texts and comparative Buddhist literature, Sanskrit poetics and narratology, texts and social contexts. The flourishing Buddhist culture of the northern Silk Road during the 1st millennium CE in the Tarim Basin in present-day Xinjiang (NW China) is known by archaeological findings, artifacts and manuscripts in various languages. Since Buddhism was introduced from India, Sanskrit was the dominant religious language. By contrast, Tocharian belongs to the few local languages that are known to us thanks to Buddhist written culture. The two closely related Tocharian languages (Tocharian A and Tocharian B) were deciphered in 1908 on the basis of manuscripts discovered at the beginning of the past century in Buddhist sites of this region, together with Sanskrit manuscripts. The collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France issued from the Pelliot expedition is a major collection of Tocharian manuscripts, counting around 2,000 fragments, second only to the Berlin collection, but in comparison hardly investigated, despite its containing numerous unique masterpieces and the broadest cross-section of manuscript and document styles and types. Only one fourth has been edited, mostly in a provisional manner, without translation nor commentary. Many texts of the Pelliot collection, literary and non-literary, are of the utmost importance because they have no match in any other collection of Tocharian manuscripts, nor in Buddhist corpora in other languages. As most Pelliot manuscripts in Sanskrit and in Tocharian were found in Buddhist sites of the Kucha region, the comprehensive edition and analysis of the texts will provide precious information about an important centre of Central Asian Buddhism.

1 833 103 €

Start date: 2018-10-01, End date: 2023-09-30

Water is the most limiting environmental factor for agricultural production worldwide and climate change exacerbates this threat. The HyArchi project will address this issue from a plant biology perspective and proposes new strategies to improve crop tolerance to drought. The main objective is to optimize water uptake and transport in cereals affected by drought. HyArchi will target maize, a major crop and a foundational model in plant genetics and water relations that is grown in irrigation or rain-fed conditions. HyArchi will consider three root traits: root system architecture, generated through continuous growth and branching; water transport; and environmental signalling. The first two traits yield the root hydraulic architecture. HyArchi will investigate how this architecture evolves in time and space by integrating local and systemic signals that communicate water availability. HyArchi proposes two innovative molecular discovery approaches recently validated by my group in model plants. Genome-wide association studies will be used to uncover novel genes, with signalling functions acting on root hydraulics. Transcriptomic analyses of an experimental split-root system will be used to identify molecules (e.g. hormones, miRNAs) involved in systemic signalling and governing root growth and hydraulics. These studies will be supported by key methodological developments. A semi-automated set of pressure chambers will be constructed to measure root hydraulics in multiple genotypes under highly controlled local root environments. Improved root image analyses will be coupled to mathematical modelling to represent local and systemic effects of water on root hydraulic architecture. Ultimately, HyArchi will deliver enhanced knowledge on root water transport and its control by a set of new genes, with a description of their natural variation and impact on whole-plant drought responses. Importantly, this will allow introducing beneficial alleles into elite cultivars.

2 498 100 €

Start date: 2018-10-01, End date: 2023-09-30

Detecting and imaging magnetic fields with high sensitivity and nanoscale resolution is a topic of crucial importance for a wealth of research domains, from material science, to mesoscopic physics, and life sciences. This is obviously also a key requirement for fundamental studies in nanomagnetism and the design of innovative magnetic materials with tailored properties for applications in spintronics. Although a remarkable number of magnetic microscopy techniques have been developed over the last decades, imaging magnetism at the nanoscale remains a challenging task. It was recently realized that the experimental methods allowing for the detection of single spins in the solid-state, which were initially developed for quantum information science, open new avenues for high sensitivity magnetometry. In that spirit, it was recently proposed to use the electronic spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) defect in diamond as a nanoscale quantum sensor for scanning probe magnetometry. This approach promises significant advances in magnetic imaging since it provides quantitative and vectorial magnetic field measurements, with an unprecedented combination of spatial resolution and magnetic sensitivity, even under ambient conditions. The IMAGINE project intend to exploit the unique performances of scanning-NV magnetometry to achieve major breakthroughs in nanomagnetism. We will first explore the structure of domain walls and individual skyrmions in ultrathin magnetic wires, which both promise disruptive applications in spintronics. This will lead (i) to solve an important academic debate regarding the inner structure of domain walls and (ii) to the first detection of individual skyrmions in ultrathin magnetic wire under ambient conditions. This might result in a new paradigm for spin-based applications in nanoelectronics. We will then explore orbital magnetism in graphene, which has never been observed experimentally and is the purpose of surprising theoretical predictions.

