Project acronym ACOPS
Project Advanced Coherent Ultrafast Laser Pulse Stacking
Researcher (PI) Jens Limpert
Host Institution (HI) FRIEDRICH-SCHILLER-UNIVERSITAT JENA
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "An important driver of scientific progress has always been the envisioning of applications far beyond existing technological capabilities. Such thinking creates new challenges for physicists, driven by the groundbreaking nature of the anticipated application. In the case of laser physics, one of these applications is laser wake-field particle acceleration and possible future uses thereof, such as in collider experiments, or for medical applications such as cancer treatment. To accelerate electrons and positrons to TeV-energies, a laser architecture is required that allows for the combination of high efficiency, Petawatt peak powers, and Megawatt average powers. Developing such a laser system would be a challenging task that might take decades of aggressive research, development, and, most important, revolutionary approaches and innovative ideas.
The goal of the ACOPS project is to develop a compact, efficient, scalable, and cost-effective high-average and high-peak power ultra-short pulse laser concept.
The proposed approach to this goal relies on the spatially and temporally separated amplification of ultrashort laser pulses in waveguide structures, followed by coherent combination into a single train of pulses with increased average power and pulse energy. This combination can be realized through the coherent addition of the output beams of spatially separated amplifiers, combined with the pulse stacking of temporally separated pulses in passive enhancement cavities, employing a fast-switching element as cavity dumper.
Therefore, the three main tasks are the development of kW-class high-repetition-rate driving lasers, the investigation of non-steady state pulse enhancement in passive cavities, and the development of a suitable dumping element.
If successful, the proposed concept would undoubtedly provide a tool that would allow researchers to surpass the current limits in high-field physics and accelerator science."
Summary
"An important driver of scientific progress has always been the envisioning of applications far beyond existing technological capabilities. Such thinking creates new challenges for physicists, driven by the groundbreaking nature of the anticipated application. In the case of laser physics, one of these applications is laser wake-field particle acceleration and possible future uses thereof, such as in collider experiments, or for medical applications such as cancer treatment. To accelerate electrons and positrons to TeV-energies, a laser architecture is required that allows for the combination of high efficiency, Petawatt peak powers, and Megawatt average powers. Developing such a laser system would be a challenging task that might take decades of aggressive research, development, and, most important, revolutionary approaches and innovative ideas.
The goal of the ACOPS project is to develop a compact, efficient, scalable, and cost-effective high-average and high-peak power ultra-short pulse laser concept.
The proposed approach to this goal relies on the spatially and temporally separated amplification of ultrashort laser pulses in waveguide structures, followed by coherent combination into a single train of pulses with increased average power and pulse energy. This combination can be realized through the coherent addition of the output beams of spatially separated amplifiers, combined with the pulse stacking of temporally separated pulses in passive enhancement cavities, employing a fast-switching element as cavity dumper.
Therefore, the three main tasks are the development of kW-class high-repetition-rate driving lasers, the investigation of non-steady state pulse enhancement in passive cavities, and the development of a suitable dumping element.
If successful, the proposed concept would undoubtedly provide a tool that would allow researchers to surpass the current limits in high-field physics and accelerator science."
Max ERC Funding
1 881 040 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym AUTHORITARIANISM2.0:
Project Authoritarianism2.0: The Internet, Political Discussion, and Authoritarian Rule in China
Researcher (PI) Daniela Stockmann
Host Institution (HI) HERTIE SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE GEMMEINNUTZIGE GMBH
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH2, ERC-2013-StG
Summary I suggest that perceptions of diversity and disagreement voiced in the on-line political discussion may play a key role in mobilizing citizens to voice their views and take action in authoritarian regimes. The empirical focus is the Chinese Internet. Subjective perceptions of group discussion among participants can significantly differ from the objective content of the discussion. These perceptions can have an independent effect on political engagement. Novel is also that I will study which technological settings (blogs, Weibo (Twitter), public hearings, etc) facilitate these perceptions.
