Faculty ofNatural Sciences 2008/09

TheBlackett

Laboratory

Departmentof PhysicsReview

1

Contents

Preface from the Head of Department

Academic Staff group photograph

General Departmental Information

Research Groups

Astrophysics

Condensed Matter Theory

Experimental Solid State

High Energy Physics

Optics - Laser Consortium

Optics - Photonics

Optics - Quantum Optics and Laser Science

Plasma Physics

Space and Atmospheric Physics

Theoretical Physics

Undergraduate Teaching

Postgraduate Studies

PhD degrees awarded (by research group)

Research Grants Grants obtained by research group

Technical Development, Intellectual Property and Commercial Interactions (by research group)

Academic Staff

Administrative and Support Staff

2

9

10

11

12

17

20

25

30

33

38

41

45

49

76

72

69

64

61

59

54

Front cover: Laser probing images of jet propagating in ambient plasma and a density map from a 3D simulation of a nested,stainless steel, wire array experiment - see Plamsa Physics group page 38.

2

During 2008 much of the headlinegrabbing news focused on ‘big science’with serious financial problems at theScience and Technology FacilitiesCouncil (STFC) (we note that some40% of the Department’s researchexpenditure is STFC derived) andthe start-up of the Large HadronCollider at CERN. Our staff memberswere prominent in both regards, beingstrongly represented and activelyengaged within the STFC committeestructures (Sir Peter Knight (QOLS),Jordan Nash (HEP), Steven Rose(PLAS), Andrew Jaffe (ASTRO) andTim Horbury (SPAT)) and in the usercommunity action groups, and havingsignificant leadership roles within twoof the four major projects at LHC,namely the Compact Muon Solenoid(CMS) and LHCb experiments (JimVirdee (HEP) is spokesperson forCMS and Andrei Golutvin (HEP)spokesperson for LHCb). The LHCstart-up was much feted in the mediawith BBC Radio 4 running a ‘Big BangDay’ extravaganza on the 10thSeptember 2008(www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/bigbang/),with a great deal of additional print,on-line, radio and television coverage.Having had the chance to see theCMS facility at first hand we can bothattest to the enormity of the under-taking required to deliver suchexperiments to specification and ontime, and to the exceptional collabo-ration needed to do so. It represents atriumph of ingenuity and commonalityof purpose that is difficult to matchin other multi-partner internationalendeavours. The subsequent magnetfailure was a severe blow to manybut by November 2009 the LHC wasup and running and exciting physicsis anticipated in 2010.

The financial woes at STFC alsoattracted significant media attention,especially in relation to the proposedclosure of the Jodrell Bank telescope.Sufficient pressure was exerted, byamongst others, the Royal AstronomicalSociety (led by President MichaelRowan-Robinson (ASTRO)) thatResearch Councils UK (RCUK)

were invited by, Ian Pearson MP, theMinister of State for Science andInnovation, to initiate a broad rangingreview of physics research underthe chairmanship of Professor BillWakeham (Vice-Chancellor ofSouthampton University). The statedpurpose of the review was to examinethe health of the entire discipline ofphysics, and the priorities andchallenges facing the discipline inthe medium to long-term future.Donal was among those appointedto the review panel, together withsenior staff from the Universities ofCambridge, Durham, Glasgow,Leicester, Oxford (Engineering),Toronto and Denmark. A substantialand wide-ranging report resultedfrom the extensive investigation thatwas undertaken, albeit within a verymuch constrained time window, andthe report was published on 1stOctober 2008(www.rcuk.ac.uk/review/physics), justin time to be overshadowed by therapid decline in the global economicoutlook, a situation that presages aneven tougher funding climate ahead.

On a more upbeat note, the Departmentreceived an outstanding rating in aEuropean graduate programmeranking assessment exercise. TheCentre for Higher EducationDevelopment (in Germany) rankeddepartments in Physics, Chemistry,Biology and Mathematics in fourareas (publications, citations, highlycited scientists and participation inEU Marie Curie activities) and awarded"medals" for each category (gold,silver, bronze). In 2008 theDepartment was the only PhysicsDepartment in Europe (and the onlydepartment in the College’s Facultyof Natural Sciences) to come outwith four gold medals (seehttp://www.excellenceranking.org/eusid/EUSID).

In 2009 the Department, along withonly one other (at the University ofWarwick) became an official Instituteof Physics (IOP) Juno Champion bymeeting the five principles enshrined

within the IOP Juno code of practice(available to download atwww.ioppublishing.com/activity/diversity/Gender/Juno_code_of_practice/page_31619.html). As noted in theIOP document, “The code … setsout practical ideas for actions thatdepartments can take to address theunder-representation of women inuniversity physics and emphasisesthe need for dialogue, transparencyand openness”. The principles are:“Principle 1: A robust organisationalframework to deliver equality ofopportunity and reward.Principle 2: Appointment, promotionand selection processes and proce-dures that encourage men andwomen to apply for academic postsat all levels.Principle 3: Departmental structuresand systems that support andencourage the career progression ofall staff and enable men and womento progress and continue in theircareers.Principle 4: Departmental organisation,structure, management arrangementsand culture that are open, inclusiveand transparent and encourage theparticipation of all staff.Principle 5: Flexible approaches andprovisions that encompass the workingday, the working year and a workinglife in SET and enable individuals, atall career and life stages, to maximisetheir contribution to SET, theirdepartment and institution.”

The Juno activity is complementaryto the Athena SWAN Charter forWomen in Science established byRCUK. The Department applied forand won the Athena Silver Swan in2009 becoming the first PhysicsDepartment in the country to holdboth Juno Champion and SilverSwan awards. We are hugelyindebted to Lesley Cohen (EXSS)who drove the Department’s effortson both of these matters. Lesleyalso chairs the Department’s JunoCommittee whose remit is the estab-lishment of best practice for all staff,as well as addressing the underrepresentation of women in

Preface from the Heads of Department

university physics. One of its firstachievements was the formation ofa new RA Committee to addressissues of particular concern topostdoctoral researchers and we aregrateful to Daniel Mortlock andKaren Yates for taking forward thisactivity in a positive spirit.

A major research initiative in PlasmaPhysics came to fruition during 2008with the establishment of the ShockPhysics Institute, initially funded bya £5.9M project grant from AWE. Itwas formally launched at an event inJune 2009 and we welcomed BillProud and Dan Eakins as newmembers of staff supporting theInstitute.

Another new initiative saw theCollege and the National PhysicalLaboratory sign a memorandum ofunderstanding in October 2008 tofacilitate increased research collabo-rations. Lesley Cohen played amajor role in establishing the newagreement and has helped to bringstaff from NPL and the Departmenttogether to discuss proposals for jointactivities - several new programmesof research have already begun.

We are also pleased to announce anew memorandum of understandingfor collaboration with the CockcroftInstitute at the Daresbury Science andInnovation Campus (a partnershipbetween the universities of Liverpool,Manchester and Lancaster, STFCand the North West DevelopmentAgency) signed in January 2009. Allsides will collaborate and employtheir accumulated strengths andcompetencies to promote the nextgeneration of advanced acceleratorfacilities for high energy physics,photon science and their applicationsin the energy and medical sectors.The Department’s High EnergyPhysics, Plasma Physics andQuantum Optics groups are involved.

In 2008 the Leverhulme Trust invitedexpressions of interest for the supportof Embedding of Emerging Disciplines.After a highly competitive round theproposal led by John Pendry (CMTH)for Metamaterials and ElectromagneticFields was successful, with funds of

the order of £5M. In associationwith this John and Stefan Maier(EXSS) are heading up a newcross-faculty Centre for Plasmonicsand Metamaterials, with collabo-rators in the Departments ofMaterials and Electrical andElectronic Engineering.

A new inception, and a successfulone for the department, was theEPSRC’s introduction of Centres forDoctoral Training. From 2009 theDepartment leads three new CDTswhich each provide about £6M tofund five annual cohorts of 10 PhDstudents through 1 year MRes and 3year PhD programmes. A furtherthree annual cohorts will then befunded by the College. In all 44Centres have been funded byEPSRC across its entire physicalscience and engineering remits soto have three led by the Departmentis an exceptional achievement. TheCentres focus on:• The Science and Applicationof Plastic Electronic Materials -Director Professor Jenny Nelson -involving close collaboration with theChemistry and MaterialsDepartments at Imperial and withMaterials scientists at Queen Mary,University of London.• The Theory and Simulationof Materials - Director ProfessorAdrian Sutton FRS - with theMaterials, Mechanical Engineeringand Chemistry Departments.• Controlled QuantumDynamics – initial Director ProfessorMartin Plenio, from November 2009Professor Sir Peter Knight.

Once again we are delighted to beable to celebrate the award of alarge number of prestigious prizes toour staff and alumni. ProfessorMike Duff (Theoretical PhysicsGroup) was elected in 2009 to aFellowship of The Royal Society.The citation reads “Michael Duff hasmade key contributions to devel-oping quantum ideas of super-gravity, string theory and M-theory.These include the discovery ofconformal anomalies and the appli-cations of index theorems in super-gravity. He is also known for hisearly work on Kaluza-Klein compact-

ification on K3 and manifolds ofweak G2 holonomy. This, togetherwith his work on P-brane solitonsand their associated anomalies, hasproved to be of great significance tomodern developments in stringtheory and M-theory.” There was aDepartmental reception to celebrateon 1st June 2009.

