Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : OmniSens (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : VU
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1606331.0 €

OmniSens is a novel inertial isolation system that will approach the fundamental limits imposed by materials and terrestrial gravity. Revolutionary improvements in sensitivity will come from coupling compact interferometric sensors that are beyond the state-of-the-art with a reference mass that is Omni-directionally Sensed (OmniSens). The key concept is the use of a single, geometrically-large reference mass that is sensed and softly-suspended in all six degrees of freedom, and housed within a platform that is actively controlled to be a constant distance from it. The inertial stability of the reference mass is thus transferred to the platform in a fashion mimicking the drag-free control of a satellite around a free-floating proof mass. Compared with the state-of-the-art, OmniSens will reduce residual accelerations in horizontal directions by at least 2 orders of magnitude at 0.1Hz. When this system is used as the first stage of isolation in a gravitational-wave detector, it will enable current detectors to finally reach their design sensitivities and push the ‘seismic wall’ to lower frequencies in future observatories. Pushing the low frequency boundary will have two critical effects: it will increase the signal-to-noise of individual sources, thus expanding the astrophysical reach of observatories, and it will vastly augment the amount of time each source is in-band, possibly allowing sky localisation before the merger of neutron stars, with spectacular consequences for electromagnetic follow up campaigns. To achieve these ambitious goals we will need to: Develop the test and measurement infrastructure capable of housing and measuring the reference mass; Test a prototype isolation system, showing that it can reach fundamental limits imposed by simple, metal-wire suspensions; and Build a robust OmniSens system suspended with fused-silica fibres that will become a foundational element of future gravitational-wave observatories.

Mots-clés : interferometry,precision measurement,vibration isolation,inertial sensing
Projet ERC : OmniSens (Horizon 2020, appel 2019, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Systems and communication engineering
Entité participante : Dutch Research Council — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : NWO
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 930000.0 €

OmniSens is a novel inertial isolation system that will approach the fundamental limits imposed by materials and terrestrial gravity. Revolutionary improvements in sensitivity will come from coupling compact interferometric sensors that are beyond the state-of-the-art with a reference mass that is Omni-directionally Sensed (OmniSens). The key concept is the use of a single, geometrically-large reference mass that is sensed and softly-suspended in all six degrees of freedom, and housed within a platform that is actively controlled to be a constant distance from it. The inertial stability of the reference mass is thus transferred to the platform in a fashion mimicking the drag-free control of a satellite around a free-floating proof mass. Compared with the state-of-the-art, OmniSens will reduce residual accelerations in horizontal directions by at least 2 orders of magnitude at 0.1Hz. When this system is used as the first stage of isolation in a gravitational-wave detector, it will enable current detectors to finally reach their design sensitivities and push the ‘seismic wall’ to lower frequencies in future observatories. Pushing the low frequency boundary will have two critical effects: it will increase the signal-to-noise of individual sources, thus expanding the astrophysical reach of observatories, and it will vastly augment the amount of time each source is in-band, possibly allowing sky localisation before the merger of neutron stars, with spectacular consequences for electromagnetic follow up campaigns. To achieve these ambitious goals we will need to: Develop the test and measurement infrastructure capable of housing and measuring the reference mass; Test a prototype isolation system, showing that it can reach fundamental limits imposed by simple, metal-wire suspensions; and Build a robust OmniSens system suspended with fused-silica fibres that will become a foundational element of future gravitational-wave observatories.

Mots-clés : interferometry,precision measurement,vibration isolation,inertial sensing
Projet ERC : ONCOINTRABODY (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases
Entité participante : Philipps University of Marburg — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1419148.41 €

