Data-Gouv-ML/pcri-erc-participations-et-projets-laureats huggingface dataset:
Projet ERC : AxScale (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : European Organization for Nuclear Research — Pays : Suisse — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : CERN
Type d'entité : Recherche
Financement ERC de l'entité : 617107.5 €

Pseudoscalar QCD axions and axion-like Particles (ALPs) are an excellent candidate for Dark Matter or can act as a mediator particle for Dark Matter. Since the discovery of the Higgs boson, we know that fundamental scalars exist and it is timely to explore the Axion/ALP parameter space more intensively. A look at the allowed axion/ALP parameter space makes it clear that these might exist at low mass (below few eV), as (part of) Dark Matter. Alternatively they might exist at higher mass, above roughly the MeV scale, potentially as a Dark Matter mediator particle. AxScale explores parts of these different mass regions, with complementary techniques but with one research team. Firstly, with RADES, it develops a novel concept for a filter-like cavity for the search of QCD axion Dark matter at a few tens of a micro-eV. Dark Matter Axions can be discovered by their resonant conversion in that cavity embedded in a strong magnetic field. The `classical axion window' has recently received much interest from cosmological model-building and I will implement a novel cavity concept that will allow to explore this Dark Matter parameter region. Secondly, AxScale searches for axions and ALPs using the NA62 detector at CERN's SPS. Especially the mass region above a few MeV can be efficiently searched by the use of a proton fixed-target facility. During nominal data taking NA62 investigates a Kaon beam. NA62 can also run in a mode in which its primary proton beam is fully dumped. With the resulting high interaction rate, the existence of weakly coupled particles can be efficiently probed. Thus, searches for ALPs from Kaon decays as well as from production in dumped protons with NA62 are foreseen in AxScale. More generally, NA62 can look for a plethora of `Dark Sector' particles with recorded and future data. With the AxScale program I aim at maximizing the reach of NA62 for these new physics models.

Mots-clés : dark matter,axion,proton fixed target
Projet ERC : GASSP (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System
Entité participante : Cardiff University — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1499961.0 €

Psychiatric disorders associated with changes in female sex hormones are a major public health issue and represent a unique opportunity to study the complex interplay between gender, sex and mental states. GASSP aims to understand how genetic and environmental markers can help identify women at risk of psychiatric disorders in relation to the menstrual cycle, childbirth and transition to menopause and improve the current approach to diagnosis, prevention and treatment. It takes a ground-breaking approach across diagnoses and life stages, rather than focussing on the current diagnostic labels that have limited clinical and biological validity. It seeks to characterise the largest cohort to date of women with psychiatric disorders temporally related with changes in sex hormones by leveraging new technologies a) to identify and reach sufferers, making it easier for them to participate in research b) to conduct sophisticated analyses, integrating detailed longitudinal clinical and psycho-social information with aggregated genome-wide data and functional annotations. GASSP is the first molecular genetic study of the psychiatric sensitivity to sex hormone changes. It has the potential to contribute to the de-stigmatization of mental disorders related to female reproduction by providing evidence-based, easy-to-understand information to the public, and addressing the gender gap in psychiatry highlighted by the European Commission and the World Health Organization.

Mots-clés : gender,genetics,postpartum psychosis,bipolar disorder,mood,childbirth,premenstrual dysphoric disorder,menopause
Projet ERC : IntratumoralNiche (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Life Science
Panel : Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing
Entité participante : University Medical Center Utrecht — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : PI
Acronyme de l'entité : UMC
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1500000.0 €