The 2008 Royal Society HughesMedal was awarded to MicheleDougherty (SPAT) for her work withthe NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygensmission to Saturn and its moons.The award celebrates the innovativeuse of data from the Cassini magne-tometer that led to the discovery of adynamic atmosphere on Enceladus,one of Saturn's moons. The 2008Royal Society Rumford Medal wasawarded to Ed Hinds (QOLS) for hisextensive and highly innovative workin the field of ultra-cold matter. Edwas also the recipient of the 2008Institute of Physics (IOP) ThomsonMedal and Prize for his importantand elegant experimental investiga-tions in the fields of atomic physicsand quantum optics. Martin Plenio(QOLS) delivered an enthralling2008 Royal Society CliffordPatterson Prize Lecture entitled“Taming the Quanta”.

The 2008 IOP Hoyle Medal andPrize was awarded to MichaelRowan-Robinson (ASTRO) inrecognition of 40 years as one ofEurope’s leading figures in infraredand submillimetre astronomy, andobservational cosmology. Michaelalso received an honorary degreefrom the University of Sussex. The2008 IOP Paterson Medal and Prizewas awarded to Russell Cowburn(EXSS) for outstanding contributionsto nano-magnetism and nano-photonics, and his internationallyrecognised success in commerciallyexploiting his research through spin-out companies.

In 2009, four researchers werehonoured by the IOP – more thanat any other UK university. The2009 Faraday Medal, one of theInstitute's three gold medals andawarded for outstanding contribu-tions to experimental physics, was

3

4

to Donal Bradley for his pioneeringwork in the field of plasticelectronics. The Glazebrook Medalof the Institute, and another of theInstitute of Physics' gold medals, wasawarded to Peter Knight for “hisoutstanding contributions to physicsin the UK and globally, through bothhis scholarship as a pre-eminentatomic and molecular opticstheoretician and as a charismaticand effective leader of research andresearch organisations”. TheInstitute's Joule Medal was awardedto Jenny Nelson in recognition of herdistinguished research in appliedphysics, specifically for the devel-opment of novel photovoltaic materials.The Chadwick Medal for distinguishedresearch in particle physics wasawarded to Jim Virdee who hasplayed such a crucial role in all phasesof CMS since its formation in 1992.

We are delighted that the IOP BraggMedal, for significant contributions tophysics education, was awarded in2009 to Becky Smith of the SimonLangton School, Canterbury “for herwork to energise generations ofpupils to take up the study of physics;the commitment to raise substantialsums to provide major facilities inastronomy and other branches ofphysics in her region; and her positiveinfluence on physics educationnationally”. Becky is an AcademicVisitor to the department and hasclose outreach collaboration with thePlasma Physics group. TheDepartment would also like tocongratulate Professor Patrick Gill(National Physical Laboratory), avisiting Professor in QOLS who wasawarded the 2008 IOP ThomasYoung Medal and Prize for his worldleading contributions to optical-frequency metrology, Dr Simon Singh(writer and broadcaster), a formerundergraduate, who was awardedthe 2008 IOP Kelvin Medal and Prizefor promoting the importance ofphysics to the general public andProfessor Sougato Bose (UniversityCollege London), a former QOLSPhD student, who was awarded the2008 IOP Maxwell Medal and Prize,which is given for outstanding contri-butions to theoretical physics byresearchers early in their careers.

Another alumnus receiving highprofile recognition this year was formerBSc/PhD student Robert Palmer(Brookhaven National Laboratory),who was elected to the USANational Academy of Sciences.

Sir Peter Knight (QOLS) was awardedthe 2008 Optical Society of America(OSA) Frederic Ives Medal, recog-nizing overall distinction in optics.The Ives Medal is the highest awardof the OSA.

The Royal Astronomical Society2008 Chapman Medal was awardedto André Balogh (SPAT) for outstandingwork in the area of solar-terrestrialphysics - under his leadership, theCluster science group at ImperialCollege made many importantdiscoveries on the Earth’s magneticfield. André also led work on themagnetometer on the Ulyssesspacecraft and promoted the idea ofa new mission to Mercury thatultimately came to fruition as theEuropean Space Agency’s BepiColombo spacecraft.

Dimitri Vvedensky (CMTH) wasmade a Fellow of the AmericanPhysical Society “for his original,sustained, and diverse theoreticalcontributions toward understandingthe morphological evolution of epitaxialthin films." Jo Haigh (SPAT) receiveda certificate acknowledging hercontribution to the award of the 2007Nobel Peace Prize to the Inter-govern-mental Panel on Climate Change(jointly with former United States ofAmerica Vice President Al Gore).Russell Cowburn (EXSS) and hiscolleagues at Ingenia Technologyreceived a special commendationfrom the judges in the Times HigherAwards in the New Business Initiativesection for their development of LaserSurface Authentication technology.

In respect of external roles, we notethat Chris Dainty (of the PhotonicsGroup, but now based at the NationalUniversity of Ireland, Galway, Ireland)has been elected Vice President ofthe Optical Society of America. Thiswill lead to Chris becoming President-elect next year and President thefollowing year. He follows Sir Peter

Knight in taking on this most presti-gious role and it is quite remarkablethat the first two non-North AmericanPresidents of the OSA should bothhave such a strong link with theBlackett Laboratory.

Royal Society Wolfson Merit Awardswere made to Paul Nandra (Head ofAstrophysics) in recognition of hisoutstanding contributions to thestudy of black holes in galacticnuclei using X-ray measurementsand to Amihay Hanany (TheoreticalPhysics) in recognition of hisoutstanding work in support ofresearch in String Theory.

A Fellowship of Imperial Collegewas awarded to in 2009 Tom Kibble.Tom is, of course, internationallyrecognised for his research inquantum field theory and particularlyfor the co-discovery of the Higgsboson and Higgs-Kibble Mechanism.This award, however, celebrated hisrelationship with Imperial Collegewhich has spanned 50 years, duringwhich time he has made enormouscontributions to many aspects of thelife of the department and college.The Associateship of Imperial Collegewas awarded in 2009 to Linda Jones,our senior administrator, whoseunselfish devotion to the well-beingof the department and all its staffover more than forty years hasbenefited, and been appreciated by,many.

The PHOT fibre laser research teamled by Roy Taylor and comprisingSergei Popov, John Travers, AndreiRulkov and Burly Cumberland, wasawarded a College ResearchExcellence Award in 2008. Thefollowing year this award was wonby the team, led by Russell Cowburn,working on Nanoscale Science andTechnology. We are proud toacknowledge that the Departmenthas been successful with this awardeach year since the prize’s inceptionin 2006.

We note with pride the award ofseveral Rector’s Awards for Excellence.Teaching Excellence Awards recog-nised Dr Fay Dowker (THEO) andProfessor Dimitri Vvedensky (CMTH)

in 2008, and Paul Dauncey (HEPH)in 2009, for their outstanding contri-butions. David Gentry was co-nominated by the Department andFaculty for the Health and SafetyAward in recognition of his outstandingrecord in promoting and developinga strong health and safety cultureboth on the longer term within theDepartment and through his newFaculty Safety Manager role. Theaward letter notes how David’s workhas often been held up withinCollege as an example of bestpractice. Bob Forsyth (SPAT) wasco-recipient of the inaugural PastoralCare Award, 2008, in recognition ofexceptional contributions to thewelfare of our undergraduate studentsover a five-year period as SeniorTutor. Arash Mostofi (CMTH & DeptMaterials) won this award in 2009.

Staff have continued to achievesuccess in winning Fellowships at alllevels. We congratulate Ralf Toumiwho won a Knowledge ExchangeFellowship in 2009 from the NaturalEnvironment Research Council viaan AEA Technology plc award.

The Imperial College Junior ResearchFellowship scheme was establishedin 2008 to sustain the brightest andbest early career researchers fromacross the world. Each year around20 JRFs receive three-year fellow-ships, which include a competitivesalary, research expenses andmentoring support from a seniorImperial academic. The first (2009)cohort included three in Physics:Sugata Kaviraj (ASTR) who is workingon the formation and evolution ofearly-type galaxies, John Travers(PHOT) on the ultra-fast dynamicsof continuous-wave supercontinuumgeneration) and Jaesuk Hwang (QOLS)on single atom detection andmanipulation via nano-optics andplasmonics.

EPSRC Career AccelerationFellowships were awarded in 2008to Will Branford (EXSS) and in 2009to James Lucietti (HEP). STFCAdvanced Fellowships were won byMorgan Wascko and Mitesh Patel(both HEP) in 2008 and 2009respectively. Helen Brindley (SPAT)

was awarded a NERC AdvancedFellowship in 2008. EPSRCPostdoctoral Fellowships wereawarded to Dr Riccardo Ricci (THEO),Dr Julian Sonner (THEO), Dr DanielBurgarth (QOLS) and Dr FernandoBrandao (QOLS) in 2008 and toMark Tame (QOLS) in 2009. STFCPostdoctoral Fellowships were awardedto Dr Anne-Marie Mangan (HEP) andDr Adam Rej (THEO) in 2008 and toLinda Uruchurtu Gomez (THEO) in2009.