1 498 810 €

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

In the prospect of the circulation of concepts and practices and the permeability of artistic boundaries, this research program studies artistic vocabulary as it develops in the XVIIth century and transforms itself in the beginning of the XVIIIth century north of the Alps. Through words, the definition of concepts, the development of glossaries for artists and connoisseurs, and their subsequent insertion into intellectual networks may be grasped. Artistic vocabulary turns out to be a precious site of experimentation for these communities across Europe. Putting into relation artistic practices on one hand, and cultural transfers on the other, this lexicological study opens a new field, linked with the other knowledge domains. From two approaches, diachronic with the analyses of the dissemination of concepts, and synchronic with the study of their context, the purpose of this project is to provide a new research apparatus both reflexive and documentary: a critical dictionary of artistic terminology in French with multilingual entries, a database with the transcription of terms and definitions given by the art theorist themselves, and a volume of theoretical and methodological essays. Our aim is threefold. The first aim is to underline these artistic relations through the circulation of concepts and practices in Europe considered as the space of erudite communication. The second is to show the specificity of some terms and concepts in their own language, and the way they work in connection with the other languages and networks into which they fit, with the purpose of determining the moving boundaries of universality and identity within a culturally diversified geographic space. The third aim is to show that the early modern European artistic community is looking for a common language for the whole Republic of the Arts, which allows for the definition of the numerous artistic experiences which make the diversity of modern Europe.

1 679 796 €

Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31

While the origin of magnetic order in condensed matter is in the exchange and spin-orbit interactions, with time scales in the subpicosecond ranges, it has been long believed that magnetism could only be manipulated at nanosecond rates, exploiting dipolar interactions with external magnetic fields. However, in the past decade researchers have been able to observe ultrafast magnetic dynamics at its intrinsic time scales without the need for magnetic fields, thus revolutionising the view on the speed limits of magnetism. Despite many achievements in ultrafast magnetism, the understanding of the fundamental physics that allows for the ultrafast dissipation of angular momentum is still only partial, hampered by the lack of experimental techniques suited to fully explore these phenomena. However, the recent appearance of two new types of coherent radiation, single-cycle THz pulses and x-rays generated at free electron lasers (FELs), has provided researchers access to a whole new set of capabilities to tackle this challenge. This proposal suggests using these techniques to achieve an encompassing view of ultrafast magnetic dynamics in metallic ferromagnets, via the following three research objectives: (a) to reveal ultrafast dynamics driven by strong THz radiation in several magnetic systems using table-top femtosecond lasers; (b) to unravel the contribution of lattice dynamics to ultrafast demagnetization in different magnetic materials using the x-rays produced at FELs and (c) to directly image ultrafast spin currents by creating femtosecond movies with nanometre resolution. The proposed experiments are challenging and explore unchartered territories, but if successful, they will advance the understanding of the speed limits of magnetism, at the time scales of the exchange and spin-orbit interactions. They will also open up for future investigations of ultrafast magnetic phenomena in materials with large electronic correlations or spin-orbit coupling.

1 967 755 €

Start date: 2017-02-01, End date: 2022-01-31

"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

We propose innovative approaches to electronic quantum noise going from very fundamental topics addressing the quantum statistics of few electrons transferred through conductors to direct applications with the realization of new types of versatile broadband photon detectors based on photon-assisted shot noise. We will develop electron counting tools which will not only allow to full characterization of electron statistics but also open the way to new quantum interference experiments involving few electrons or fractional charge carriers and will question our understanding of quantum statistics. Generation of few electron bunches will be obtained by the yet never done technique of short voltage pulses whose duration is limited to few action quanta, one quantum for one electron. Detection of electron bunches will be done by an unprecedented technique of cut and probe where carriers are suddenly isolated in the circuit for further sensitive charge detection. Using highly ballistic electron nanostructures such as Graphene, III-V semiconductors with light carriers, Carbone Nanotubes or simply tunnel barriers, we will bring mesoscopic quantum noise effects to higher temperature, energy and frequency range, and thus closer to applications. Inspired by late R. Landauer s saying: the noise IS the signal we will develop totally new detectors based on the universal effect of photon-assisted electron shot noise. These versatile broadband detectors will be used either for on-chip noise detection or for photon radiation detection, possibly including imaging. They will operate above liquid Helium temperature and at THz frequencies although projected operation includes room temperature and far-infrared range as no fundamental limitation is expected. The complete program, balanced between very fundamental quantum issues and applications of quantum effects, will open routes for new quantum investigations and offer to a broad community new applications of mesoscopic effects.