Purpose: Cells in a tumor are highly heterogeneous. The role and consequence of having multiple cell types within a cancer is mostly centered towards the function of cancer stem cells (CSCs) since they are the driving forces of tumor growth. However, the exact signaling cues that support CSC function remain to be understood. For instance, what are the roles of immediate descendant tumor cells in relation to CSC support? Do colorectal tumors make their own niche? Preliminary data: To study communication between different cell types (heterocellular signaling) in human colorectal cancers (CRCs), my lab developed movieSTAR technology to mark CSCs in patient-derived CRC organoids (PDOs) for high-resolution live imaging of their dynamics and behavior. Although niche factor dependency decreases along the adenoma-carcinoma transition, we identified a strong interdependency between CSCs and other tumor cells in colorectal PDOs of malignant nature. Hypothesis: We hypothesize a continuous existence of an intratumoral stem cell niche that remains essential for tumor growth and metastasis formation. Which types of heterocellular signaling support CSC function, especially at malignant stages, is unknown. Approach: This project aims to define heterocellular signaling between CSCs and intratumoral niche cells. Therefore, I) we will combine our expertise in human organoid technology for in-depth characterization of the nature of heterocellular communication within the intratumoral niche, II) high-resolution live imaging of PDOs to interrogate heterogeneity of signaling activities at cellular resolution and in real-time, as well as III) in vivo mouse models for validation and further studies of essential intratumoral signaling pathways. Innovation: Our integrative use of novel approaches will provide comprehensive insight into intratumoral niche function during tumorigenesis, establishing novel technologies for future cancer research and new concepts to improve cancer therapy.
Projet ERC : YoctoLHC (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Advanced grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : University of Jyväskylä — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : Partner
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 405000.0 €

QCD is the only sector of the Standard Model where the exploration of the first levels of complexity, built from fundamental interactions at the quantum level, is experimentally feasible. An outstanding example is the thermalised state of QCD matter formed when heavy atomic nuclei are smashed in particle colliders. Systematic experimental studies, carried out in the last two decades, overwhelmingly support the picture of a deconfined state of matter, which behaves as a nearly perfect fluid, formed in a very short time, less than 5 yoctoseconds. The mechanism that so efficiently brings the initial out-of-equilibrium state into a thermalised system is, however, largely unknown. Most surprisingly, LHC experiments have found that collisions of small systems, i.e. proton-proton or proton-lead, seem to indicate the presence of a tiny drop of this fluid in events with a large number of produced particles. These systems have sizes of 1 fm or less, or time-scales of less than 3 ys. To add to the puzzle, jet quenching, the modifications of jet properties due to interactions with the medium, has not been observed in these small systems, while jet quenching and thermalisation are expected to be controlled by the same dynamics. Present experimental tools have limited sensitivity to the actual process of thermalisation. To solve these long-standing questions we propose, as a completely novel strategy, using jet observables to directly access the first yoctoseconds of the collision. This strategy needs developments well beyond the state-of-the-art in three subjects: i) novel theoretical descriptions of the initial stages of the collision — the first 5 ys; ii) jet quenching theory for yoctosecond precision, with new techniques to couple the jet to the surrounding matter and novel parton shower evolution; and iii) jet quenching tools for the 2020’s, where completely novel jet observables will be devised with a focus on determining the initial stages of the collision.

Mots-clés : large hadron collider,heavy ions
Projet ERC : QuCIP (Horizon 2020, appel 2017, Consolidator grants)
Domaine scientifique : Social Sciences and Humanities
Panel : Cultures and cultural production
Entité participante : University of Cambridge — Pays : Royaume-Uni — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : U. Cambridge
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 6363.56 €

QuCIP will deliver the first historical-critical commentary on a sizable portion of the Qur’an in English, covering the three longest and most complex compositions in the Islamic scripture, surahs 2–4, as well as the short opening surah 1. The project will thereby put forward a pioneering proof of concept for an integrative exegetical approach capable of addressing three core dimensions of the Qur’an: the compositional structure of Qur’anic texts, the intricate processes of literary growth and redactional expansion by which many of them have been shaped, and the theological concerns governing the Qur’an’s appropriation of antecedent (especially Jewish and Christian) ideas, traditions, and literary forms. Pre-modern Islamic exegesis will be critically scrutinised as a valuable repository of close scriptural reading, even if its premises and conclusions are not always persuasive to a modern historian. The result will be a paradigmatic benchmark transforming the methodological toolkit of the discipline. In realising this ambitious project, the PI will be supported by three postdoctoral scholars. Two of them will undertake foundational research into the Qur'an's compositional grammar and into Qur’anic law. The third postdoctoral researcher will support the PI’s engagement with the voluminous Islamic exegetical literature and write a reception history of surah 4. The project team will furthermore produce an edited volume or special journal issue.