Further recognition for our staff camefrom a great many invitations tospeak at international conferencesand workshops and to deliver namedlectures. Among these Peter Török(PHOT) was appointed 2008 CarlZeiss Guest Professor and gave theassociated colloquium in Jena,Germany. Chris Phillips (EXSS)gave a talk on the “Science ofInvisibility” at the largest sciencefestival in Asia, TechFest 2009; arepeat performance was to standingroom only crowds and he was inter-viewed for a major article in TheTimes of India. Jo Haigh (SPAT)delivered a Royal Institution Lecture“Solar variability and climate”. JimVirdee (HEP) delivered the 20thImperial College Schrödinger Lectureentitled “Discovering the QuantumUniverse: The Large Hadron ColliderProject at CERN” which was verywell received by attendees andmentioned in the Financial Times.

Additional media attention includedPaul Nandra (ASTR) being a gueston BBC Radio 4’s The Material Worldto talk about ESA’s X-ray telescopeXEUS; Andrew Jaffe, Dave Clementsand Steve Warren (all ASTR) attractedinterest from New Scientist, Sky atNight Magazine and the internetrespectively. Jo Haigh (SPAT)discussed “Heat” with Melvin Braggon Radio 4’s In Our Time while FayDowker (THEO) appeared on theBBC Horizon Programme "Do YouKnow What Time it is", describingher research on the nature of time,and Jony Hudson (QOLS) demon-strated a double-slit experiment onHorizon’s “How Long is a Piece ofString”. John Tisch (QOLS) andcolleagues also appeared in a

Horizon documentary and took a verysuccessful exhibit on attosecondscience to the 2008 Royal SocietySummer Science Exhibition. At the2009 Exhibition Ned Ekins Daukes(EXSS / Grantham Institute) presenteda display entitled ‘Quantum of Sol’which described the principles behindphotovoltaic energy conversion andillustrated the potential and challengesthat the technology offers for largescale electricity generation. Thisexhibit subsequently moved to theScience Museum to popular acclaim.The Astrophysics group, led by DavidClements, also exhibited at the 2009RS event with a display related tothe Herschel and Planck spaceprojects: Herschel will be the largesttelescope every sent into orbit.

Donal Bradley (EXSS) also appearedon The Material World to discuss theparliamentary Innovation, Universities,Science and Skills (IUSS) SelectCommittee’s investigation onEngineering and in particular thecase study addressing PlasticElectronics Engineering for which heacted as expert witness. As part ofthe information gathering processthe IUSS Select Committee ChairmanPhil Willis MP and staff from thecommittee secretariat visited theDepartment and Molecular VisionLtd to see first hand some of ourPlastic Electronics activities and tochair a round table discussion onPlastic Electronics Engineering witha group of researchers from Physics,Chemistry and Materials. StefanMaier (EXSS) received press interest(including Metro) in his “T-ray break-through signals next generation ofsecurity sensors” press release andDr Thomas Anthopoulos’ (EXSS) workon light sensing organic transistorswas written up by The Engineer.

A paper by Mike Finnis (CMTH &Department of Materials) and JimSinclair, published in 1984 on whathave become known as "Finnis-Sinclair" potentials, has become themost cited paper in the history ofPhilosophical Magazine A series(1978-2002) with more than 1400citations. To mark the 25thanniversary of its publication Phil.Mag. produced a special issue

5

devoted to the Finnis-Sinclair potentialand its impacts and hosted a specialcelebration in the Blackett Lab.

Kenny Weir (PHOT) undertook areview of the Optics focusedGraduate Programme of SUPA(Scottish University Physics Alliance).

Within College Peter Knight waspromoted from Principal of the Facultyof Natural Sciences (FoNS) toCollege Senior Principal and hisdeputy, Professor Maggie Dallman(Department of Life Sciences) wasmade Principal in Peter’s place. In2009 Donal was appointed DeputyFaculty Principal and Jo Haigh Headof Department of Physics. ChrisPhillips was elected Dean for theFaculty of Natural Sciences for twoyears from 2009.

We celebrated the careers of MikeDuff, Kellogg Stelle, John Pendryand Peter Dornan through specialone-day Fests marking their 60th,60th, 65th and 70th birthdaysrespectively. All these events werehugely successful with interestingtalks by eminent speakers from withinImperial and across the globe. SirJohn also found time during thecelebration to partake in a Guardianpodcast.

Changes that occurred in our academicstaff compliment include the arrival ofDr Subu Mohanty from Harvard, whotook up a lectureship in the ASTRgroup, as also did Roberto Trotta,joining us from Oxford University. Athird addition to ASTR saw DavidClements appointed to a lectureshipfrom within the group. David hasbeen with us since 2001 mostrecently as Manager of the LondonData Centre for the Herschel SPIREinstrument and Manager of theLondon Planck Analysis Centre.Oliver Buchmüller was appointed toa lectureship in HEP, joining us fromCERN. Also in HEP, Andrei Golutvin,spokesperson of the LHCb exper-iment at CERN was appointed to aprofessorship. We welcomedProfessor Misha Ivanov (QOLS), DrJaroslaw Pasternak (HEP), Dr KarlSandeman (EXSS) and also Dr NickHarrigan as our CDT Outreach

Officer. Dr Terry Rudolph (QOLS)became a lecturer, havingcompleted his EPSRC AdvancedFellowship, while Helen Brindley(NERC Advanced Fellow in SPAT)and Simon Bland (EPSRCAdvanced Fellow in PLAS) weregiven proleptic appointments tolectureships to commence at theend of their Fellowships

In September 2009 we welcomedour new Teaching Fellows MarkRichards, Vijay Tymms and Carolinevan Breukelen who are already makinga huge impact with our students.

We said goodbye to AlexanderSchekochihin (PLAS) who left us inDecember 2008 to take up a post inOxford but we are pleased that hiscollaboration with the Departmentcontinues with his strong links to thePlasma Physics group researchinginto astrophysical, space and fusionplasmas.

Martin Plenio (QOLS) left his fulltime post to take up the position ofDirector of the Institute of TheoreticalPhysics in Ulm. Martin retains apart-time post in the department asExternal Advisor to the ControlledQuantum Dynamics Centre forTraining.

In addition, the following staff retired:William (Bill) Cameron took earlyretirement from his Principal ResearchFellow post in High Energy Physicsand now lives happily in the Ardeche,southern France. Gareth Parry alsotook early retirement in September2009. Gareth was an extremelysuccessful researcher, teacher andlatterly Admissions Tutor for thedepartment. Happily, Garethcontinues his links with thedepartment both through his researchactivities and his outreach activties.

Michael Rowan-Robinson (ASTR)finished his stint as President of theRoyal Astronomical Society andcontinues in the Department contributingsignificantly with research and teaching.David Southwood left us in January2009 but we are delighted that hecontinues an important associationwith us as Visiting Professor.

Two very long serving members ofstaff, David Gentry and AshokJamdagni retired in September 2009.Both have enjoyed distinguishedcareers in important support rolesand, significantly, have just over 86years service between them!Another loyal long-standing memberof staff, Manu Joshi (ASTR) retiredin 2008 after almost 40 yearsservice and Martin Dowman (PHOT)retired in the same year after nearly20 years service. We wish themwell for the future.

On a sad note, we lost one of ourstar researchers in 2008. VadimLebedenko died suddenly in 2008.Dr Lebedenko worked within theDark Matter team led by ProfessorTim Sumner and was responsiblefor building the ZEPLIN-III detector,including the concept design, itsmanufacturing, testing and operation.ZEPLIN-III is the most advancedinstrument of its kind in the worldand Vadim was absolutely key to itssuccessful development.

In November 2009 we held asymposium in memory of one ofBritain’s space pioneers, Harry Elliotwho died earlier in the year. Harrybegan his career in Manchesterworking with Patrick Blackett on thenature and origin of cosmic rays. Hemoved with Blackett to Imperial in1953 where he established one ofthe UK's leading centres for cosmicray research. Harry became one ofthe founders of Britain's and Europe'sparticipation in the scientific explo-ration of space and his legacy includesmany of the activities which havedeveloped so successfully within theSpace Physics group.

Ten lnaugural Lectures were givenduring the years 2008 and 2009:Mike Finnis (CMTH and Departmentof Materials) delivered a lectureentitled “Atoms at interfaces, theoryand simulation from Gibbs to Gates”,Paul Dauncey (HEP) spoke of“Beauty is in the eye of the detector”,Jenny Nelson, (EXSS) presented“Photons in, electrons out: nanos-tructure and molecular materials forsolar cells”, Joao Magueijo (TheoreticalPhysics) presented “Anarchy and

6

Physical Laws”, Kim Christensen(CMTH) asked “Why do we need atheory of non-elephants?” and RayMurray (EXSS) spoke on “Artificialatoms: more useful than real?”. In2009, Steve Rose’s lecture wasentitled “High power laser and theextraordinary conditions they produce”,Stephen Warren gave “The near-infrared sky at night: per ardua adquatra” Sergei Lebedev presented“Plasma physics using pulsed power.”And Lesek Frasinski spoke of “Onthe edge of quantum reality; probingmolecules with intense laser fields”.All ten lectures were pitched atexactly the right level, providinginformative and elegant expositionsof their research fields to a mixedaudience of family, friends, colleaguesand experts alike. The traditionalfood and refreshments receptions inthe level eight common room followedeach lecture and reminded us of theimportance and enjoyment derivedby many from the excellent oppor-tunity that these events provide tocelebrate the success of staffappointed/promoted to professor-ships in the department.