1 999 843 €

Start date: 2009-02-01, End date: 2015-01-31

The astounding properties of metamaterials result from a characteristic spatial organisation of purpose-designed structural units. Research on metamaterials has greatly advanced thanks to their reliable top-down fabrication (lithography, 3D-printing,...). For large-scale production, however, smart bottom-up design strategies are required, for example through self-assembly of the structural units. While this has been developed for thermally-driven systems with sub-micrometric units, no systematic design strategies are established for mechanically-driven systems with larger units. The METAFOAM project will fill this gap by addressing the scientific challenges towards controlled bottom-up structuring of bubble/drop packings in liquid foam/emulsion templates. While “ordinary” foams/emulsions have been investigated in depth, the control over their structure is very limited. The METAFOAM project will provide access to very different structures by explicitly tuning the bubble/drop interactions through the presence of a polymeric skin with controlled repulsive, adhesive and frictional properties. We will develop methods to reliably create/characterise these skins and establish a state diagram which systematically relates the resulting bubble/drop interactions and the foam/emulsion structure. Solidification of the most promising structures will provide new types of cellular polymers with currently inaccessible mechanical or acoustic meta-properties: high stiffness-to-weight-ratios, negative Poisson ratios, and acoustic band-gap properties. The impact of this interdisciplinary project at the interface between physics and chemistry is therefore two-fold. In the liquid state it will advance our understanding of the a-thermal packing of very soft objects with tuneable interactions, linking the physics of granular media and biological tissues. In the solid state it will provide new cellular systems for the fabrication and investigation of mechanical and acoustic metamaterials.

1 999 677 €

Start date: 2019-05-01, End date: 2024-04-30

Nanofluidics is an emerging field aiming at the exploration of fluid transport at the smallest scales. Taking benefit of the specific properties of fluids in nanoconfinement should allow to challenge the limits of macroscopic continuum frameworks, with the ultimate aim of reaching the efficiency of biological fluidic systems, such as aquaporins. Carbon nanotubes have a decisive role to play in this quest, as suggested by the anomalously large permeabilities of macroscopic carbon nanotube membranes recently measured. This behavior is still not understood, but may be the signature of a ‘superlubricating’ behavior of water in these nanostructures, associated with a vanishing friction below a critical diameter, a result put forward by our preliminary theoretical results. To hallmark this grounbreaking behavior, it is crucial to go one step beyond and investigate experimentally the fluidic properties inside a single carbon nanotube: this is the aim of this proposal. To this end, the project will tackle two experimental challenges: the integration of a single nanotube in a larger nanofluidic plateform; and the characterization of its fluidic properties. To achieve these tasks, we propose a fully original route to integrate the nanotube in a hierarchical nano to macro fluidic device, as well as state-of-the-art methods to characterize fluid transport at the ‘zepto-litter’ scale, based on single molecule fluorescence techniques and ‘patch-clamp’ characterization. In parallel, experimental results will be rationalized using modelization and molecular dynamics. This project will not only provide a thorough fundamental understanding of the properties of carbon nanotubes as fluidic transporter, but also provide an exceptional nanofluidic plateform, allowing to explore the limits of classical (continuum) frameworks. It will also allow to envisage future potential applications, eg for desalination, separation, energy converter, jet printing, ...