I will address these novel issues by specifying the conditions and causal mechanisms that facilitate the rise of online public opinion. As an expansion to prior work, I will study passive in addition to active participants in online discussion. This is of particular interest because passive participants outnumber active participants.
My overall aim is to deepen our knowledge of how participants experience online political discussion in stabilizing or destabilizing authoritarian rule. To this end, I propose to work with one post-doc and two PhD research assistants on four objectives: Objective 1 is to explore what kinds of people engage in online discussions and differences between active and passive participants. Objective 2 is to understand how the technological settings that create the conditions for online discussion differ from each other. Objective 3 is to assess how active and passive participants see the diversity and disagreement in the discussion in these settings. Objective 4 is to assess whether citizens take action upon online political discussion depending on how they see it.
I will produce the first nationally representative survey on the experiences of participants in online political discussion in China. In addition to academics, this knowledge is of interest to policy-makers, professionals, and journalists aiming to understand authoritarian politics and media
Summary
I suggest that perceptions of diversity and disagreement voiced in the on-line political discussion may play a key role in mobilizing citizens to voice their views and take action in authoritarian regimes. The empirical focus is the Chinese Internet. Subjective perceptions of group discussion among participants can significantly differ from the objective content of the discussion. These perceptions can have an independent effect on political engagement. Novel is also that I will study which technological settings (blogs, Weibo (Twitter), public hearings, etc) facilitate these perceptions.
I will address these novel issues by specifying the conditions and causal mechanisms that facilitate the rise of online public opinion. As an expansion to prior work, I will study passive in addition to active participants in online discussion. This is of particular interest because passive participants outnumber active participants.
My overall aim is to deepen our knowledge of how participants experience online political discussion in stabilizing or destabilizing authoritarian rule. To this end, I propose to work with one post-doc and two PhD research assistants on four objectives: Objective 1 is to explore what kinds of people engage in online discussions and differences between active and passive participants. Objective 2 is to understand how the technological settings that create the conditions for online discussion differ from each other. Objective 3 is to assess how active and passive participants see the diversity and disagreement in the discussion in these settings. Objective 4 is to assess whether citizens take action upon online political discussion depending on how they see it.
I will produce the first nationally representative survey on the experiences of participants in online political discussion in China. In addition to academics, this knowledge is of interest to policy-makers, professionals, and journalists aiming to understand authoritarian politics and media
Max ERC Funding
1 499 780 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2019-02-28
Project acronym CORRODE
Project Corroding the social? An empirical evaluation of the relationship between unemployment and social stratification in OECD countries
Researcher (PI) Markus Gangl
Host Institution (HI) JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE-UNIVERSITATFRANKFURT AM MAIN
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH2, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "The proposal describes a project to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between unemployment and social stratification in Europe and North America. The project’s core goal is to provide empirical estimates of the causal impact of unemployment on four critical domains of social life, namely household incomes, demographic behaviour, educational attainment, as well as social integration and civic participation. The analysis will examine the persistence of such effects in the medium and longer run, and will evaluate the role of moderating factors like coupled unemployment and unemployment duration. The distinction between the stratification impacts of household experiences of unemployment and those of aggregate macroeconomic conditions will be a particular focus in the analysis, as will be the evaluation of a mediation model including changing household incomes, changing economic expectations and changing norms and preferences as relevant factors. The project will also address heterogeneity in the effects of unemployment e.g. by level of education, household demographics, household income or social class, and will evaluate the extent of cross-country variation in the impacts of unemployment, as well as any mitigating role of labour market and social policies, along the four dimensions of stratification considered. The empirical analysis rests on cross-nationally harmonized multilevel life course datasets constructed from various representative household panel studies, notably the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) and several national panel studies, merged with time-series data on aggregate unemployment at the regional level. To achieve robust causal inference, the project utilizes multilevel panel data modelling, notably two-way fixed-effects and related estimators that statistically control for unobserved heterogeneity at both the household and contextual level."