The latest changes within the manage-ment structure of the Departmentsaw Angus Mackinnon (CMTH)appointed to succeed RichardThompson (QOLS) as Director ofUndergraduate Studies, with effectfrom September 2009) as Richardtook on the role of Head of the QOLSgroup, succeeding Jon Marangoswhose role in steering a case for thenext generation light source requireshim to spend substantial periods oftime away from College. LesleyCohen succeeded Gareth Parry asHead of the EXSS group. SteveSchwarz succeeded Jo Haigh asHead of SPAT when Jo assumedthe role of Head of Department inJanuary 2009. The Department isdelighted to acknowledge a debt ofgratitude to Jon, Gareth and Jo fortheir periods of tenure as Heads ofGroup, through which role they havemade many important contributionsto departmental governance andstrategic inputs to our direction. Wealso thank Ingo Müller-Wodarg(SPAT) and Nicholas Eakins-Daukes(EXSS) for taking on the role of co-

organisers for the DepartmentalColloquia.

An administrative development hasbeen the establishment of supportclusters for some of the researchgroups, a move that has proven tobe highly successful. The opticsadministration cluster for the QOLSand PHOT groups provided a modelfor this change and the Solid Stateand Condensed Matter Theorygroups have successfully clustered.The larger team that results fromclustering allows some more seniorappointments to be made and offersa more comprehensive supportstructure to academic staff in respectof advice on recruitment, accounts,grant proposal preparation andsubmission and other aspects ofCollege research and grants, HRand finance policy. The Departmentcontinues to support the developmentof its administrative and technicalstaff through a range of traininginitiatives. The popular masterclassseries have moved on to includemore specific training modules foradministrators which will seek outthose areas in research adminis-tration which can provide moredetailed knowledge.

The Department’s Stores closed atthe end of 2009 and the space isbeing refurbished to house theFacilities team. We said goodbyeand a big vote of thanks to KeithClark, Russell Nash and DarrenWright. Doug Hudson moved fromthe Department to management offaculty-wide refurbishment projectsbut he continues to be based inBlackett and we continue to benefitfrom his expertise and experienceon refurbishment projects. Dougplayed a key role in the success oftwo major SRIF-funded projects: theInstrumentation Facility and theQuantum Coherence Laboratories.The fully refurbished and updatedMechanical Instrumentation Facilitywas officially re-opened on 15th May2008 after a £3.2M Strategic ResearchInvestment Fund refit. It provides theDepartment (and the wider College)with a state of the art facility capableof supporting even the most ambitiousresearch requirements. The project

has been an immense undertakingand Paul Brown (MechanicalInstrumentation Workshop Manager)and his team should be heartilycongratulated on seeing it through tosuch an obviously successfulconclusion. Paul and his wife werefortunate enough to be selected toattend one of the Queen’s gardenparties in July 2008, a very fittingway for them to celebrate thecompletion of this mammoth task.We have since had two verysuccessful Open Days of this newfacility. It is the only one of its kindin College and its reputation israpidly growing. As a consequenceof funding within the EPSRCScience and Innovation Award inQuantum Coherence, and additionalSRIF funding, we have been able tocreate new optics laboratories in theHuxley basement which werecompleted in Spring 2008. We sawthe completion of a refurbishedkitchen in our Level 8 CommonRoom which was completely redec-orated and a new carpet andfurniture installed. The corridors onLevel 5 (HEP) were similarly given acomplete overhaul. The Goods Liftwas completely refurbished in 2008.We also refurbished toilets in bothHuxley and Blackett buildings.

An Imperial College London alumnusweekend (20th and 21st September2008) saw a varied group of formerstudents and their families visit thePhysics Department. They werebrought up to date with how theDepartment now operates by twovery informative talks from GarethParry (EXSS), the first addressingthe student experience all the wayfrom recruitment to graduation andthe second overviewing some aspectsof our research programme. Guidedtours were conducted around theundergraduate and selected researchlaboratories and Paul Brown showedour visitors around the MechanicalInstrumentation Facility. Once again,Louise Hayward (Head of Department’soffice) oversaw organisation of theevent. Michael Birch, co-founder ofthe social networking site Bebo andan alumnus of the Department(graduated 1991) gave the keynotetalk within a College wide Innovation

7

themed series of lectures,addressing his experiences as anundergraduate and in subsequentlysetting up and growing Bebo. Donalalso delivered a lecture within thisprogramme, titled ‘A TV on Your T-Shirt’ and focussed on his personalexperiences of the entrepreneurialdevelopment of plastic electronicstechnology towards a global marketplace and illustrated by experiencesin co-founding spin-out companiesCambridge Display Technology andMolecular Vision.

A number of PhD students havereceived awards and prizes duringthe year. James Kirkpatrick (EXSS)won the 2008 Roy Prize in CondensedMatter Physics and was invited togive a celebratory talk at the 2008Institute of Physics Condensed Matterand Materials Physics Conference.Louise Willingale (PLAS) won the2008 IOP Culham Thesis Prize (thesixth award to our Plasma Physicsgroup in the seven years since thisprize was first awarded) for signif-icant experimental and numericalwork on the acceleration of ions tohigh energies by laser-plasma inter-action and was invited to speak atthe Institute of Physics PlasmaPhysics meeting. Louise also wonthe 2008 European Physical SocietyPlasma Physics Thesis Prize.Christoph Haselwandter (CMTH)won the 2008 Armstrong Medal andPrize, awarded annually by theCollege for an outstanding piece ofresearch or scholarship whichconcerns the application of scientificmethods to industrial problems, andwhich has been carried out in thecourse of studies at Imperial CollegeLondon for the PhD degree. JoeZuntz (ASTR) was awarded theRAS Michael Penston AstronomyPrize as runner up in the best UKastronomy thesis awards. TheSociety for Information Display (SID)awarded £250 poster prizes(sponsored by Merck Chemicals Ltd)to PhD students Rupa Das and PaulWöbkenburg (both EXSS) at itsOrganic Electronics UK 2008meeting. In 2009, our studentscontinued to shine and some of theprizes awarded included two of theEuropean Physical Society’s

Quantum Electronics and OpticsDivision prestigious prizes for thebest European PhD theses inphotonics: Fernando Brandao (QOLS,supervisor Martin Plenio) for histhesis on quantum informationtheory and John Travers (Photonics,supervisor Roy Taylor) for his thesison fibre supercontinuum generation.Louise Hirst, a first year studentworking with Dr Ned Ekins-Daukesin Experimental Solid State PhysicsGroup has won the best paper andpresentation award at the annual UKPhotovoltaics conference, PVSAT,held in early April.

The Royal College of ScienceAssociation Prize was in 2008 againawarded to one of our graduatingstudents, Daniel Burrows who wasrecognised for his outstandingcontributions to student leadershipand outreach. He chaired the 2008Royal College of Science UnionScience Challenge Committee,having also previously served on the2007 committee whilst under-graduate Departmental Representative.Other prizes awarded to our under-graduate students are recorded inthe undergraduate teaching sectionof this report.

Congratulations are also due toPhySoc (led 2007/8 by DeborahO'Neill and in 2008/9 by Arrow Lee)for the continued success of the BigDay of Physics (‘Einstein Day’)attended by some 120 schoolchildren. The events, during whichthe Department opens its doors tolocal school students for lab tours,lectures, seminars, demonstrations,and projects, are held in March eachyear.

The Department is delighted torecord its thanks to the DepartmentalRepresentatives (Charlotte Holmes2008 and Rajiv Krishnakumar 2009)and to all of the student representativeson the staff student committee fortheir ensuring a most effective studentinput to the department’s activities.The committee comprised in 2008Edmund Henley, Rajiv Krishnakumar,Benjamin Krikle, Damian Phelan,Nora Tandberg, Ren Lim, MichaelPursey, Nikhil Ratanje, Amadeus

Stevenson, Deborah O'Neill andAndreas Esau and in 2009 MeeraPatel, Elwin Carlos, James Booth,Christopher Jones, Mical Stoklas,Sophie King, Damian Phelan,Sophie Baril, Arrow Lee and DavidChreng. We also thank the staffrepresentatives Tim Horbury (SPAT),Martin McCall (PHOT) and BenSauer PHOT).

In 2008 Kenny Weir welcomed thefirst cohort of European CommissionErasmus Mundus students to theDepartment to study on the MSc inPhotonics. This scheme supportsdual location, two year masterscourses for students from aroundthe globe.

Finally, our undergraduate recruitmenthas continued extremely well andproduced a class of 232 newstudents for the 2008 intake, andthe same number in 2009, all ofwhom have at least 3As at A-level orequivalent. The team led byAdmissions Tutors Gareth Parry andBob Forsyth, ably supported byMery Fajardo, have done anexcellent in providing us with highlyqualified, interesting and motivatedstudents.