2 418 000 €

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

A revolution in electronics is in view, with the contemporary evolution of two novel disciplines, spintronics and molecular electronics. A fundamental link between these two fields can be established using molecular magnetic materials and, in particular, single-molecule magnets, which combine the classic macroscale properties of a magnet with the quantum properties of a nanoscale entity. The resulting field, molecular spintronics aims at manipulating spins and charges in electronic devices containing one or more molecules. The main advantage is that the weak spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions in organic molecules suggest that spin-coherence may be preserved over time and distance much longer than in conventional metals or semiconductors. In addition, specific functions (e.g. switchability with light, electric field etc.) could be directly integrated into the molecule. In this context, the project proposes to fabricate, characterize and study molecular devices (molecular spin-transistor, molecular spin-valve and spin filter, molecular double-dot devices, carbon nanotube nano-SQUIDs, etc.) in order to read and manipulate the spin states of the molecule and to perform basic quantum operations. MolNanoSpin is designed to play a role of pathfinder in this still largely unexplored - field. The main target for the coming 5 years concerns fundamental science, but applications in quantum electronics are expected in the long run. The visionary concept of MolNanoSpin is underpinned by worldwide research on molecular magnetism and supramolecular chemistry, the 10-year long experience in molecular magnetism of the PI, his membership in FP6 MAGMANet NoE, and collaboration with outstanding scientists in the close environment of the team. During the last year, the recently founded team of the PI has already demonstrated the first important results in this new research area.

2 096 703 €

Start date: 2008-11-01, End date: 2013-10-31

Understanding electronic correlations remains one of the most important challenges in theoretical condensed matter physics. The interaction-induced metal-to-insulator Mott transition plays a major role in many transition metal oxides, f-electron materials and now in quantum optics. Upon doping or application of a strong electric field, strongly correlated Mott metals emerge from the Mott insulators, with fascinating properties. Moreover, the out-of-equilibrium behaviour of these systems is only beginning to be systematically explored experimentally. While these systems strongly challenge the standard concepts and methods of the quantum many-body theory, a new era is progressively unfolding, in which quantitative and detailed comparisons between theory and experiments is becoming possible in strong correlation regimes, even out of equilibrium. The goal of this proposal is to construct, in close contact with experiments and phenomenology, a new generation of theoretical methods and algorithms in order to i) study the new states of matter induced by non-equilibrium phenomena in strongly correlated quantum systems, first in simple models, and then in realistic computations for real materials; ii) elucidate the mystery of high temperature superconductivity. Open source implementations of the methods and algorithms developed during this project will also be provided for a better knowledge diffusion.

1 130 800 €

Start date: 2012-01-01, End date: 2017-12-31

In low-dimensional systems the strength of electronic interactions is enhanced, which can give rise to fascinating phenomena such as charge fractionalization, spin-charge separation and fractional or non-Abelian statistics. Furthermore, the effects of disorder and external factors (such as the substrate, the leads, magnetic fields, or the coupling with a gate or an STM tip), are much stronger in low-dimensional systems than in three-dimensional systems, and can greatly alter their properties. The first goal of this project is to find experimental signatures of the exotic phenomena caused by interactions, both in carbon nanotubes, and in regular and graphene fractional quantum Hall systems. The second goal is to understand how the interplay between disorder, interactions and external factors impacts the physics and the possible technological use of nanotubes and graphene in electronic nanodevices. To achieve these goals I intend to calculate theoretically quantities measurable by electronic transport, such as the conductance and the noise, in particular the noise at high-frequencies, as well as quantities measurable by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), such as the local density of states (LDOS). Furthermore I intend to analyze and explain the recently developed STM experiments on graphene, and to propose new STM measurements that will elucidate the physics of graphene in the fractional quantum Hall regime. Some of the theoretical techniques that I plan to use are the perturbative non-equilibrium Keldysh formalism, conformal field theory and the Bethe ansatz, the T-matrix approximation, the Born approximation and numerical methods such as ab-initio and recursive Green's functions.