Summary
"The proposal describes a project to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the relationship between unemployment and social stratification in Europe and North America. The project’s core goal is to provide empirical estimates of the causal impact of unemployment on four critical domains of social life, namely household incomes, demographic behaviour, educational attainment, as well as social integration and civic participation. The analysis will examine the persistence of such effects in the medium and longer run, and will evaluate the role of moderating factors like coupled unemployment and unemployment duration. The distinction between the stratification impacts of household experiences of unemployment and those of aggregate macroeconomic conditions will be a particular focus in the analysis, as will be the evaluation of a mediation model including changing household incomes, changing economic expectations and changing norms and preferences as relevant factors. The project will also address heterogeneity in the effects of unemployment e.g. by level of education, household demographics, household income or social class, and will evaluate the extent of cross-country variation in the impacts of unemployment, as well as any mitigating role of labour market and social policies, along the four dimensions of stratification considered. The empirical analysis rests on cross-nationally harmonized multilevel life course datasets constructed from various representative household panel studies, notably the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) and several national panel studies, merged with time-series data on aggregate unemployment at the regional level. To achieve robust causal inference, the project utilizes multilevel panel data modelling, notably two-way fixed-effects and related estimators that statistically control for unobserved heterogeneity at both the household and contextual level."
Max ERC Funding
1 876 758 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-09-01, End date: 2019-08-31
Project acronym DEPORT REGIMES
Project The Social Life of State Deportation Regimes:
A Comparative Study of the Implementation Interface
Researcher (PI) Barak Kalir
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), SH2, ERC-2013-StG
Summary The deportation of irregular migrants is a burning issue in public debates all around the world. Most states invest heavily in effective deportation regimes, but when it comes to implementation, deportation regimes are notorious for not achieving their declared goals. Everywhere, marked discrepancies persist between deportation policies and actual practices of deportation.
This project compares the implementation of deportation regimes in four different states – Israel, Greece, Spain and Ecuador – in order to provide a closely researched assessment of implementation practices. It interrogates a core assumption in much of the scholarly literature on the “deportation turn”, namely, that there is a global convergence of state deportation regimes.
The project adds a crucial – yet, so far underexplored – perspective on irregular migration: the interface of street-level state agents and civil-society actors in shaping practices of deportation. Existing studies look either at the “top level” of the state (policies, laws, procedures, etc.), or at the “underground level” of its “victims” (irregular migrants’ survival strategies, trafficking networks, etc.). This project privileges the “meso level” of the deportation regime, bringing to light the agency of those who exercise discretion in interpreting laws and policies at the “implementation interface”. It makes an original contribution to the anthropology of the state, by demonstrating that the territorial sovereignty of states is constantly renegotiated at this level.
The project will produce knowledge on the dilemmas, tactics and occasional alliances of those who carry out and those who obstruct deportation regimes. It will provide new insights into actors’ motivations and worldviews, and explore the dynamics of both “implementation deficits” and “implementation surpluses”. The fine-grained comparative methodology is aimed at producing findings that will be of theoretical significance and of vital importance for policymakers, street-level agents and civil-society actors in dealing with the realities of irregular migration in the 21st century.
Summary
The deportation of irregular migrants is a burning issue in public debates all around the world. Most states invest heavily in effective deportation regimes, but when it comes to implementation, deportation regimes are notorious for not achieving their declared goals. Everywhere, marked discrepancies persist between deportation policies and actual practices of deportation.
This project compares the implementation of deportation regimes in four different states – Israel, Greece, Spain and Ecuador – in order to provide a closely researched assessment of implementation practices. It interrogates a core assumption in much of the scholarly literature on the “deportation turn”, namely, that there is a global convergence of state deportation regimes.
The project adds a crucial – yet, so far underexplored – perspective on irregular migration: the interface of street-level state agents and civil-society actors in shaping practices of deportation. Existing studies look either at the “top level” of the state (policies, laws, procedures, etc.), or at the “underground level” of its “victims” (irregular migrants’ survival strategies, trafficking networks, etc.). This project privileges the “meso level” of the deportation regime, bringing to light the agency of those who exercise discretion in interpreting laws and policies at the “implementation interface”. It makes an original contribution to the anthropology of the state, by demonstrating that the territorial sovereignty of states is constantly renegotiated at this level.