Mots-clés : qur an,islam,scripture
Projet ERC : MRKT (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Mathematics
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 : 1331091.0 €

Quadratic forms are ubiquitous throughout mathematics, playing a fundamental role in areas from arithmetic through algebra and geometry. In surgery theory, quadratic forms feature prominently in the classification of smooth manifolds in a given homotopy type, while in arithmetic geometry they can be used to encode Galois and motivic cohomology classes via Milnor's conjecture. The theory of quadratic forms is naturally very sensitive to the prime 2. While in surgery theory this effect is critical, in algebraic geometry it was often set aside by assuming 2 to be invertible in all ground rings. A recent joint work of the PI and collaborators on the foundations of Hermitian K-theory uses state-of-the-art tools from higher category theory to develop a new framework for the subject, bringing a bordism theoretical approach to the algebraic study of quadratic forms, all while accommodating for the subtleties posed by the prime 2. Building on this recent success, the project MRKT aims to remove the theoretical barrier of the prime 2 from the study of Hermitian K-theory in the domain of algebraic geometry, and set up the foundations of motivic Hermitian K-theory and real algebraic K-theory over the integers.

Mots-clés : hermitian k theory,real algebraic k theory,motivic homotopy theory,quadratic forms
Projet ERC : SiMS (Horizon 2020, appel 2018, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Delft University of Technology — Pays : Pays-Bas — Rôle : Partner
Acronyme de l'entité : TU Delft
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 71250.0 €

Quantum computation using topologically protected Majorana bound states is a promising direction towards scalable quantum architectures due to their inherent noise immunity provided by the nonlocal storage of quantum information. Thus far, Majorana states have mostly been investigated in superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures which rely on induced superconductivity in a quasi-one-dimensional conductor. However, despite tremendous efforts in material development, these devices are still limited by uncontrolled local fluctuations due to disorder and it is unclear if future developments will solve these problems. Furthermore, disorder may even mimic the transport signatures of topological ordering, hindering an unambiguous identification of the Majorana states. Here I propose a way to overcome these limitations: I will work towards the direct quantum simulation of the one dimensional topological superconductor with Majorana bound states. I will use chains of semiconductor quantum dots, which is an emerging platform to simulate exotic many-body electron states. Building on this platform, I will be able to demonstrate for the first time the emergence of coherent, non-local superconducting states bound to the entire device similarly to the Kitaev chain model of topological superconductivity. To demonstrate quantum coherence of the chain, we will build the first Andreev molecule quantum bit, which, while not topologically protected, will already combine advantages of superconducting and semiconductor qubits. Going one step further, we will investigate the simulated Kitaev chain. Upon establishing the presence of the simulated Majorana states, we will work towards a simple braiding protocol to demonstrate the non-Abelian nature of the edge modes. This research direction, combining the scalability of semiconductor structures and the topological protection of Majorana states, will open new avenues towards universal quantum computation.

Mots-clés : superconductivity,quantum simulation,quantum dot,semiconductors,majorana states,topological states of matter
Projet ERC : SCAR (Horizon 2020, appel 2020, Proof of concept grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Condensed matter physics
Entité participante : Aalto University — Pays : Finlande — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 150000.0 €

Quantum computers are emerging as disruptive computational devices. A significant obstacle in scaling up quantum computers is the fact that they exhibit very low tolerance against external perturbations. This means that the quantum processors need to be extremely well isolated from all sources of dissipation during their quantum coherent operation. This generates an increased steady-state temperature and triggers long natural initialization times, i.e., long reset time for the quantum memory. Thus, there is currently a significant unmet need for versatile active refrigeration for quantum devices, which would open up significant business opportunities in many solid-state implementations of quantum technology. This project, Scalable fabrication process for quantum-circuit refrigerators (SCAR), will generate a scalable, standardized process for the manufacturing of quantum-circuit refrigerators (QCRs) as a stand-alone component for cooling the operational quantum degrees of freedom in different types of under-damped quantum electric devices, enhancing their performance. For instance, it provides and efficient way to initialize quantum bits in superconducting quantum computers. SCAR has several objectives that will allow us to build an extensive business case for the subsequent commercial exploitation of our technology. From a technical perspective, we aim to advance our technology from the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3 to 5, by fabricating junctions with new materials and improved processes and generating a best practice guide for junction characterization and fabrication. From an IP perspective, we aim to generate new IP focused on new materials and new fabrication processes. From a business perspective, our objective is to build a convincing business case for the exploitation of SCAR based on a market analysis (including competitors, trends, values, and roadmaps) consolidated in a business and exploitation plan.