Donal Bradley (2008) and Jo Haigh(2009)

8

9

Physics Staff Photograph

10

General Departmental Information

Head of Department Associate Head of Department

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Director of Postgraduate Studies

Professor L. CohenTel: 020 794 7598 Fax: 020 7594 7777 e-mail: l.cohen@imperial.ac.uk

Senior Tutor (Undergraduates) Admissions Tutor (Undergraduates)

Schools Liaison Officer

Dr J. Hassard Tel: 020 7594 7792 Fax: 020 7823 8830e-mail: j.hassard@imperial.ac.uk

AdministratorMr. Andrew KnightTel: 020 7594 7506e-mail:a.knight@imperial.ac.uk

Admissions AdministratorMery FajardoTel: 020 7594 7513Email:m.fajardo@imperial.ac.uk

Dr. A. WilliamsonTel: 020 7594 7631e-mail:andrew.williamson@imperial.ac.uk

Postgraduate enquiries:Postrgraduate AdministratorLoli SanchezTel: 020 7594 7512Fax: 020 7594 7777e-mail: l.sanchez@imperial.ac.uk

PA to Head of Department: Ms. Louise HaywardTel: 020 7594 7503e-mail: l.hayward@imperial.ac.uk

Operations Manager

Senior Administrator:Ms. Kalvinder ChanaTel: 020 7594 6113e-mail: k.chana@imperial.ac.uk

Development officer (Postgraduates)

Undergraduate Teaching

Postgraduate Studies

Dr K. WeirTel: 020 7594 7501 e-mail: k.weir@imperial.ac.uk

Ms. L. JonesTel: 020 7594 7502e-mail: l.jones@imperial.ac.uk

Professor R. MurrayTel: 020 7594 7524 e-mail: ph.stutor@imperial.ac.uk

MSc/MRes Prospective postgraduate students interested in admission for an MSc/MRes course should contact:Dr A. WilliamsonTel: 020 7594 7631, Fax: 020 7594 7777e-mail: andrew.williamson@imperial.ac.uk

PhD Those interested in admission for doctoral level research leading to the PhD degree shouldcontact the Heads of Research Groups in subject areas of interest as listed opposite.The Director of Postgraduate Studies will be glad to advise on all general matters concerning the requirements for admission as a postgraduate student.

Fax: 020 7594 7504

Fax: 020 7594 7777

Professor D. D. C. Bradley FRS (to 2009)

Professor J. D. Haigh (from 2009)Tel: 020 7594 7500e-mail: j.haigh@imperial.ac.uk

Professor G. Parry FREng (to 2009)

Dr R. Forsyth (from 2009)Tel: 020 7594 7513 e-mail: ph.admissions@imperial.ac.uk

Professor R. C. Thompson (to 2009)

Professor A. Mackinnon (from 2009)Tel: 020 7594 7505e-mail: a.mackinnon@imperial.ac.uk

Experimental Solid State Physicsand Condensed Matter Theory Cluster

Senior Group Administrator: Carolyn Dalee-mail: c.dale@imperial.ac.uk Tel: 020 7594 7579 Fax: 020 7594 2077

Group Administrator: Dilly Osbahre-mail: d.osbahr@imperial.ac.uk Tel: 020 7594 7531 Fax: 020 7594 7541

Group Administrator: Paula Browne-mail: paula.brown@imperial.ac.uk Tel: 020 7594 7823 Fax: 020 7823 8830

Group Administrator: Sarah Dodmane-mail: s.dodman@imperial.ac.uk Tel: 020 7594 7657 Fax: 020 7594 7658

Optics ClusterSenior Group Administrator: Judith Baylise-mail: j.baylis@imperial.ac.uk Tel: 020 7594 7713 Fax: 020 7594 7714

Senior Group Administrator: Karen Lewise-mail: k.lewis@imperial.ac.uk Tel: 020 7594 7679 Fax: 020 7594 7900

Group Administrator: Graziela de Nadai-Sowreye-mail: g.denadai@imperial.ac.uk Tel: 020 7594 7843 Fax: 020 7594 7844

11

Research Groups

Head of Group: Professor K. NandraTel: 020 7594 5785, e-mail: k.nandra@imperial.ac.uk

Astrophysics

Head of Group: Professor A. P. Sutton FRSTel: 020 7594 7540, e-mail: a.sutton@imperial.ac.uk

Condensed Matter Theory

Head of Group: Professor L. F. CohenTel: 020 7594 4693, e-mail: l.cohen@imperial.ac.uk

Experimental Solid State Physics

High Energy Physics

Laser Consortium

Photonics

Head of Group: Professor J. P. Marangos (to 2009)Professor R. C. Thompson (from 2009)

Tel: 020 7594 7857, e-mail: r.thompson@imperial.ac.uk

Quantum Optics & Laser Science

Plasma Physics

Space & Atmospheric Physics

Theoretical Physics

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/physics

Head of Group: Professor J. NashTel: 020 7594 7808, e-mail: j.nash@imperial.ac.uk

Head of Group: Professor P. M. W. FrenchTel: 020 7594 7706, e-mail: p.french@imperial.ac.uk

Director: Professor J. P. MarangosTel: 020 7594 7857, e-mail: j.marangos@imperial.ac.uk

Head of Group: Professor J. D. Haigh (to 2009)Professor S. Schwartz (from 2009)

Tel: 020 7594 7871, e-mail: s.schwartz@imperial.ac.uk

Head of Group: Professor C. M. HullTel: 020 7594 7867, e-mail: c.hull@imperial.ac.uk

Head of Group: Professor S. J. RoseTel: 020 7594 7635, e-mail: s.rose@imperial.ac.uk

12

Ast

roph

ysic

sG

roup

mem

bers

13

Head of GroupProfessor K. Nandra

Members of the Astrophysics groupare involved in a wide range ofobservational and theoretical investi-gations ranging from the sun andnearby stars, to the most distantuniverse. We have leadership in thedesign, development and exploitationof major facilities and projects includeChandra, Herschel, IXO, JCMT, Planck,Spitzer, VLT and UKIDSS. Weappointed two new lecturers in 2008,Roberto Trotta and SubhanjoyMohanty, strengthening our work inCosmology, and stellar/planetaryastrophysics respectively.

A. Jaffe, R. Trotta, A. Chamballu, D. Clements, C. MacTavish, D. Novikov,J. Bowyer, M. March, P. Paykari

The Cosmic Microwave Background(CMB) gives us a snapshot of thestate of the Universe 400,000 yearsafter the Big Bang, when it was muchhotter, denser and far simpler thantoday. This simplicity has allowedImperial College astrophysicists tomeasure the density of normalmatter, and the Hubble Constant(expansion rate), the curvature andeven the overall topology of theUniverse. Imperial College astro-

physicists are investigators on thenext great CMB observatory, ESA'sPlanck Surveyor mission (Fig. 1),which will allow us to begin to probethe epoch of cosmic inflation believedto occur in the first microsecondsafter the Big Bang.

Another crucial prediction of GeneralRelativity is Gravitational Radiation,propagating ripples in spacetime.We are predicting the signal due tobinary supermassive Black Holesresiding at the centres of galaxies asthey are built up over time, giving asignature of the history of structureformation in the universe over manybillions of years. These signals willeventually be observable by theLISA satellite, to be launched in thenext decade by NASA and ESA,which has strong Imperial partici-pation for hardware, theory and dataanalysis.

Extracting the best science fromthese large cosmological surveysrequire cutting-edge statistical andcomputational techniques. Imperialastrophysicists have been crucialdevelopers of the new field of statis-tical cosmology which has and willenable scientists to understand theproperties of the ubiquitous darkmatter, the mysterious dark energy,and the parameters in general which

govern the history and future of ourUniverse. We are involved in thedevelopment of theoretical andstatistical tools for the burgeoningfield of astroparticle physics, one ofwhose aims is to provide informationon the nature and properties of thedark matter particle in ways that arecomplementary to what can begleaned from colliders. For example,we are involved in predicting thesignatures of dark matter in a varietyof astrophysical channels, includinggamma-ray emission from thecentre of the Milky Way and fromnearby dwarf galaxies, neutrinoemissions from the centre of theSun and of the Earth, positronsignals from local dark matter clumpsand recoil signals from directdetection experiments in deepunderground laboratories. Imperialastrophysicists are thus at the cuttingedge of a worldwide effort to usherin the era of dark matter astronomy.

M. Rowan-Robinson, S. Warren, G. Bendo, P. Chanial, D. Clements,B. May, D. Mortlock, B. O’Halloran,M. Trichas, A. Carpineti, J. Davey,H. Patel, M. Patel, L. Wang

Far Infrared and SubmillimetreAstronomy - We have continuedscientific analysis of the Spitzer-SWIRE Survey, modelling infraredbroad-band and spectroscopic datafor starburst and active galaxies,and studying the X-ray-infraredconnection for active galaxies.These techniques have also beenapplied to submillimetre galaxiesfound by the SHADES survey usingthe JCMT. We have been successfulin getting observing time on a rangeof major telescopes to follow updifferent populations of SWIREgalaxies. Michael Rowan-Robinsonhas modelled source-counts atwavelengths from 8-850 micronsand made predictions for theHerschel and Planck missions. Withhis PhD student Lingyu Wang hehas produced a new 60 microngalaxy redshift catalogue which isproving valuable for balloon submil-

Astrophysics

Cosmology

Figure 1: Planck undergoing final cleaning before launch

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/astro

Formation and evolution of galaxies

14

limetre surveys (BLAST) and forPlanck planning.

Final preparations for ESA’sHerschel mission (Fig. 2), due forlaunch in May 2009, continue andwe are strongly involved in twomajor extragalactic surveys,HERMES and ATLAS, amounting toa total of 1500 hours of time (over15% of the total available duringHerschel’s 3 year life). We alsohave a major interest in the all-skysubmillimetre extragalactic surveywhich will be carried out by thePlanck mission, being launched withHerschel. David Clements leads thegroup studying nearby galaxies andMichael Rowan-Robinson is co-leader of the group studying distantgalaxies.

Michael Rowan-Robinson and BrianMay (Visiting Researcher) arecontinuing studies of zodiacal dust,including modelling, planning offuture ground-based observationsand involvement in the Planckzodiacal dust programme.