The project will produce knowledge on the dilemmas, tactics and occasional alliances of those who carry out and those who obstruct deportation regimes. It will provide new insights into actors’ motivations and worldviews, and explore the dynamics of both “implementation deficits” and “implementation surpluses”. The fine-grained comparative methodology is aimed at producing findings that will be of theoretical significance and of vital importance for policymakers, street-level agents and civil-society actors in dealing with the realities of irregular migration in the 21st century.
Max ERC Funding
1 488 410 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-03-01, End date: 2019-02-28
Project acronym Egalitarianism
Project Egalitarianism: Forms, Processes, Comparisons
Researcher (PI) Bruce Kapferer
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), SH2, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary The projects concerned with the heterogeneity of egalitarian structures, processes and value. This heterogeneity is approached through a) a library-based global comparative study and through b) field ethnographic studies, also comparatively oriented, in sites of egalitarian/inegalitarian crisis within Europe and elsewhere. The library and field studies are to be closely integrated, each influencing the development and directions of the other.
The decentering inherent in the orientation heterogeneity involves an emphasis on the forms and practices of egalitarianism as cultural phenomena emergent within and having their complexities of effect through the socio-cultural dimensions of their realities. The key proposition of the project is that it is egalitarian practices and processes as cultural values that is of considerable importance for understanding their force, contradictions, limitations. Thus in this approach dualism that is widely conceived as being politically and philosophically problematic in egalitarianism as a whole is approached as a cultural phenomenon potentially specific to Euro-American forms.
The emphasis on the heterogeneity of egalitarianism combined with the development of a comparative method appropriate to the heterogeneity of egalitarian processes, constitutes the distinction and the several contributions of the project to a fuller understanding of egalitarian processes, their constraints, limitations and potential. The method to be developed is to be open both to the varieties in the conceptions and imagination of egalitarian processes and the various historical, socio-political, and geo-ecological circumstances under which egalitarian practices emerge. Through the comparison perennial questions – the role of the state, religion, forms of economic distribution, the matter of scale – concerning forms and structures with egalitarian effect will be exposed to further consideration.
Summary
The projects concerned with the heterogeneity of egalitarian structures, processes and value. This heterogeneity is approached through a) a library-based global comparative study and through b) field ethnographic studies, also comparatively oriented, in sites of egalitarian/inegalitarian crisis within Europe and elsewhere. The library and field studies are to be closely integrated, each influencing the development and directions of the other.
The decentering inherent in the orientation heterogeneity involves an emphasis on the forms and practices of egalitarianism as cultural phenomena emergent within and having their complexities of effect through the socio-cultural dimensions of their realities. The key proposition of the project is that it is egalitarian practices and processes as cultural values that is of considerable importance for understanding their force, contradictions, limitations. Thus in this approach dualism that is widely conceived as being politically and philosophically problematic in egalitarianism as a whole is approached as a cultural phenomenon potentially specific to Euro-American forms.
The emphasis on the heterogeneity of egalitarianism combined with the development of a comparative method appropriate to the heterogeneity of egalitarian processes, constitutes the distinction and the several contributions of the project to a fuller understanding of egalitarian processes, their constraints, limitations and potential. The method to be developed is to be open both to the varieties in the conceptions and imagination of egalitarian processes and the various historical, socio-political, and geo-ecological circumstances under which egalitarian practices emerge. Through the comparison perennial questions – the role of the state, religion, forms of economic distribution, the matter of scale – concerning forms and structures with egalitarian effect will be exposed to further consideration.
