Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : TeraERC (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and Communication Engineering
Entité participante : École polytechnique de Wrocław — Pays : Pologne — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : PWR
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499995.0 €

Although visual perception of humans is limited to a fraction of wavelengths spanning the electromagnetic spectrum, technological advances enable us to see in other spectral regions by providing suitable sources and detectors. Of particular interest for many applications is the ability to probe objects in the terahertz (THz) range, which bridges the microwave and infrared domains. THz radiation offers unique opportunities for imaging or sensing due to its high transmission by optically-opaque materials like paper, textiles, ceramics or plastics, while for gas sensing it enables identification of structurally-complex molecules. Unfortunately, access to this region is difficult due to limitations of conventional electronics and photonics, and often involves cryogenic operation. Even the most mature systems operating at room temperature, despite years of advances, still struggle to provide chip-scale miniaturization of the source and detector, and moving-parts-free acquisition of a broadband THz spectrum. Here, to fill this niche and address the critical demand for broadband, chip-based THz spectroscopy without any moving parts, we propose to leverage mid-infrared (3-5 um) semiconductor laser frequency combs based on interband cascade lasers (ICL). We postulate that nonlinear frequency conversion due to the recently discovered second order susceptibility of the ICL medium can be used to obtain microwatt to sub-milliwatt level of THz power at a battery-compatible bias. A complementary mid-infrared photomixer technology envisioned in this proposal will additionally enable coherent detection of broadband THz comb radiation at room temperature. Although the project is inherently risky due to uncertainties in the ultrafast dynamics of semiconductor structures, losses in the terahertz range, and fabrication complexity, it is timely and strongly demanded by the community. It will unlock new opportunities across many disciplines ranging from chemistry to 6G telecommunications.

Mots-clés : interband cascade laser,nonlinear frequency conversion,difference frequency generation,optical frequency comb,far infrared region,optical spectroscopy
Projet ERC : GravitySirens (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe Sciences
Entité participante : Université de Rome « La Sapienza » — Pays : Italie — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 265807.5 €

For 20 years, measurements of the Universe expansion rate from close-by and far sources are in tension hinting at the presence of new physics. Our struggle to study the Universe's expansion is due to the difficulty of observing cosmological sources for which the distance is known. Gravitational Waves (GWs) from compact binary coalescences (CBCs) are emergent cosmological probes that provide directly the distance of the source thus taking the name of Standard Sirens. Unfortunately, they do not provide the other ingredient to measure the Universe expansion: the redshift. GravitySirens is an ambitious project aiming to measure the cosmic expansion with CBCs and exploit their link with the astrophysical environment to obtain implicit redshift information. GravitySirens will focus on the population and astrophysical properties of GW sources that can allow a more precise measure of the cosmic expansion. My team and I will exploit data delivered in the next 5 years from the GW detectors LIGO, Virgo, KAGRA, the satellite Euclid, and Arrays of Radio telescopes such as HERA, MeerKAT and SKAO. By using a mixture of population synthesis codes and semi-analytical models, we will jointly infer how fast the universe is expanding and how CBCs relate to galaxies and large-scale structures (LSS). We will use state-of-the-art technologies such as machine learning and graphical process units to construct efficient algorithms for population analyses and use scientific data delivered in the upcoming years. GravitySirens will provide the most accurate and precise GW-based measures of the Universe expansion and measure the link between CBCs, galaxies and LSSs. On one hand, the cosmic expansion measures that GravitySirens will provide can potentially lead us to the discovery of new physics at cosmological scales. On the other hand, inferring the relationship between CBCs, galaxies and LSS tracers will point us to the processes acting for compact object formation.