We are undertaking a search forquasars of very high redshift z>6with the UKIRT Infrared Deep SkySurvey with the goal of exploring theepoch of reionisation of the Universe.The highest-redshift source discoveredso far has z=6.13, one of the mostdistant quasars known. The surveyis now 25% complete.

K. Nandra, E. Laird, A. Georgakakis,J. Aird, M. Brightman, S. Bhayani,J. Digby-North

Our primary focus continues to beexploitation of the Chandra X-raysurvey of the AEGIS field. We areusing this dataset to elucidate theevolution of black hole accretionpower in the distant universe and itsrelationship to galaxy evolution.Highlights this year include continuedwork on the influence of activegalactic nuclei (AGN, which hostaccreting black holes) on the colourtransformation of galaxies, and thequenching of star formation (thelatter with Bundy, U. Toronto). Wehave also shown that an extremelylarge fraction (~40%) of AGN arefound in groups of galaxies at z~1,confirming our previous results thataccretion activity occurs predomi-nantly in dense large-scale structureenvironments at high redshift.Wehave also been exploring the X-rayproperties of AGN and powerfulstarburst galaxies selected in theinfrared (with Marcillac, U. Arizonnaand Park, Harvard).

A technical paper has solved thelong-standing problem of incom-pleteness and Eddington bias in X-ray surveys, giving the deepest andmost accurate determination of theX-ray number counts based on

Chandra data thus far. These, andadditional methodological improve-ments in the analysis of X-raysurvey data and optical identificationof X-ray sources, has enabled us tomake the best determination thus farof the X-ray luminosity function, atz~3, the highest redshift at whichthe accretion power of the universehas been fully characterized.

Closer to home, we have performeda detailed analysis of an enigmaticclass of AGN which appear heavilyobscured in the optical, but shownow evidence for such absorption inthe X-ray. High resolution X-rayimaging with Chandra shows thatsome of these, at least, are in factobscured (Fig. 3), but that earlierdata with worse angular resolutionwere unable to pinpoint the buriedblack hole.

A major development this year hasbeen a ramping up of ourinvolvement in the future X-rayastronomy mission IXO, theInternational X-ray Observatory,which was formed by the merger ofthe ESA/JAXA XEUS mission andNASA’s Constellation-X. IXO willmake the deepest images of the X-ray universe yet obtained (Fig. 4). Itwill also open a new widow on thephysics of accreting black holes andcosmic hot plasmas via a ~100 foldincrease in collecting area for highresolution X-ray spectroscopycompared to current missions. The

Black Holes

Figure 2: Herschel undergoing testing at ESTEC

Figure 3: Chandra X-ray image imageof the galaxy NGC 4501 (Brightman &Nandra 2008). The black cross marksthe position of the optical nucleus,where the X-rays reveal a very heavilyobscured accreting black hole.

15

group has a major leadership role inthe international project via the IXOCo-ordination Group, and is leadingIXO science definition activities inthe UK.

L. Lucy, P. Meikle, S. Mohanty, Y.C. Unruh, N. Afram, W. Ball, S. Sale, M. Skelly

Solar variabilitySolar irradiance (that is the Sun'sradiation received at the top of theEarth's atmosphere) showsvariability on time scales rangingfrom minutes to centuries. Overrecent years, long-term variabilityover decades and centuries hasreceived particular attention as apossible contributor to climatechange. Together with collaboratorsat the Max-Planck-Institute for SolarSystem Research, we have beeninvestigating the varying solarirradiance. In particular, we havedeveloped models to chart thewavelength-dependent changes ontimescales from days to decades.

With the launch of the SORCE andSCIAMACHY spacecrafts in 2003and 2002, we have for the first timereliable measurements againstwhich to test our models in the visibleand near-infrared. First comparisonscovering three solar rotations showexcellent agreement between ourmodels and measurements over a

large range of wavelengths (Unruhet al 2008). Work is now in progressto extend these comparisons tocover a longer time span includingthe current unusually long solarminimum.

The formation of low-mass stars,brown dwarfs and planetsHow stars like our sun form is oneof central, and surprisingly ill-under-stood, problems in astrophysics.Elucidating the mechanisms ofstellar origins – and in particular, thephysics of the accretion disks thatsurround and feed growing youngstars – is also crucial for under-standing planet formation, sinceplanets coalesce out of theseaccretion disks. Finally browndwarfs illuminate both stellar andplanetary birth: on the one hand, theformation mechanism of these ultra-low mass bodies sets strong constraintson our general theories of starformation; on the other, disks aroundbrown dwarfs provide crucialinsights into disk physics in general.Finally, planets may form aroundbrown dwarfs too, just as they doaround stars. This is an emergingfield of research, but one thatpromises to vastly broaden ourknowledge of planetary origins andproperties.

At Imperial, we are involved in allthe aspects of the above research,with particular emphasis on browndwarfs: using the largest ground andspace based telescopes, state-of-the-art instrumentation, theoreticalanalysis and numerical simulations,we (1) study gas accretion andmagnetic field interactions in youngbrown dwarfs to constrain theoriesof star formation; (2) use mid-infrared spectra to study the planet-forming capabilities of dusty disksgirdling young brown dwarfs, and (3)conduct adaptive-optics imagingsurveys to try and directly detectany planets orbiting brown dwarfs.

Double starsIn recent years, following early workby Lucy & Ricco (1979), binarieswith nearly identical components -'twins' - are increasingly beingrecognized as occurring too often to

be just chance configurations andare thus a clue to the binaryformation mechanism. To furtherstrengthen this result, a new statis-tical test has been devised andimplemented.

Type Ia supernovaeThe UV fluxes of these standardcandles greatly exceed valuesallowed by line-blocking due tothousand of overlapping metal lines.The likely explanation is reversefluorescence in the very outermostlayers of optical photons by ionssuch as FeII and NiII. The earlytreatment of this effect in Lucy(1999) is being upgraded using theMonte Carlo technique ofconstrained Lambda iterations (Lucy2003).

SupernovaeWe have continued our programmeof supernova studies in collaborationwith a number of groups world-wide,especially those at QUB and theUniversity of Turku. The wealth ofdata from the Spitzer SpaceTelescope provides a major part ofthis programme. The emphasiscontinues to be the investigation ofthe role played by supernovae andtheir progenitors in universal dustformation. We have shown thatcore-collapse supernova progenitorsoften release large quantities of dustin their stellar winds – up to a fewthousandths of a solar mass.

However, we also increasingly findthat the dust mass we can see in thesupernova explosions themselves issmall. Thus we do not support thehypothesis that large amounts ofdust detected at high redshifts origi-nated in supernova explosions.

Stellar and planetary astrophysics

Figure 4: Simulation of a 1Msexposure with the International X-rayObservatory (IXO). This next gener-ation X-ray satellite will uncoveraccreting black holes out to the edge ofthe observable universe, and map theirevolution throughout cosmic time.

16

Con

dens

edM

atte

rT

heor

yG

roup

mem

bers

Head of Group: Professor A. P. Sutton, FRS

Our research spans four principalareas: Complexity and Networks,Materials Physics, Metamaterials,and Strongly Correlated Systems.

We are participants in the transdisci-plinary Complexity and Networksprogramme at the Institute for Mathe-matical Sciences (www.imperial.ac.uk/mathsinstitute), the aim of which isto improve our understanding of howcomplex systems work. This is achievedby collaborative studies of specificexamples of complex systems withina variety of fields.

E. Arcaute, K. Christensen

Most human social systems aregoverned by centralised rules, generatingrigid top down approaches. However,in nature systems self regulate andself stabilise through non-centralisedrules. Ant colonies, that have evolvedover millions of years as successfulmulti-component systems, representthe pinnacle of social evolution inanimals. This project aims to extractgeneric rules from this biologicalsystem that give rise to sustainableself regulatory dynamics.

P. Expert, R. Lambiotte, M. Barahona(Bioengineering), K. Christensen, H. J. Jensen (Mathematics) F. Turkheimer (Clinical Neurosciences)

The brain is one the most complexsystems in nature. How does it work?Analysis of correlation networksextracted from fMRI time series showsa power-law degree distribution ofthe nodes. This fingerprint of theorganisation of a working brain guidesour work that focuses on the dynamicsof networks that can lead to theemergence of non-trivial phenomena.

S. Rahman, K. Christensen, H. J. Jensen (Mathematics) J. Bhattacharya (Goldsmiths)

The aim is to explore patterns inbrain activity when musicians play.The main objective is to elucidatewhat happens when creative leapsand ingenuity occur, thereby improvingour understanding of creativity.

N. Peters (National Heart and LungInstitute), K. Christensen

Annually more than 45,000 peoplein the UK are diagnosed with atrialfibrillation, and any progress incharacterising the complexity of heartactivity in atrial fibrillation would beuseful. Summarising such observationsin a theoretical framework yields adeeper understanding, enablingpredictions.

D. R. Mason, C. P. Race , W. M. C.Foulkes, M. W. Finnis, A. P. Horsfield,A. P. Sutton

Most simulations of solids assumethat the electrons remain in theirground state at all times. Thisapproximation is normally quiteaccurate but cannot describe the"drag" forces felt by fast-moving ionsas they excite electrons. We havecharacterized the drag forces indetail by using Ehrenfest dynamics,in which electrons are treatedexplicitly and quantum mechanically,and nuclei are treated classically.These results have enabled us totest standard procedures for incor-porating these drag forces intolarge-scale molecular dynamicssimulations of irradiation damage.