Oncogenic signalling networks display a remarkable degree of plasticity. Despite only a limited number of alterations in oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes in most tumours, the majority of targeted therapeutics (monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule kinase inhibitors) does not strongly improve the survival of cancer patients and suffers from the rapid development of resistance. The rising number of targeted drugs in clinical use inhibits only a very limited number of protein targets (largely kinases). Consequently, most intracellular non-kinase oncoproteins remain untargeted. We have previously established the use of small engineered antibody mimics, termed monobodies, to potently and specifically target intracellular protein-protein interactions mediated by the SH2 domains of oncogenic kinases and phosphatases. Expression of SH2-targeting monobodies resulted in the inhibition of signalling and oncogenesis of these oncoproteins. Here, we aim at developing monobody binders to 10 key intracellular oncoproteins for which no chemical inhibitors exist and testing their activity in cancer cells. To enable a possible clinical translation of monobody-based therapeutics, we will develop methods to deliver monobody proteins into cells, including cell-penetrating peptides, bacterial toxins and biocompatible nanocarriers. 'Mirror-image' monobodies, composed of D-amino acids, will be developed and tested to increase intracellular and plasma stability and to limit immunogenicity. The developed monobodies and delivery systems are planned to be tested in mouse cancer models. Our goal is to establish monobodies as novel class of intracellular protein-based therapeutics. We hope to kick off their use beyond basic research tools towards possible applications in cancer patients. This innovative endeavour uses state-of-the-art protein engineering techniques to address a central problem in cancer medicine and may provide a ground-breaking new approach to target cancer.
Projet ERC : Phonton (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : University of Bonn — Pays : Allemagne — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1486973.0 €

One of our dreams for the future is to control and manipulate complex materials and devices at will. This progress would revolutionize technology and influence many aspects of our everyday life. A promising direction is the control of material properties by electromagnetic radiation leading to photo-induced phase transitions. An example of such a transition is the reported dynamically induced superconductivity via a laser pulse. Whereas the theoretical description of the coupling of fermions to bosonic modes in equilibrium has seen enormous progress and explains highly non-trivial phenomena as the phonon-induced superconductivity, driven systems pose many puzzles. In addition to the inherent time-dependence of the external driving field, a multitude of possible excitation and relaxation mechanisms challenge the theoretical understanding. Recently in the field of quantum optics, a much cleaner realization of a photo-induced phase transition, the Dicke transition, has been observed for bosonic quantum gases loaded in an optical cavity. Above a critical pump strength of an external laser field, the ensemble undergoes a transition to an ordered phase. We aim to advance the general theoretical understanding of photo-induced phase transitions both in the field of solid state physics and quantum optics. In particular, we will focus on the design and investigation of photo-induced transitions to unconventional superconductivity and non-trivial topological phases. Our insights will be applied to fermonic quantum gases in optical cavities and solid state materials. In order to treat these systems efficiently, we will develop new variants of the numerical density matrix renormalization group (or also called matrix product state) methods and combine these with analytical approaches.

Mots-clés : interacting fermionic quantum gases,optical lattices,driven quantum many body systems,cavity qed
Projet ERC : iPES-3DBat (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Proof of concept grants)
Entité participante : Basque center for macromolecular design and engineering polymat fundazioa — Pays : Espagne — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : Polymat
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 15000.0 €

One of the actual limitations of the current batteries is their rigidity and limited shape availability (cylindrical or flat). Furthermore, the manufacturing of current electrodes/cells is a long process which requires big investments for battery fabrication facilities. The idea of “iPES-3DBat” Proof of Concept grant will be to develop polymer batteries by a fast and cheap 3D printing process. Compared to the traditional planar structure of cells, 3D structuring provides different shapes as well as other advantages such as higher power density and higher energy density due to the increased surface area of electrodes. The iPES-3DBat research will be dedicated to develop 3D printable inks with the already developed energetic polymers. These new inks will be patented and used to build all polymer cell prototypes by 3D printing with different geometries, flexibility, low weight and recyclability. This new technology will target future applications in wearable electronics, medical devices, fitness, toys and other small electronic devices. After a strict market study, the creation of a spin-off will be pursued. iPES-3DBat PoC will move the polymers developed within iPES ERC grant towards the commercialization stage. This PoC will take advantage of the possibility of polymers to be processed by 3D printing. At the same time, the benefits of 3D printing will be used to develop battery prototypes in a fast way, to save money by using a cheap method, to accelerate the innovation process and shorten the time-to-market. The success of this idea will involve the development of energetic inks/materials which allow the delocalization of the manufacturing of batteries with the possibility of producing anywhere.

