ERC FUNDED PROJECTS

Goal of the 4DPHOTON project is the development and construction of a photon imaging detector with unprecedented performance. The proposed device will be capable of detecting fluxes of single-photons up to one billion photons per second, over areas of several square centimetres, and will measure - for each photon - position and time simultaneously with resolutions better than ten microns and few tens of picoseconds, respectively. These figures of merit will open many important applications allowing significant advances in particle physics, life sciences or other emerging fields where excellent timing and position resolutions are simultaneously required. Our goal will be achieved thanks to the use of an application-specific integrated circuit in 65 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology, that will deliver a timing resolution of few tens of picoseconds at the pixel level, over few hundred thousand individually-active pixel channels, allowing very high rates of photons to be detected, and the corresponding information digitized and transferred to a processing unit. As a result of the 4DPHOTON project we will remove the constraints that many light imaging applications have due to the lack of precise single-photon information on four dimensions (4D): the three spatial coordinates and time simultaneously. In particular, we will prove the performance of this detector in the field of particle physics, performing the reconstruction of Cherenkov photon rings with a timing resolution of ten picoseconds. With its excellent granularity, timing resolution, rate capability and compactness, this detector will represent a new paradigm for the realisation of future Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors, capable of achieving high efficiency particle identification in environments with very high particle multiplicities, exploiting time-association of the photon hits.

1 975 000 €

Start date: 2019-12-01, End date: 2024-11-30

"The proposed research program has three main objectives. The first and second objectives are to seek extreme precisions in optical atomic spectroscopy and optical clocks, and to use this quest as a mean of exploration in atomic physics. The third objective is to explore new possibilities that stem from extreme precision. These goals will be pursued via three complementary activities: #1: Search for extreme precisions with an Hg optical lattice clock. #2: Explore and exploit the rich Hg system, which is essentially unexplored in the cold and ultra-cold regime. #3: Identify new applications of clocks with extreme precision to Earth science. Clocks can measure directly the gravitational potential via Einstein’s gravitational redshift, leading to the idea of “clock-based geodesy”. The 2 first activities are experimental and build on an existing setup, where we demonstrated the feasibility of an Hg optical lattice clock. Hg is chosen for its potential to surpass competing systems. We will investigate the unexplored physics of the Hg clock. This includes interactions between Hg atoms, lattice-induced light shifts, and sensitivity to external fields which are specific to the atomic species. Beyond, we will explore the fundamental limits of the optical lattice scheme. We will exploit other remarkable features of Hg associated to the high atomic number and the diversity of stable isotopes. These features enable tests of fundamental physical laws, ultra-precise measurements of isotope shifts, measurement of collisional properties toward evaporative cooling and quantum gases of Hg, investigation of forbidden transitions promising for measuring the nuclear anapole moment of Hg. The third activity is theoretical and is aimed at initiating collaborations with experts in modelling Earth gravity. With this expertise, we will identify the most promising and realistic approaches for clocks and emerging remote comparison methods to contribute to geodesy, hydrology, oceanography, etc."

1 946 432 €

Start date: 2014-04-01, End date: 2019-03-31

"The AlchemEast project is devoted to the study of alchemical theory and practice as it appeared and developed in distinct, albeit contiguous (both chronologically and geographically) areas: Graeco-Roman Egypt, Byzantium, and the Near East, from Ancient Babylonian times to the early Islamic Period. This project combines innovative textual investigations with experimental replications of ancient alchemical procedures. It uses sets of historically and philologically informed laboratory replications in order to reconstruct the actual practice of ancient alchemists, and it studies the texts and literary forms in which this practice was conceptualized and transmitted. It proposes new models for textual criticism in order to capture the fluidity of the transmission of ancient alchemical writings. AlchemEast is designed to carry out a comparative investigation of cuneiform tablets as well as a vast corpus of Greek, Syriac and Arabic writings. It will overcome the old, pejorative paradigm that dismissed ancient alchemy as a ""pseudo-science"", by proposing a new theoretical framework for comprehending the entirety of ancient alchemical practices and theories. Alongside established forms of scholarly output, such as critical editions of key texts, AlchemEast will provide an integrative, longue durée perspective on the many different phases of ancient alchemy. It will thus offer a radically new vision of this discipline as a dynamic and diversified art that developed across different technical and scholastic traditions. This new representation will allow us to connect ancient alchemy with medieval and early modern alchemy and thus fully reintegrate ancient alchemy in the history of pre-modern alchemy as well as in the history of ancient science more broadly."

1 997 000 €

Start date: 2017-12-01, End date: 2022-11-30

Brain information processing is commonly thought to be a neuronal performance. However recent data point to a key role of astrocytes in brain development, activity and pathology. Indeed astrocytes are now viewed as crucial elements of the brain circuitry that control synapse formation, maturation, activity and elimination. How do astrocytes exert such control is matter of intense research, as they are now known to participate in critical developmental periods as well as in psychiatric disorders involving synapse alterations. Thus unraveling how astrocytes control synaptic circuit formation and maturation is crucial, not only for our understanding of brain development, but also for identifying novel therapeutic targets. We recently found that connexin 30 (Cx30), an astroglial gap junction subunit expressed postnatally, tunes synaptic activity via an unprecedented non-channel function setting the proximity of glial processes to synaptic clefts, essential for synaptic glutamate clearance efficacy. Our work not only reveals Cx30 as a key determinant of glial synapse coverage, but also extends the classical model of neuroglial interactions in which astrocytes are generally considered as extrasynaptic elements indirectly regulating neurotransmission. Yet the molecular mechanisms involved in such control, its dynamic regulation by activity and impact in a native developmental context are unknown. We will now address these important questions, focusing on the involvement of this novel astroglial function in wiring developing synaptic circuits. Thus using a multidisciplinary approach we will investigate: 1) the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying Cx30 regulation of synaptic function 2) the activity-dependent dynamics of Cx30 function at synapses 3) a role for Cx30 in wiring synaptic circuits during critical developmental periods This ambitious project will provide essential knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying astroglial control of synaptic circuits.

2 000 000 €

Start date: 2016-10-01, End date: 2022-03-31