A. G. Bailey, .C P. Lowe*, A. P. Sutton* University of Amsterdam

We have developed a new coarse-grained method for simulating glassypolymers and filamentary structuresin biological systems. The method isdesigned to treat the dynamics ofelastically stiff but flexible filaments,by approximating them as contiguoussequences of short, straight, inter-acting segments of fixed length.

N. A. Benedek, A. L. S. Chua, C.Elsässer*, M. W. Finnis, A. P. Sutton* Fraunhofer Institute for MaterialsMechanics, Freiburg

The technological importance ofpolycrystalline strontium titanate(SrTiO3) is directly linked to theproperties of its grain boundaries. Aspart of an EU-funded consortium wehave investigated ways of calculatingthe structures of grain boundaries.For general boundaries, first-principlessimulations are prohibitively expensive,and even the simplest require high-performance computers. We haveassessed the accuracy of a numberof existing interatomic potentials bycomparing predicted structures andenergies of three simple grain bound-aries in SrTiO3 with density functionaltheory. The boundary structuresproduced by the simplest of the poten-tials do agree reasonably well with DFTstructures, although the energies do not.

K. Frensch, N. D. M. Hine, W. M. C.Foulkes, M. W. Finnis

We began this work by showing howto improve the accuracy and reliabilityof the quantum mechanical techniquesused to calculate point defect formationand migration energies in wide bandgap insulators. By combining theresults of our quantum mechanicalcalculations with detailed thermody-namic studies, we were able to answer

Condensed Matter Theory

17

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/cmth

How self-regulatory social systemswork

Networks Emergence and dynamics

Quantum Mechanical Simulations ofNon-Adiabatic Processes

Molecular level simulations ofpolymers

Grain boundaries in strontium titanate

Atrial fibrillation

The secret to musical creativity

Quantum Thermodynamics of PointDefects

Complexity and Networks

Materials Physics

18

several long standing questions aboutthe properties of defects in alumina,including the famous "corundumconundrum". In particular, we nowunderstand the buffering mechanismthat often limits the effects of impuritieson intrinsic point defect concentrations.

P. D. Haynes, A. A. Mostofi, N. D. M.Hine, C. P. Pointon, L. E. Ratcliff, M.Robinson*, D. D. O'Regan*, H. H.Helal*. * University of Cambridge

By balancing efficiency and accuracy,first-principles density-functional theory(DFT) calculations have had an immenseimpact on the study of condensedmatter systems. In collaboration withC.-K. Skylaris (Southampton) and M. C.Payne (Cambridge), we have developedthe ONETEP linear-scaling DFT code,which is able to perform calculationson nanostructures and biomoleculescomprising tens of thousands of atoms.An EPSRC HPC Software Develop-ment grant has enabled ONETEP toachieve an order of magnitude increasein performance for solids and a host ofadded functionality. A Thomas YoungCentre JRF enabled work on localorbital analysis. Work is also beingcarried out on developing methodsfor (i) the prediction of spectroscopicexperimental data, such as NMR andESR (ii) beyond-DFT methods forstudying strongly correlated materialsand organo-metallic proteins, and

(iii) continuum solvation models forembedding a system in a dielectricmedium. The inaugural ONETEPsummer school, combining lectureson fundamental principles with hands-on tutorials, was held in Cambridgeand attracted participants from acrossthe UK. ONETEP is distributedcommercially by Accelrys Inc., andan academic license is available toresearchers at academic institutions(see www.onetep.org)

P. D. Haynes, P. Tangney, N. D. M.Hine, P. Avraam

Nanorods are solid particles with aspectratios of between 3 and 10 anddiameters as small as a few nano-metres. In solution, nanorods tend toself assemble, either forming chainsor superlattices. It has been foundthat nanorods made from certainpolar materials can have large dipolemoments, and it has been suggestedthat dipole-dipole interactions betweennanorods may be a key force drivingself assembly. We are constructingmodels to understand the electro-statics of nanorods, and testing theresults against first principles calcu-lations of nanorods of GaAs in thewurtzite structure. These simulations,involving several thousand atoms,have been carried out using ONETEPwhose functionality has been extended(i) by modifying the Coulomb interactionused to isolate nanorods in spite ofperiodic boundary conditions, and(ii) by including fractionally chargedpseudo-ligands to neutralize thepolar surfaces.

A. MacKinnon, M. Tahir

The theory of transport in disorderedsystems and, in particular, itsrelationship to experiment is far fromsatisfactory. Numerical simulationsof non-interacting systems give aconsistent description of the criticalbehaviour across a wide range ofunderlying models. Unfortunately itis not consistent with any experi-ments. The obvious missing ingre-dient in the theory is the interactionsbetween electrons. However, the

combination of disorder and interac-tions, which are difficult theoreticaland computational problems, repre-sents a formidable challenge forcomputer simulation. Neverthelesssome progress has been made: wehave developed an approach, whichcombines aspects of the transfermatrix and density matrix renormali-sation group, with which it is possibleto study the behaviour of transportin asymptotically large systems.This overcomes many of the practicalproblems associated with previousapproaches, which tended to belimited to systems, which were fartoo small to yield meaningful results.

P. Tangney, X. Yang, W. E. Lee(Department of Materials), D. Lesnic(Leeds)

Window panes are manufactured bypouring a molten silicate onto a bathof molten tin. During this ‘float bath’process some tin diffuses into theglass corroding it to produce a hazeon the surface. Unfortunately, thecomposition of glass is so complex,and experimental techniques forprobing it so crude, that under-standing the corrosion mechanismhas so far eluded the glass industry.We are helping Pilkington Glass totackle this problem using a combinedtheoretical and experimental approach.We solve the inverse problem: startingfrom data produced by SIMS wededuce the form and parameters ofcontinuum equations describingdiffusion and chemical reactions thatcan reproduce this data. Knowingthe equations that can best fit theexperimental data gives us keyinsights into the corrosion mechanism.

J. Gill , C. Salafia*, D. D. Vvedensky*New York University

The placenta is the sole fetal sourceof oxygen and nutrients. The normalshape of a human placenta is wellunderstood, but there are many possibledeviations from the norm. The variabilityof the shape of the placenta has beencorrelated with birth weight, and has

Angiogenesis of the HumanPlacenta

Linear-scaling first-principles calculations

Disorder and Interactions

Self assembly of polar semicon-ductor nanorods

Figure 1. Snapshot of one of themillions of configurations of electronsgenerated during a diffusion quantumMonte Carlo simulation of a cell ofalumina. The blue dots are electrons,the red spheres are oxygen ions, andthe grey spheres are aluminium ions.

Understanding glass corrosion byan inverse method

been suggested as an indicator ofmorbidity (disease) in later life. We haveinitiated this study by studying thedistributions of various placentacharacteristics to ascertain thegeneral features of growth. Detailedmodels for the diffusion of nutrientswithin the placenta are in progress.

E. Barkadourov, R. E. Caflisch*, J. Luginsland*** UCLA, ** NumerEx (Ithaca, New York)

Dense plasmas arise in severalcontexts, ranging from the interiors oflarge planets to inertial confinement.Such plasmas combine a breadth oflength and time scales, and requirelong length/time scale simulationtechniques due to this disparity ofscales. Building on our previous work,this project has shown how the renor-malization group provides a rigorousseparation of physical phenomenabased on their length/time scales.Starting with an analytic approach toelectrostatic shielding, we have demon-strated how behaviour at shorter lengthscales can be incorporated in coarserrepresentations. This leads to anumerical approach that can be usedin conjunction with kinetic methods totreat dense plasmas in a kineticframework, where numerical issueslike grid heating typically harm fidelity.

J. B. Pendry, M. Wiltshire, A. Aubry,A. Demetriadou, D. Millson, WeiHsiung Wee

We presented a new theory thatshowed how negative refraction canbe achieved at optical frequenciesby exploiting the links with four-wavemixing experiments. Whereas negativerefraction apparently reverses thespatial trajectory of a wave, four-wave mixing simulates the reversalof the arrow of time.

We have manufactured structuresthat are highly chiral at RF frequencies(see fig.2). Our latest samples canachieve a 90° rotation of the polari-sation of an RF signal within 1/100wavelength. In contrast the optical

activity of the strongest sugar solutionsneed the wave to propagate for 1,000wavelengths for the same effect, i.e.the effect is 100,000 times weaker.These extreme chiral systems in whichlight propagation depends extremelystrongly on the spin of the photonpossess novel properties that havebeen shown to the analogous to thebehaviour of conduction electrons ingraphene where the pseudo spin ofthe electron creates similar effects.

We have played a key role in estab-lishing the new field of transformationoptics. It enables one to design opticalsystems showing very unusualproperties. Perhaps the most strikingapplication has been the design of acloak that hides objects whilst remainingperfectly invisible and transparent,which we reported last year. This year’sdevelopments include a prescription forextending the applicability of the cloakto optical frequencies using the conceptof quasi-conformal mapping. Thisproduces a cloak made of isotropicmaterial. There are experiments whichexploit our design to produce anoptical cloak, and which will be inprint by the time this report appears.

When we put together a large collectionof atoms or electrons, order mayemerge from their cooperativebehaviour. A central challenge incondensed matter physics is thequestion: "how does the sum becomemore than its parts?" These "emergentphenomena" can give rise to newpossibilities in the design of newmaterials and devices.