Mots-clés : polymeric batteries,3d printing,inks
Projet ERC : NexGenTeN (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : University of Amsterdam — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UvA
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1999630.0 €

One of the biggest and most relevant challenges in physics is the accurate study of strongly correlated quantum many-body systems, which give rise to very remarkable phenomena like high-Tc superconductivity (HTSC), quantum spin liquids with topological order, and other novel phases of matter. Understanding these systems is the key to designing new materials and quantum devices for future groundbreaking technologies. In recent years enormous progress in the study of these systems has been achieved with two-dimensional tensor network algorithms, which can be seen as a generalization of the powerful density-matrix renormalization group method to higher dimensions. While already the current algorithms are very powerful and outperform other state-of-the-art approaches, the development of new algorithms with a higher accuracy and broader application range is crucial to enable to solve the most pressing open problems. Building upon my previous breakthroughs in this field, I will develop the next generation of tensor network algorithms, including novel powerful methods for ground states, time evolution, spectral functions, finite temperature, open systems, and multi-scale approaches. I will use them for groundbreaking simulations of relevant open problems in several fields with unprecedented accuracy. Major milestones include (1) simulations of realistic models of cuprate materials in order to shed new light on the pseudogap phase and pairing mechanism in HTSC, (2) cutting-edge simulations of frustrated materials to reveal the nature of excitations and thermodynamic properties of quantum spin liquids and other challenging states, and (3) predictions of novel states of matter in SU(N) and open quantum systems which can be realized in experimental quantum simulators. This ambitious project will strongly advance our fundamental understanding of strongly correlated systems and set a new state-of-the-art in simulating quantum many-body problems.

Mots-clés : tensor network algorithms,quantum many body systems,quantum simulation,high temperature superconductivity,frustrated magnetism,hubbard model
Projet ERC : Cat-In-hAT (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Universe sciences
Entité participante : Charles University — Pays : Rép. Tchèque — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1243218.75 €

One of the crucial formation channels of compact object binaries, including sources of gravitational waves, critically depends on catastrophic binary interactions accompanied by the loss of mass, angular momentum, and energy ("common envelope" evolution - CEE). Despite its importance, CEE is perhaps the least understood major phase of binary star evolution and progress in this area is urgently needed to interpret observations from the new facilities (gravitational wave detectors, time-domain surveys). Recently, the dynamical phase of the CEE has been associated with a class of transient brightenings exhibiting slow expansion velocities and copious formation of dust and molecules (red transients - RT). A number of RT features, especially the long timescale of mass loss, challenge the existing CEE paradigm. Motivated by RT, I will use a new variant of magnetohydrodynamics to comprehensively examine the 3D evolution of CEE from the moment when the mass loss commences to the remnant phase. I expect to resolve the long timescales observed in RT, characterize binary stability in 3D with detailed microphysics, illuminate the fundamental problem of how is orbital energy used to unbind the common envelope in a regime that was inaccessible before, and break new ground on the amplification of magnetic fields during CEE. I will establish RT as an entirely new probe of the CEE physics by comparing my detailed theoretical predictions of light curves from different viewing angles, spectra, line profiles, and polarimetric signatures with observations of RT. I will accomplish this by coupling multi-dimensional moving mesh hydrodynamics with radiation, dust formation, and chemical reactions. Finally, I will examine the physical processes in RT remnants on timescales of years to centuries after the outburst to connect RT with the proposed merger products and to identify them in time-domain surveys.
Projet ERC : Emergent-BH (Horizon 2020, appel 2015, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Stockholm University — Pays : Suède — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 0.0 €

One of the greatest challenges of theoretical physics is to understand the fundamental nature of gravity and how it is reconciled with quantum mechanics. Black holes indicate that gravity is holographic, i.e. it is emergent, together with some of the spacetime dimensions, from a lower-dimensional field theory. The emergence mechanism has just started to be understood in certain special contexts, such as AdS/CFT. However, very little is known about it for the spacetime backgrounds relevant to the real world, due mainly to our lack of knowledge of the underlying field theories. My goal is to uncover the fundamental nature of spacetime and gravity in our universe by: i) formulating and working out the properties of the relevant lower-dimensional field theories and ii) studying the mechanism by which spacetime and gravity emerge from them. I will adress the first problem by concentrating on the near-horizon regions of maximally spinning black holes, for which the dual field theories greatly simplify and can be studied using a combination of conformal field theory and string theory methods. To study the emergence mechanism, I plan to adapt the tools that were succesfully used to understand emergent gravity in anti de-Sitter (AdS) spacetimes - such as holographic quantum entanglement and conformal bootstrap - to non-AdS, more realistic spacetimes.