Max ERC Funding
2 092 176 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-06-01, End date: 2019-05-31
Project acronym HYQS
Project Hybrid atom-ion Quantum Systems
Researcher (PI) René Gerritsma
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE2, ERC-2013-StG
Summary This project focusses on realizing and studying a new hybrid ultra-cold atom-ion system for studying quantum many-body physics. It combines state-of-the-art technologies in quantum optics and quantum gases. The proposed system of cold (fermionic) atoms interacting with ion crystals has surprising analogies with natural solid state systems and molecules, with now by fermionic 6Li atoms in place of electrons and heavy 174Yb+ ions in place of ionic cores. In particular, an atomic band structure may arise with tunable atom-phonon interactions. The proposed experimental approach is inspired by advances in pioneering experiments with hybrid atom-ion systems. By using a new atom-ion combination that has the highest experimentally feasible mass ratio of 29 (Li and Yb+), heating due to the dynamical trapping potential of the ions is suppressed. This eliminates an important road block in existing hybrid atom-ion experiments towards reaching deep into the quantum regime. I will use optical micro-traps in conjunction with segmented ion traps to study the system in a regime with a small number of atoms (1-100) and ions. This offers unprecedented control over the quantum states of atoms and ions. Engineering non-classical states in the ions will allow for quantum enhanced measurements of the combined atom-ion system, with single atom and single collision resolution. State-dependence in the atom-ion interactions can be employed to engineer quantum potentials for the atoms, leading to large scale ion-atomic Schrödinger cat-type entanglement.
Summary
This project focusses on realizing and studying a new hybrid ultra-cold atom-ion system for studying quantum many-body physics. It combines state-of-the-art technologies in quantum optics and quantum gases. The proposed system of cold (fermionic) atoms interacting with ion crystals has surprising analogies with natural solid state systems and molecules, with now by fermionic 6Li atoms in place of electrons and heavy 174Yb+ ions in place of ionic cores. In particular, an atomic band structure may arise with tunable atom-phonon interactions. The proposed experimental approach is inspired by advances in pioneering experiments with hybrid atom-ion systems. By using a new atom-ion combination that has the highest experimentally feasible mass ratio of 29 (Li and Yb+), heating due to the dynamical trapping potential of the ions is suppressed. This eliminates an important road block in existing hybrid atom-ion experiments towards reaching deep into the quantum regime. I will use optical micro-traps in conjunction with segmented ion traps to study the system in a regime with a small number of atoms (1-100) and ions. This offers unprecedented control over the quantum states of atoms and ions. Engineering non-classical states in the ions will allow for quantum enhanced measurements of the combined atom-ion system, with single atom and single collision resolution. State-dependence in the atom-ion interactions can be employed to engineer quantum potentials for the atoms, leading to large scale ion-atomic Schrödinger cat-type entanglement.
Max ERC Funding
1 490 152 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-12-01, End date: 2018-11-30
Project acronym MassQ
Project Massive-Object Quantum Physics
Researcher (PI) Roman Schnabel
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAET HAMBURG
Call Details Advanced Grant (AdG), PE2, ERC-2013-ADG
Summary The world of quantum physics is usually associated with the microscopic cosmos of atoms and photons. In principle, but so far without any demonstration, even heavy objects can exhibit the distinguished properties of quantum world particles. In 1935, Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) challenged a particular prediction of quantum theory saying that two particles can exist in a so-called entangled state in which the two particles do not have individually defined (‘local’) positions and momenta. Most interestingly, the existence of entangled states was subsequently fully confirmed in experiments with photons and atoms.
The new project MassQ aims to test and to confirm quantum theory in the macroscopic world of massive, human-world sized objects by realizing an EPR entanglement experiment with heavy mirrors. Two kg-sized mirrors will be cooled to low temperature and their centre of mass motion driven by radiation pressure of intense laser light in such a way that the mirrors will lose their individually defined positions and momenta. As a result, their joint motion will form a unified massive quantum object.