Mots-clés : quantum computing,quantum circuit refrigerator,qubit reset,scalable manufacturing,fabrication
Projet ERC : EQuO (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Consolidator 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 : 1553850.5 €

Quantum effects have been studied on photon propagation in the context of quantum optics since the second half of the last century. In particular, using single photon emitters, fundamental tests of quantum mechanics were explored by manipulating single to few photons in Hanbury-Brown and Twiss and Hong Ou Mandel experiments. In nanophysics, there is a growing interest to translate these concepts of quantum optics to electrons propagating in nanostructures. Single electron emitters have been realized such that single elementary electronic excitations can now be manipulated in the analog of pioneer quantum optics experiments. Electron quantum optics goes beyond the mere reproduction of optical setups using electron beams, as electrons, being interacting fermions, differ strongly from photons. Contrary to optics, understanding the propagation of an elementary excitation requires replacing the single body description by a many body one. The purpose of this proposal is to specifically explore the emergence of many body physics and its effects on electronic propagation using the setups and concepts of electron quantum optics. The motivations are numerous: firstly single particle emission initializes a simple and well controlled state. I will take this unique opportunity to test birth, life and death scenarii of Landau quasiparticles and observe the emergence of many-body physics. Secondly, I will address the generation of entangled few electrons quantum coherent states and study how they are affected by interactions. Finally, I will attempt to apply electron quantum optics concepts to a regime where the ground state itself is a strongly correlated state of matter. In such a situation, elementary excitations are no longer electrons but carry a fractional charge and obey fractional statistics. No manipulation of single quasiparticles has been reported yet and the determination of some quasiparticle characteristics, such as the fractional statistics remains elusive.

Mots-clés : single electrons,quantum optics with electrons,noise,hong ou mandel,coulomb interaction,decoherence,fractional quantum hall effect
Projet ERC : CurvedSusy (Horizon 2020, appel 2014, Starting grants)
Domaine scientifique : Physical Sciences and Engineering
Panel : Fundamental constituents of matter
Entité participante : Uppsala University — Pays : Suède — Rôle : PI
Type d'entité : Enseignement supérieur ou secondaire
Financement ERC de l'entité : 1122866.25 €

Quantum field theory provides a theoretical framework to explain quantitatively natural phenomena as diverse as the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background, superconductivity, and elementary particle interactions in colliders. Even if we use quantum field theories in different settings, their structure and dynamics are still largely mysterious. Weakly coupled systems can be studied perturbatively, however many natural phenomena are characterized by strong self-interactions (e.g. high T superconductors, nuclear forces) and their analysis requires going beyond perturbation theory. Supersymmetric field theories are very interesting in this respect because they can be studied exactly even at strong coupling and their dynamics displays phenomena like confinement or the breaking of chiral symmetries that occur in nature and are very difficult to study analytically. Recently it was realized that many interesting insights on the dynamics of supersymmetric field theories can be obtained by placing these theories in curved space preserving supersymmetry. These advances have opened new research avenues but also left many important questions unanswered. The aim of our research programme will be to clarify the dynamics of supersymmetric field theories in curved space and use this knowledge to establish new exact results for strongly coupled supersymmetric gauge theories. The novelty of our approach resides in the systematic use of the interplay between the physical properties of a supersymmetric theory and the geometrical properties of the space-time it lives in. The analytical results we will obtain, while derived for very symmetric theories, can be used as a guide in understanding the dynamics of many physical systems. Besides providing new tools to address the dynamics of quantum field theory at strong coupling this line of investigation could lead to new connections between Physics and Mathematics.

Mots-clés : quantum field theory,supersymmetry