Mots-clés : standard sirens,gravitational wave cosmology,hierarchical bayesian inference,machine learning
Projet ERC : metaPOWER (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental Constituents of Matter
Entité participante : Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers — Pays : Portugal — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : INESC
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499789.0 €

Plasma is an extreme form of matter at the heart of important applications like fusion and particle acceleration. The creation and control of plasma require high-power lasers, now increasingly within reach, often operating at terawatt or petawatt levels. One of the six grand challenges in Plasma Science and Engineering is mastering the art of molding plasmas with lasers, yet a gap exists: the need for advanced beam control at high power levels. metaPOWER aims to fill this gap by developing high-damage-threshold metasurfaces—the state-of-the-art nanotechnology in structured light—for high-power lasers. These metasurfaces will be integrated in innovative laser beam shapers, offering spatiotemporal and vectorial (polarization) control over laser beams, thus making a leap over the state of the art, which is currently limited by the lack of advanced high-power optics. The project will demonstrate the ability to seed and control laser-plasma instabilities via reconfigurable vector beams, and to create topology-controlled wakefield acceleration and tunable X-ray and THz-to-xUV sources based on space-time beams with orbiting pulses. This marks a paradigm shift in laser-matter interactions, enabling new possibilities in fusion energy, particle acceleration, and radiation sources. Feasibility is backed by solid preliminary results, including successful structured laser-plasma simulations, a demonstrated scheme for the synthesis of space-time beams, and initial metasurface fabrication resilient to high-power lasers. The implications of metaPOWER's success extend far beyond the groundbreaking objectives of this proposal. These transformative technologies may catalyze advancements in quantum plasmas, laser material processing, high harmonic generation, and the development of a new class of polarization plasma optics, opening up new horizons in high-power structured laser-matter interactions.

Mots-clés : structured light metasurfaces high power lasers space time beams vector beams structured plasma laser plasma instabilities
Projet ERC : Function Fields (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
Entité participante : Institut Weizmann — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WIS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499543.0 €

An archetypal problem in multiplicative number theory is to determine the factorization statistics in a given set, such as the set of values of an integral polynomial, or of the function raising an integer to a non-integral power and taking the integral part, the set of integers n for which there exists an integer 0 < a < n/10 such that n divides a^3-2, or the set of discriminants of cubic extensions of a number field. One is particularly interested in estimating the number of primes in such sets. We study analogs of such problems over function fields (in one variable over a finite field). Almost every problem over number fields admits a sensible (although not necessarily obvious) analog over function fields, and solutions to such problems carry over as well. On the other hand, the Riemann Hypothesis has been resolved in a most definitive form by Deligne in the function field setting. While solutions of problems over function fields do not translate to solutions of analogous problems over number fields, new insights are gained, and connections to geometry, topology, and homological stability emerge. Function field analytic number theory problems often reduce to obtaining cancellation in sums of trace functions of l-adic etale sheaves over the points of a variety over a finite field. The Grothendieck--Lefschetz trace formula, in conjunction with Deligne’s theorem, gives us cancellation once strong upper bounds on the dimensions of the cohomology groups of our sheaves are available. The main proposed innovation is a bound on the dimensions of cohomology groups of sheaves built using the six operations from more basic sheaves, approached using Massey's bound involving the characteristic cycle. Our methods involve also judicious choices of l for which the reduction of our sheaves mod l simplifies them. These will be combined with the circle method to serve as an off-the-shelf approach to function field problems.

Mots-clés : etale cohomology,homological stability,vanishing cycles,perverse sheaves,characteristic cycle
Projet ERC : ProMatt (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed Matter Physics
Entité participante : Institut Weizmann — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WIS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1903750.0 €