This project will realize a fundamental test of quantum theory in the so far unexplored regime of human-world sized objects. Recent advances in gravitational wave detector research and in opto-mechanics make this project feasible. The vision of this project points even further into the future. This project aims to lay the basis for a completely new class of physics experiments. Mirrors with kilogram masses have a proper gravitational field and cause a space-time curvature in their vicinity. This way, in principle, the dynamics of two heavy entangled mirrors need to be described not only by quantum theory but also by general relativity. Today it is completely unclear what the results of such a new class of physics experiments will be. Undoubtedly, they are important to illuminate the deep connection between the two most successful theories in physics.
Summary
The world of quantum physics is usually associated with the microscopic cosmos of atoms and photons. In principle, but so far without any demonstration, even heavy objects can exhibit the distinguished properties of quantum world particles. In 1935, Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) challenged a particular prediction of quantum theory saying that two particles can exist in a so-called entangled state in which the two particles do not have individually defined (‘local’) positions and momenta. Most interestingly, the existence of entangled states was subsequently fully confirmed in experiments with photons and atoms.
The new project MassQ aims to test and to confirm quantum theory in the macroscopic world of massive, human-world sized objects by realizing an EPR entanglement experiment with heavy mirrors. Two kg-sized mirrors will be cooled to low temperature and their centre of mass motion driven by radiation pressure of intense laser light in such a way that the mirrors will lose their individually defined positions and momenta. As a result, their joint motion will form a unified massive quantum object.
This project will realize a fundamental test of quantum theory in the so far unexplored regime of human-world sized objects. Recent advances in gravitational wave detector research and in opto-mechanics make this project feasible. The vision of this project points even further into the future. This project aims to lay the basis for a completely new class of physics experiments. Mirrors with kilogram masses have a proper gravitational field and cause a space-time curvature in their vicinity. This way, in principle, the dynamics of two heavy entangled mirrors need to be described not only by quantum theory but also by general relativity. Today it is completely unclear what the results of such a new class of physics experiments will be. Undoubtedly, they are important to illuminate the deep connection between the two most successful theories in physics.
Max ERC Funding
1 566 210 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-02-01, End date: 2019-01-31
Project acronym MesoFermi
Project Mesoscopic Fermi Gases
Researcher (PI) Henning Moritz
Host Institution (HI) UNIVERSITAET HAMBURG
Call Details Starting Grant (StG), PE2, ERC-2013-StG
Summary This proposal brings together the fields of ultracold Fermi gases and of mesoscopic systems. Starting with a two-dimensional (2D) Fermi gas, we will imprint small-scale potential structures onto the atoms. Thus, a mesoscopic system embedded in a 2D reservoir is produced.
Specifically, we will imprint optical dipole potentials varying on a micrometre scale onto a 2D gas of 6Li atoms. Due to the widely different energy scales, the entropy of the atoms in the mesoscopic structures will be massively reduced as compared to the reservoir atoms. The atoms in the mesoscopic structures will be characterised by an innovative detection scheme with single atom sensitivity. The combination of mesoscopic potentials, single atom detection and entropy reduction will put us in a unique position to access new regimes of many-body physics.
First, we will investigate a mesoscopic realisation of the 2D Hubbard model. Beyond the study of the fermionic Mott insulating phase and its excitations, the possibility to study staggered Hubbard models and create domain structures is a very attractive prospect. Most importantly, the massive entropy reduction inherent to the mesoscopic approach will enable us to observe antiferromagnetic ordering, the major milestone central to further progress in the field.
Going beyond periodic structures, we will focus on the direct creation of mesoscopic model systems. In a bottom-up approach, we will realise a plaquette consisting of 2x2 sites, the essential building block for models of d-wave superconductivity. The creation of 1D structures with local defects will open the possibility to study phenomena such as spin-charge separation, Friedel oscillations and the rectification of atomic transport. Finally, the physics of open quantum systems will become accessible when studying the interaction between mesoscopic system and reservoir. In conclusion, I believe that the proposed research programme will bring a new level of functionality to the field.
Summary
This proposal brings together the fields of ultracold Fermi gases and of mesoscopic systems. Starting with a two-dimensional (2D) Fermi gas, we will imprint small-scale potential structures onto the atoms. Thus, a mesoscopic system embedded in a 2D reservoir is produced.