Mots-clés : black holes,holography
Projet ERC : BALLISTOP (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Centre national de la recherche scientifique — Pays : France — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : CNRS
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 2432676.0 €

One of the greatest recent achievement in Condensed matter physics is the discovery of a new class of materials, Topological Insulators (TI), whose bulk is insulating, while the edges conduct current in a quasi-ideal way. In particular, the 1D edges of 2DTI realize the Quantum Spin Hall state, where current is carried dissipationlessly by two counter-propagating ballistic edge states with a spin orientation locked to that of the propagation direction (a helical edge state). This opens many possibilities, ranging from dissipationless charge and spin transport at room temperature to new avenues for quantum computing. We propose to investigate charge and spin currents in a newly discovered class of TIs, Second Order Topological Insulators (SOTIs), i.e. 3D crystals with insulating bulk and surfaces, but perfectly conducting (topologically protected) 1D helical “hinge” states. Bismuth, despite its well-known semimetallic character, has recently been shown theoretically to belong to this class of materials, explaining our recent intriguing findings on nanowires. Our goal is to reveal, characterize and exploit the unique properties of SOTIs, in particular the high velocity, ballistic, and dissipationless hinge currents. We will probe crystalline bismuth samples with refined new experimental tools. The superconducting proximity effect will reveal the spatial distribution of conduction paths, and test the ballisticity of the hinge modes (that may coexist with non-topological surface modes). High frequency and tunnel spectroscopies of hybrid superconductor/Bi circuits will probe their topological nature, including the existence of Majorana modes. We will use high sensitivity magnetometers to detect the orbital magnetism of SOTI platelets, which should be dominated by topological edge currents. Lastly, we propose to detect the predicted equilibrium spin currents in 2DTIs and SOTIs via the generated electric field, using single electron transistors-based electrometers.

Mots-clés : topological transport
Projet ERC : FamilyComplexity (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : The Social World and Its Diversity
Entité participante : Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : KNAW
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 204124.46 €

One of the important consequences of the Second Demographic Transition has been the increasing complexity of families. The aim of this project is to study how rising family complexity has affected two fundamental aspects of intergenerational relationships: reproduction and solidarity. Theoretically, family complexity is distinguished into four dimensions: (a) the length, timing and nature of exposure to the child, (c) biological relatedness to the child, and (c) characteristics of parent-parent ties (triadic effects), (d) characteristics of the wider family network. Using insights from several disciplines, I develop a common theoretical framework for understanding intergenerational reproduction and solidarity. To test the theory, an innovative multiactor survey is developed with an oversampling strategy in which for each adult child, information is collected on all parent figures, and for each parent, information on all adult children. In addition, register data are used to analyze one aspect of reproduction in a dynamic fashion (educational reproduction) and vignette data are used to analyze one aspect of solidarity in more depth (norms prescribing solidarity). By studying reproduction and solidarity as outcomes, I shift the traditional focus from examining how the SDT has affected individual well-being, to the question of how the SDT has affected relationships. In doing so, I analyze a new problem in demography and sociology and contribute to classic debates about population ageing and social inequality. Theoretically, the study of family complexity yields unique opportunities to test ideas about the nature of intergenerational relationships and will shed new light on the traditional dichotomy of social vis-à-vis biological bases of intergenerational relationships. Methodological innovation is made by developing solutions for well-known problems of multiactor data, thereby strengthening the theoretical relevance of survey data for the social sciences.

Mots-clés : intergenerational solidarity,social stratification,educational inequality,divorce,intergenerational relationships,life course,multipartner fertility