Living systems employ cLiving systems employ chemical energy to generate mechanical forces and motion, often resulting in emergent phase transitions that manifest as various spatiotemporal structures. This inherent behavior makes living systems ideal subjects for the study of nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Yet, their complexity impedes our current experimental control of their phase transitions. We propose a novel, simple, and quantitative experimental system to study phase transitions of living matter in a controlled nonequilibrium environment. We create an innovative in-vitro active system using biological components, linking a microtubule motile network to gene circuits that control the system through the local synthesis of building blocks. This will allow us to program the constituent's interactions: type, range, strength, position, and the mechanical properties of the carrying media. We offer to study dynamical phase transitions from two perspectives: (1) Internally driven nonequilibrium phase transitions defined by dynamical or nonreciprocal interactions. (2) Thermal transitions occurring within a nonequilibrium environment. We will establish this system by studying microtubules active flow hydrodynamics and pattern formation driven by gene circuits (Aim 1). We will also program local interactions that defy Newton's third law and study their emergent collective dynamics (Aim 2). Lastly Study phase transition of thermal deformable soft objects mechanically interacting with microtubules flows. (Aim 3). Our innovative approach will yield tools and insights for understanding biomaterial self-organization with broad relevance. It has the potential, in the field of physics to lead to the discovery of novel phase transitions and explain them quantitatively. In biology, it helps uncover the mechanisms behind cell shape maintenance and motility regulation. Moreover, it holds promise for industrial applications, enabling precise transport control within closed reactors.

Mots-clés : active matter,soft matter,microtubules,molecular motors,active flows,cell free,gene expression,dna nanotechnology,
Projet ERC : ECura (Horizon Europe, appel 2021, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Texts and Concepts
Entité participante : University College Cork — Pays : Irlande — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1498885.0 €

Researchers have recognized that culture bearers need to be more centrally involved in music sustainability, both for these programmes to prove practically effective and because it is ethically essential that community members determine what music might be shared with others, if any, and under what conditions. ECura designs a new research framework for applied ethnomusicology (and related areas) that capitalizes on newly emergent possibilities for sustaining intangible culture arising from the rising participation of minority members in digital media platforms. It addresses a central question: How can we empower ethnic minority groups to become the main actors in sustaining their indigenous cultural heritage via their wide participation in digital media platforms? The action-based research includes: Making tailored platform programs to better accommodate equal online participation; Setting up a website as a crowdsourced database 'recording' community culture; Community outreach to empower culture bearers; Cultural and media studies approach to contextualize the observed processes; Virtual ethnography on culture bearers' online activities. ECura has the potential to transform the ways ethnomusicologists, folklorists and others work with communities to sustain endangered cultural heritage. Its step of transforming culture bearers into the curators of their own digital materials is crucial. It focuses on three villages in China, allowing the acquisition of a deeply contextualized understandings of three contrasting cultural heritage settings and development of carefully shaped solutions to the challenges detected. Similar situations of cultural imperialism, the vanishing of indigenous culture, and the disempowering of the underprivileged in managing their own culture, occur worldwide. The new research framework will be transferable to a broad cross-section of endangered cultural heritages among minority communities who are adapting to rapid digitalisation globally.

Mots-clés : digitalization,ethnic minority,china
Projet ERC : TheMA (Horizon Europe, appel 2023, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Materials Engineering
Entité participante : Université de Lancaster — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 211250.0 €

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals layered materials have been acclaimed for their great potential in several fields of condensed matter physics. As applications are starting to appear, increased effort is dedicated to understand their unique electronic, optical, mechanical and chemical properties. However, thermal and thermoelectric (TE) properties of 2D materials remain largely underexplored despite their profound potential impact on one of the most important current scientific and technological challenges: energy management. TheMA is an ambitious project, which aims to create a breakthrough in our understanding and ability to control phonon and energy transport at the nanoscale. Its main goal is to create novel 2D semiconductor nanomaterials and heterostructures for thermal management applications and TE devices for power generation beyond current state-of-the-art. Specifically, by using phonon engineering approaches supported by advanced characterization, the project targets the fabrication and on-chip integration of (a) novel engineered transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) based nanostructures for heat guiding and superior thermal insulation and (b) TE power generators capable of recycling the waste heat from hot spots or environmental interlinks, to deliver sufficient power to sustain low-power electronics. Ultimate goal of the project is to provide innovative solutions for on-chip energy management and energy harvesting for Information and Communication Technologies, the Internet of Things and 2D nanoelectronic devices.  The research proposed here will go beyond state-of-the-art providing the in-depth understanding of nanoscale energy dissipation and phonon transport in 2D nanomaterials and lay the foundations for the development of future three-dimensional heterogeneous electronics. The findings will drastically enhance the prospects of TMD materials for thermal management and TE applications and boost their integration in the main semiconductor industry.