Specifically, we will imprint optical dipole potentials varying on a micrometre scale onto a 2D gas of 6Li atoms. Due to the widely different energy scales, the entropy of the atoms in the mesoscopic structures will be massively reduced as compared to the reservoir atoms. The atoms in the mesoscopic structures will be characterised by an innovative detection scheme with single atom sensitivity. The combination of mesoscopic potentials, single atom detection and entropy reduction will put us in a unique position to access new regimes of many-body physics.
First, we will investigate a mesoscopic realisation of the 2D Hubbard model. Beyond the study of the fermionic Mott insulating phase and its excitations, the possibility to study staggered Hubbard models and create domain structures is a very attractive prospect. Most importantly, the massive entropy reduction inherent to the mesoscopic approach will enable us to observe antiferromagnetic ordering, the major milestone central to further progress in the field.
Going beyond periodic structures, we will focus on the direct creation of mesoscopic model systems. In a bottom-up approach, we will realise a plaquette consisting of 2x2 sites, the essential building block for models of d-wave superconductivity. The creation of 1D structures with local defects will open the possibility to study phenomena such as spin-charge separation, Friedel oscillations and the rectification of atomic transport. Finally, the physics of open quantum systems will become accessible when studying the interaction between mesoscopic system and reservoir. In conclusion, I believe that the proposed research programme will bring a new level of functionality to the field.
Max ERC Funding
1 236 060 €
Duration
Start date: 2013-10-01, End date: 2018-09-30
Project acronym MYMOVEZ
Project Social Network Implementation of Health Campaigns Among Youth
Researcher (PI) Moniek Adrienne Buijzen
Host Institution (HI) STICHTING KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), SH2, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary Western societies devote substantial resources to media health campaigns, especially targeting young people. Unfortunately, health campaigns often have disappointing impact. There is a compelling need for insight into campaign implementation in social life. Especially among youth, the social environment plays a crucial role in message processing. Therefore, health campaigns can only be improved with a multidisciplinary approach that can predict youth’s behaviour within their social environment.
The proposed programme aims to develop a method for effective campaign implementation via youth’s social networks. This method will (1) identify and target the most powerful influence agents in youth’s social networks, (2) tailor campaign messages to the most effective influence mechanisms, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of social network implemented campaigns. The method will be based on the multidisciplinary Media X Social Influence (MXSI) model, integrating theories from communication, marketing, psychology, and sociology.
Five research projects focus on youth’s weight-related behaviours. Drawing on a large-scale cross-sequential cohort study (N = 3,000, 9-15 y/o), the research (Phase I) tests and refines the MXSI model, identifying social influence agents and mechanisms, and (Phase II) tests the effectiveness of a social network-implemented health campaign in a group-randomised control trial, targeting the most powerful influence agents and mechanisms. The research projects use the Wearable Lab, a highly innovative smartphone-based research methodology.
The project is theoretically and methodologically pioneering and will produce a unique and useful method for improving health campaigns. Feasibility and success are guaranteed by the applicant’s extensive experience and network. The applicant is one of the leading experts in the world on the role of marketing communication in youth socialisation and in translating these insights for health and prosocial purposes.
Summary
Western societies devote substantial resources to media health campaigns, especially targeting young people. Unfortunately, health campaigns often have disappointing impact. There is a compelling need for insight into campaign implementation in social life. Especially among youth, the social environment plays a crucial role in message processing. Therefore, health campaigns can only be improved with a multidisciplinary approach that can predict youth’s behaviour within their social environment.
The proposed programme aims to develop a method for effective campaign implementation via youth’s social networks. This method will (1) identify and target the most powerful influence agents in youth’s social networks, (2) tailor campaign messages to the most effective influence mechanisms, and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of social network implemented campaigns. The method will be based on the multidisciplinary Media X Social Influence (MXSI) model, integrating theories from communication, marketing, psychology, and sociology.