1 041 240 €

Start date: 2011-05-01, End date: 2016-04-30

Phonons (quanta of vibration) play a major role in many of the physical properties of condensed matter. One of the most striking features of acoustic phonons is their ability to interact with virtually any other excitation in solids. Recent progress in the design, fabrication and control of nanomechanical systems has paved the way to explore new frontiers in the classical and quantum worlds. Devices based on semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been recently demonstrated to perform as near-ideal single photon sources, a very promising platform for developing a solid-state quantum network. The phonon engineering, however, remains an unexplored knob in the quantum information toolbox. The goal of this project is to explore new horizons in nanophononics by developing novel phononic networks with full control on the phonon dynamics, and unprecedented structures capable of acoustically interact with single QDs, bridging the gap between nanophononics and semiconductor QD quantum optics. AlGaAs based semiconductor cavities are capable of confining simultaneously photons and phonons. The building blocks of the proposed research are semiconductor pillar microcavities and single QDs deterministically positioned to maximize their interaction with the confined electromagnetic and elastic fields. To achieve our main goal we set three major objectives: 1) To develop novel one- and three-dimensional optophononic resonators and develop appropriate phononic measuring techniques; 2) To engineer nanophononic networks working in the tens-of-GHz range; and 3) To demonstrate first phonon cavity quantum electrodynamics phenomena for a single artificial atom coupled to a phononic cavity. Shaping the phononic environment opens exciting perspectives for solid state quantum applications, by providing a full control over the main source of decoherence and actually using it as a powerful resource to eventually transfer the quantum information.

1 499 375 €

Start date: 2017-02-01, End date: 2022-01-31

We plan to develop and make use of novel out-of-equilibrium spectroscopy techniques that give access to energy transfers in electronic nanocircuits. The unveiled information will be used to investigate promising quantum phenomena and to explore new routes to control the mechanisms that limit their potentialities for nanoelectronics. The proposals backbone is the spectroscopy of the fundamental electronic states energy distribution function f(E) that we demonstrated this fall 2009: by using a quantum dot as an energy filter, we performed the first measurement of a non-equilibrium f(E) in a semiconductor nanocircuit. We plan not only to employ it, but also to develop complementary techniques which will further widen our range of investigation. We anticipate this f(E) toolbox will be crucial for the rising field of out-of-equilibrium mesoscopic physics. We will first examine through the unexplored facet of heat transport the quantum Hall effect regimes, which exhibit a large variety of puzzling many-body quantum phenomena and are of particular interest for their metrology applications and quantum information potentialities. The planed experiments will be done for various out-of-equilibrium situations, which will permit us to address longstanding open questions, such as the nature of pertinent excitations, and to test original ways to increase quantum effects. We will also perform direct energy exchange measurements to investigate the inelastic mechanisms that set the length and energy scales of coherent and out-of-equilibrium physics in nanocircuits. The novel f(E) spectroscopy will permit us to take advantage of the two-dimensional electron gas circuits high modularity to study many transport regimes and geometries that remain unexplored from this revealing viewpoint.

1 454 400 €

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

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 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

How can violence be studied when access to the field is impossible? Fieldwork is a trademark of ethnography, which is fast becoming a key practice in qualitative research across disciplines. In conflict and post-conflict zones, social scientists tend to negotiate access to fieldwork through an international community of experts and practitioners. But empirical investigation proves more difficult in strong regimes that are closed or restricted, and exert (tight) surveillance over academics and the civil society. The power-knowledge apparatus draws some boundaries for researchers to respect in order to keep access to the field: thus, subjects that fall outside the domain of ‘researchability’ disqualify for ethnographic study. Consequently, research is (re)oriented by opportunities of access to the field. The study of violence (its mechanisms, effects, genealogy and everyday experiences) in repressive States thus remains a blind spot, with protracted effects on the understanding of societies that are built on this history of violence. Based on the case of Iran, this pioneering research seeks to change our ways of studying ‘locked’ societies, by adapting our methods and episteme to the global circulation of norms, data and people. Through the anthropology of the State and violence, archive ethnography and the use of new technologies, it experiments trans-disciplinary methods in the production of empirical study off-site, in order to fill a substantive gap in scientific knowledge on the Khomeini years in Iran (1979-1988), and how their legacy reappears in todays’ politics of memory. By classifying and reviewing available sources in a digital “counter-archive”, the project will establish a genealogy of post-revolutionary violence and state formation in Iran, and make this documentation available for further research. It will also document and analyze the memory politics linked to this foundational past and how they redefine the boundaries of political participation.