Mots-clés : 2d materials,phonons,energy transport,thermal management,thermoelectric power generation,phonon engineering
Projet ERC : Anyons (Horizon Europe, appel 2024, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed Matter Physics
Entité participante : Institut Weizmann — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WIS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Demonstrating non-abelian exchange statistics holds the promise of leading science to new terrains where we can manipulate exotic quasiparticles. Unlike fermions, bosons, and abelian anyons, the many-body wavefunction of indistinguishable non-abelian anyons is entirely altered when swapping their positions. With the theoretical groundwork for uncovering exotic exchange properties, pioneering experiments provided preliminary evidence of the lowest-order non-abelian anyons, indicating the topological superconductivity phase. Yet, due to technological limitations inherent to current state-of-the-art platforms, new observations of non-abelian statistics or preliminary signatures of higher-order non-abelian anyons must be offered. In this proposal, I aim to directly observe the exchange statistics of non-abelian anyons, overcoming present technological challenges by incorporating proven intricate designs to innovative van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures. We will study spatial-domain and time-domain braiding of non-abelian anyons in the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) regime, realized in high-mobility graphene-based heterostructures. We will perform spatial-domain QH-interferometry (Obj. 1), allowing the study of coherence and braiding of anyons; and study their exchange statistics in the time-domain via cross-correlation of current-fluctuations of partitioned anyons (Obj. 2). Higher-order non-abelian anyons will be sought after via fractional Andreev Reflection (AR) in FQHE-superconductor (SC) hybrids. Employing shot noise measurements will allow identifying the AR charge quanta (Obj. 3), while low-disorder vdW-SC interfaces necessitate an in-situ stacking and integration of pre-patterned vdW-SC layers. This research will identify phases hosting non-abelian anyons and thus lay the groundwork for their detection and manipulation. This contribution, being fundamental in its core, may also offer a practical option for fault-tolerant topological quantum computation.

Mots-clés : fractional quantum hall effect,abelian and non abelian states,van der waals materials,space and time braiding
Projet ERC : CRYSTALCELL (Horizon Europe, appel 2022, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and R egeneration
Entité participante : Institut Weizmann — Pays : Israël — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : WIS
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

From vision in teleost fish to the spectacular colors reflected from reptiles and crustaceans, intracellular molecular crystals play vital roles in the function of cells and the ecology of organisms. These crystals are formed in specialized cellular vesicles termed iridosomes, where their properties are controlled in ways that cannot be matched by modern technology. Failure to control crystal formation can be deleterious to organisms, obstructing fundamental abilities, such as vision, body temperature regulation, camouflage, and kin recognition, and underlying pathologies such as gout and kidney stones in humans. Exploring the fascinating ability of iridosomes to perform such elaborate chemical and biological processes has thus far been limited by the technical inability to study this complex organelle. To obtain a mechanistic understating of the processes and principles underlying the controlled formation of intracellular crystals, we will harness our unique interdisciplinary set of skills, merging chemistry and cell biology, as well as new approaches combining state-of-the-art imaging and spectroscopy we recently developed. We will use this synergetic experimental platform to identify the molecular players, ultrastructural events (Aim 1) and intracellular mechanisms (Aim 2) underlying intracellular crystal formation in the zebrafish, and then generalize the discoveries to other crystal-forming organisms (Aim 3).  Our project will provide a holistic view of the iridosome mechanism of action, the strategies organisms use to form and control bio-molecular crystals, and the biological processes, intracellular organelles, proteins and regulatory mechanisms involved. The obtained mechanistic insight into these processes will advance the understanding of the effect of ocean acidification on crystal formation in marine organisms, and pave the way for developing new biomaterials and much needed therapeutics for pathological crystallization.

Mots-clés : cell and developmental biology,molecular crystals,nucleobases,bio photonics,bio materials,zebrafish,medaka,uric acid,pathological crystallization,cytoskeleton,