Five research projects focus on youth’s weight-related behaviours. Drawing on a large-scale cross-sequential cohort study (N = 3,000, 9-15 y/o), the research (Phase I) tests and refines the MXSI model, identifying social influence agents and mechanisms, and (Phase II) tests the effectiveness of a social network-implemented health campaign in a group-randomised control trial, targeting the most powerful influence agents and mechanisms. The research projects use the Wearable Lab, a highly innovative smartphone-based research methodology.
The project is theoretically and methodologically pioneering and will produce a unique and useful method for improving health campaigns. Feasibility and success are guaranteed by the applicant’s extensive experience and network. The applicant is one of the leading experts in the world on the role of marketing communication in youth socialisation and in translating these insights for health and prosocial purposes.
Max ERC Funding
1 999 594 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-09-01, End date: 2019-08-31
Project acronym NAUTILUS
Project Neutron cAptUres consTraIning steLlar nUcleosynthesiS
Researcher (PI) Rene Reifarth
Host Institution (HI) JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE-UNIVERSITATFRANKFURT AM MAIN
Call Details Consolidator Grant (CoG), PE2, ERC-2013-CoG
Summary "NAUTILUS will investigate the nucleosynthesis of the chemical elements during the evolution of stars, which is the basis for understanding the chemical history of the Universe. The vast majority of the elements heavier than iron are produced by neutron capture reactions. The precise knowledge of the involved neutron capture cross sections for certain isotopes sets tight limits for stellar parameters and puts strong constraints on the age of the Universe.
Accurate measurements of the key nuclear reactions in the mass region around the radioactive 85Kr will lead to the improvements needed to characterize the production processes of the elements in stars. The respective high-accuracy abundance patterns in single stars can then be interpreted as diagnostic tools for the deep stellar interior and the isobaric 87Sr/87Rb chronometer constraints the history of the Universe.
The neutron capture cross section of radioactive isotopes for neutron energies in the keV region will be measured by a time-of-flight (TOF) experiment. NAUTILUS will provide a unique facility realizing the TOF technique with an ultra-short flight path at the FRANZ setup at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany. A highly optimized spherical photon calorimeter will be built and installed at an ultra-short flight path.
NAUTILUS opens new horizons in the area of neutron-induced reaction research, as smallest samples like of 85Kr - which will be produced as an isotopically pure radioactive sample - will become measureable in reasonable times.
Future applications include the study of neutron capture cross sections important for next generation nuclear reactors: For the first time the high neutron fluxes needed to study the mass region of interest in the keV energy range will be available."
Summary
"NAUTILUS will investigate the nucleosynthesis of the chemical elements during the evolution of stars, which is the basis for understanding the chemical history of the Universe. The vast majority of the elements heavier than iron are produced by neutron capture reactions. The precise knowledge of the involved neutron capture cross sections for certain isotopes sets tight limits for stellar parameters and puts strong constraints on the age of the Universe.
Accurate measurements of the key nuclear reactions in the mass region around the radioactive 85Kr will lead to the improvements needed to characterize the production processes of the elements in stars. The respective high-accuracy abundance patterns in single stars can then be interpreted as diagnostic tools for the deep stellar interior and the isobaric 87Sr/87Rb chronometer constraints the history of the Universe.
The neutron capture cross section of radioactive isotopes for neutron energies in the keV region will be measured by a time-of-flight (TOF) experiment. NAUTILUS will provide a unique facility realizing the TOF technique with an ultra-short flight path at the FRANZ setup at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany. A highly optimized spherical photon calorimeter will be built and installed at an ultra-short flight path.
NAUTILUS opens new horizons in the area of neutron-induced reaction research, as smallest samples like of 85Kr - which will be produced as an isotopically pure radioactive sample - will become measureable in reasonable times.
Future applications include the study of neutron capture cross sections important for next generation nuclear reactors: For the first time the high neutron fluxes needed to study the mass region of interest in the keV energy range will be available."
Max ERC Funding
1 871 596 €
Duration
Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31