1 223 844 €

Start date: 2019-01-01, End date: 2023-12-31

At the moment, there is no viable technology to produce electricity from natural heat sources (T<200°C) and from 50% of the waste heat (electricity production, industries, buildings and transports) stored in large volume of warm fluids (T<200°C). To extract heat from large volumes of fluids, the thermoelectric generators would need to cover large areas in new designed heat exchangers. To develop into a viable technology platform, thermoelectric devices must be fabricated on large areas via low-cost processes. But no thermoelectric material exists for this purpose. Recently, the applicant has discovered that the low-cost conducting polymer poly(ethylene dioxythiophene) possesses a figure-of-merit ZT=0.25 at room temperature. Conducting polymers can be processed from solution, they are flexible and possess an intrinsic low thermal conductivity. This combination of unique properties motivate further investigations to reveal the true potential of organic materials for thermoelectric applications: this is the essence of this project. My goal is to organize an interdisciplinary team of researchers focused on the characterization, understanding, design and fabrication of p- and n-doped organic-based thermoelectric materials; and the demonstration of those materials in organic thermoelectric generators (OTEGs). Firstly, we will create the first generation of efficient organic thermoelectric materials with ZT> 0.8 at room temperature: (i) by optimizing not only the power factor but also the thermal conductivity; (ii) by demonstrating that a large power factor is obtained in inorganic-organic nanocomposites. Secondly, we will optimize thermoelectrochemical cells by considering various types of electrolytes. The research activities proposed are at the cutting edge in material sciences and involve chemical synthesis, interface studies, thermal physics, electrical, electrochemical and structural characterization, device physics. The project is held at Linköping University holding a world leading research in polymer electronics.

1 453 690 €

Start date: 2013-04-01, End date: 2018-03-31

Rome, centre of the Catholic Church and capital of the Papal States, strewn with churches and religious institutions, was also, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the scene of intense conflicts and rivalries between some twenty leading aristocratic families, highly adept at organising musical, theatrical and choreographic performances to display their political sympathies. The artistic life that animated the palaces and country villas of this elite has been far less studied than that of the papal court, the grand theatres or the principal churches of Rome. The PERFORMART project aims to enrich our understanding of the history of performing arts among the Roman nobility between 1644 and 1740 by exploiting the abundant documentation contained in the archives of eleven leading aristocratic families. The present proposal arises from the previous research of the principal investigator in the Orsini-Lante Archives. For the first time, PERFORMART will bring together specialised archivists and historians, all expert in different aspects of this micro-society, in a systematic collaboration between the history of the performing arts, choreographic studies, and art, music, social, and economic history. Via a relational database, this collaboration will bring to light original sources able to elucidate the social and artistic practices of Roman families, the motivations and conditions of patronage, the material framework of artistic productions, the status of the artist and his degree of dependence on his protectors, and, finally, the political, local and international impact of the involvement of these noble families on the artistic life of Rome.

1 999 183 €

Start date: 2016-09-01, End date: 2021-08-31

Morphogenesis is the remarkable process by which a developing organism acquires its shape. While molecular and genetic studies have been highly successful in explaining the cellular basis of development and the role of biochemical gradients in coordinating cell fate, understanding morphogenesis remains a central challenge for both biophysics and developmental biology. Indeed, shape is imposed by structural elements, so that an investigation of morphogenesis must address how these elements are controlled at the cell level, and how the mechanical properties of these elements lead to specific growth patterns. Using plants as model systems, we will tackle the following questions: i. Does the genetic identity of a cell correspond to a mechanical identity? ii. Do the mechanical properties of the different cell domains predict shape changes? iii. How does the intrinsic stochasticity of cell mechanics and cell growth lead to reproducible shapes? To do so, we will develop a unique combination of physical and biological approaches. For instance, we will measure simultaneously physical properties and growth in specific cell groups by building a novel tool coupling atomic force microscopy and upright confocal microscopy; we will integrate the data within physical growth models; and we will validate our approaches using genetic and pharmacological alterations of cell mechanics. In plants, shape is entirely determined by the extracellular matrix (cell walls) and osmotic pressure. From that perspective, plants cells involve fewer mechanical parameters than animal cells and are thus perfectly suited to study the physical basis of morphogenesis. Therefore we propose such a study within the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana, a small population of stem cells that orchestrates the aerial architecture of the plant. This work will unravel the physical basis of morphogenesis and shed light on how stochastic cell behaviour can lead to robust shapes.

1 401 023 €

Start date: 2012-10-01, End date: 2017-09-30

How to transport fluids, move solids or perceive mechanical signals without the equivalent of pumps, muscles or nerves? This ongoing challenge, which is relevant from microfluidics to robotics, has long been solved by plants. In this project, I wish to gather my cross-disciplinary background in plant mechanics, soft matter physics and granular materials to address some of the fundamental mechanisms used by plants to perceive mechanical stimuli and generate motion. The project focuses on three major issues in plant biophysics, which all involve the coupling between a fluid (water in the vascular network or in the plant cell, cellular cytoplasm) and a solid (plant cell wall, starch grains in gravity-sensing cells): (i) How mechanical signals are perceived and transported within the plant and what is the role of the water pressure in this long-distance signalling. (ii) How plants sense and respond to gravity and how this response is related to the granular nature of the sensor at the cellular level. (iii) How plants perform rapid motion and what is the role of osmotic motors and cell wall actuation in this process, using the carnivorous plant Venus flytrap as a paradigm for study. The global approach will combine experiments on physical systems mimicking the key features of plant tissue and in situ experiments on plants, in strong collaboration with plant physiologists and agronomists. Experiments will be performed both at the organ level (growth kinematics, response to strain and force stimuli) and at the tissue and cellular level (cell imaging, micro-indentation, cell pressure probe). This multi-disciplinary and multi-scale approach should help to fill the gap in our understanding of basic plant functions and offers new strategies to design smart soft materials and fluids inspired by plant sensors and motility mechanism.

1 933 996 €

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

Natural enzymes are awesome catalysts, in terms of their catalytic efficiency, selectivity, control mechanisms, etc. Revamped as laboratory or industrial tools, they have allowed more than a few breakthroughs, such as PCR, next generation sequencing or green chemistry. The next revolution will be brought by a new generation of extensively modified “enzymatic” catalysts working in non-natural environments, possibly build from non-natural chemistries and targeting an unlimited range of non-natural functions. However, their design is still an arduous process; computational design lacks precision while the combinatorial approach, directed evolution, is limited by labor-intensive or ad hoc selection stages. We will remove the selection bottleneck in directed evolution by introducing biochemical computers able to perform this step autonomously. Based on recent developments in DNA-based molecular programming, these molecular scouts will be co-compartmentalized with genetic libraries into billions of individual compartments in micrometric emulsions. At each generation and in each droplet, after expression of the genotype, these molecular programs will autonomously: i- evaluate the phenotypic signature of a candidate, ii- integrate this information into a predefined scoring function and iii- propagate the relevant genetic information according to this score. The programmability of this approach will make directed evolution versatile, faster, and able to address more challenging problems. The evolution dynamics itself become tunable, offering new perspectives on the fitness landscape of biopolymer catalysts. A quantitative in silico model will be built and integrated in a computer-assisted tool for the fast set-up of in vitro experiments and tuning of the various experimental knobs. Overall, we will close a virtuous circle by evolving the molecular tools enabling the programmable selection of the next generation of catalytic tools.

2 141 379 €

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

"A quantum dot (QD) in a microcavity is an ideal single spin-single photon interface: the spin of a carrier trapped inside a QD can be used as a quantum bit and the coupling to photons can allow remote spin entanglement. A QD in a cavity can also generate single photons or entangled photon pairs, often referred to as flying quantum bit. Controlling the QD spontaneous emission is crucial to ensure optimal coupling of the photon and spin states. The present project relies on a unique and original technology we have developed which allows us to deterministically control the QD-cavity system. With this technique, we can fabricate a large number of identical coupled QD-cavity devices operating either in the weak or strong coupling regime. The potential of the technique has been proven by the fabrication of the brightest source of entangled photon pairs to date (Nature 2010). The objective of the present project is to build up a platform for basic quantum operations using QDs in cavities. The first aim is to develop highly efficient light emitting devices emitting indistinguishable single photons and entangled photon pairs. The mechanisms leading to quantum decoherence in QD based sources will be investigated. We will also explore a new generation of devices where QDs are coupled to plasmonic nano-antenna. The second objective is to implement basic quantum operations ranging from entanglement purification to quantum teleportation using QD based sources. The third objective of the project is to control the spin-photon interface. We first aim at demonstrating quantum non-demolition spin measurement through highly sensitive off-resonant Faraday rotation. We then aim at entangling two spins separated by macroscopic distances, using their controlled interaction with photons. This will be obtained either by making a single photon interact with two spin in cavities or by interfering indistinguishable photons emitted by two independent charged QDs."

1 482 000 €

Start date: 2011-11-01, End date: 2016-10-31