D. K. K. Lee, S. Genway, T. Duric

Advances in quantum optics have ledto unprecedented control over laser-cooled atomic clouds. The observationand control of Bose condensation atnanokelvin temperatures have openedup a whole new area of interdisciplinaryresearch between condensed mattertheory and atomic physics. In collab-oration with Andrew Ho at RoyalHolloway University of London, weare studying multiband optical latticeswhere atomic resonances can be usedto tune the collective behaviour offermionic atoms to display differentforms of magnetism.

We are also studying the decoherenceof qubits coupled to reservoirs ofenergy and particle exchange.Decoherence is a key obstaclepreventing an implementation of thequantum computer. The surprisingresult is that even very small reservoirscould cause significant decoherencein the qubits. Our aim is to designcold-atom systems where suchdecoherence can be studied in detail.

D. K. K. Lee, P. Eastham

Excitons are bound pairs of electronsand holes. They are neutral entitiespredicted to exhibit Bose condensation.One of the most convincing candidatesis the double quantum well in a strongmagnetic field. The strong correlationbetween electrons in one quantum welland holes in the other may lead tofractional quantum Hall states exhibitingfractional charge (see fig.3). In collabo-ration with Nigel Cooper in Cambridge,we are developing a theoretical descriptionof these systems which aims to under-stand apparently contradictory experi-mental findings about the existence ofexcitonic superfluidity in these system.

19

Figure 2: Part of a chiral metamaterialbuilt by Mike Wiltshire. The structure isapproximately 2cm long and is designedto work at around 100MHz. Note thehelically wound strips of copper. Applying anelectric field creates a strong magneticas well as an electric response, and viceversa. As far as we are aware these arethe most chiral materials in existence.

Figure 3: a meron: a spin texturecarrying half an electronic charge in thequantum Hall bilayer.

Quantum coherence in ultracold atoms

Renormalization group approach tosimulation of dense plasmas

Excitonic superfluids

Strongly correlated systems

Metamaterials, transformation opticsand negative refraction

20

Exp

erim

anta

lSol

idS

tate

Phy

sics

Gro

upm

embe

rs

Head of Group:Professor L F Cohen

The Experimental Solid State Physicsgroup is in a very strong position interms of research profile. The grouphas recently expanded in the areasof Photovoltaics (Amanda Chattenand Ned Ekins-Daulkes), PlasticElectronics (Ji-Seon Kim, ThomasAnthopoulos,) and Magnetism (KarlSandeman), bringing the total academicstaff to 19, with 37 post doctoralstaff and 48 PhD students. We alsowelcomed Will Branford’s award asan EPSRC Career AccelerationFellow. Significant strategic develop-ments relate to the award of the newcentre for doctoral training (CDT) inPlastic Electronics and the setting upof the Centre for Plastic Electronicsand the Centre for Plasmonics andMetamaterials. The group has hadmajor input into the creation of theseactivities and is playing a pivotal rolein all three.

The research mission of EXSS is tocarry out exemplary basic scienceand technology development in thekey thematic areas defined by bothCollege and Research Councilresearch strategy, namely: RenewableEnergy and Efficient Energy Use,Sensors and Nanomagnetism,Plastic Electronics, Communicationsand Optoelectronics, and Researchat the Interface with BiomedicalSciences. Work in all of these areasis strongly supported by interna-tionally leading theoretical studiesand modelling.

K. W. J. Barnham, D. D. C. Bradley,A. J.Chatten, N. J. Ekins-Daukes, J. Nelson, , P. Atienzar, , I.Ballard, J. Connolly, R. Ginige, S. Tuladhar,A. Ballantyne,P. Keivanidis, J. Adams,R. Bose ,B. Browne, J. Dane, C. Dyer-Smith, D. Farrel, T. Ferenczi,T. Ishwara, M. Pravettoni.

The ability to capture and store solarenergy is a key requirement for a

sustainable economy. Research in thegroup concerns the application ofnanostructured materials to achieveefficiency gains in photovoltaic devices.

Organic photovoltaic devices offer thepossibility to generate solar electricityat a very low cost per device area.The devices are composed ofcombinations of electron acceptorand electron donor materials,including polymer / fullerene 'bulkheterojunction' blends and hybridpolymer / nanocrystal composites.Work is underway to understand thedetailed relationships between blendmorphology, charge transport andrecombination, and is applied tooptimise device performance, mainlythrough control of self-organisationduring processing and the use ofnovel materials and device structures.

In the Luminescent Solar Concentrator,sunlight is down-shifted and guidedto the edges of the device where itis then converted by PV cells. Sucha system is capable of collectingboth diffuse and direct sunlight andhas the potential to significantlyreduce costs by reducing the area ofexpensive PV cells required. Weaim to improve device efficienciesby investigating new nanosizedluminophores with intrinsically largeStokes’ shifts in combination withalternative geometries and nanoscaleoptical elements for more efficientlight management.

Molecular approaches to up anddown conversion are being investi-

gated as a means to improve theefficiency of existing a-Si and OPVsolar cells. This work also forms thefoundation of a new type of solar cell,the Molecular Intermediate Band solarcell that is fundamentally more efficientthan standard single junction devices.

The group has pioneered a highperformance quantum well solar cellthat recently attained an efficiency of27.3%, almost matching the worldrecord for single junction photo-voltaic energy conversion of 27.8%.These cells are desirable for use inhigh-performance terrestrial solarconcentrating systems. A spin-outcompany, QuantaSol, was recentlyfounded with the aim to fill thiscommercial opportunity.

L. F. Cohen, A. D. Caplin, J. Moore, K. Morrison

Modern society is heavily reliant onrefrigeration. However, thewidespread cooling technology isbased on century-old vapour-compression refrigeration cycle anduses chemicals that adversely affectthe global climate. It is estimatedthat refrigeration systems use asmuch as 15 percent of the totalenergy consumed worldwide. Weuse a unique set of characterisationprobes including scanning Hallprobe imaging and micro-calorimetryto study the nature of the magnetictransition for the important class ofmagnetic magnetocaloric materials

Experimental Solid State Physics http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/exss

Solar Cell Research

Materials for Energy EfficientRefrigeration

Energy and Efficient Energy Use

Figure 1: LHS -Showing a transparent polymer sheets doped with nanocrystals foruse in a luminescent solar concentrator. RHS -Showing single junction record for highperformance single junction quantum well solar cell.

21

22

for efficient environmentally friendlyroom temperature refrigeration. Fig2 shows how needle-like nucleationsites are created in a manner verysimilar to crack formation asdiscussed by Griffith (1920).

R. Cowburn, D. Petit, D. Read, L. Thevenard, E. Lewis, L. O’Brien,J. Sampaio, Huang Zeng.

We are developing an ultrahigh density3D memory device for computerapplication. Shaping of nanowiresfabricated from ferromagnetic metalsform conduits that allow magneticdomain walls to flow in a controlledfashion. Highlights from this yearinclude the first complete model ofhow a domain wall interacts withartificial defects created in thenanowire and the development of a‘domain wall transistor’ in which thepassage of a domain wall through ananowire channel is controlled bythe magnetic state of a third ‘gate’terminal (published APL 2008).

R. Cowburn, J. Buchanan, J. Berg,S. Buehlmann, C. Lim, P. Seem, F. Turner

Prof. Cowburn's group has continueddevelopment and commercialisationof a laser scattering sensor basedon a principle called Laser SurfaceAuthentication (LSA) which canprobe microscopic and nanometrescale imperfections in surfaces. Aspin-out company Ingenia TechnologyLtd is working closely with ProfCowburn's group to bring thetechnology to market. Highlightsfrom this year include the deployedinto live industrial manufacturingenvironments of the sensor in orderto detect counterfeit and smuggledhigh-value goods.

L. F. Cohen, J. C. Gallop, S. A. Solin,A. M. Gilbertson

Narrow gap semiconductors (NGS)have high electron mobility and lowsurface depletion and as such are ofinterest for nanostructured magne-toresistive sensors. We are interestedto know how side wall scattering,device processing and quantum wellstructure influence the device propertiesat the nanoscale. The area is importantfor next generation read head sensorsand for the creation of imaging arrays.

L. F Cohen, K. A. Yates, F. Magnus,I. Usman

Ballistic superconducting probes areused to sense the spin polarisationof the charge current in materialsimportant for spintronics such asdilute magnetic oxides and multilayerCoPt structures using a techniquecalled Andreev probe spectroscopy.Using a similar technique nanostruc-tured metallic contacts can be usedto probe the superconducting energygap such as in the new class of Febased superconductors discoveredin 2008. The collaborative projectwith Prof John Pendry produced a

demonstration of a “dc cloaking”metamaterial (Nature Materials 08)using stacked superconducting plates.

W. R. Branford, S. Ladak

We study arrays of magnetic nanos-tructured honeycomb lattices, wherethe geometric structure imposesfrustration on the magnetic orderdemonstrating long range manifes-tation of what is known as “spin ice”rules. The magnetic state of the arrayis imaged directly with magnetic forcemicroscopy (MFM) and correlatedwith the electrical transport properties.At low temperatures the systemshows strong evidence of chiral orderand may shed light on the as yetpoorly understood spin Hall effect.

T. D. Anthopoulos, D. D. C. Bradley,J. Nelson, A. J. Campbell, J-S Kim,P. N. Stavrinou, J. Kirkpatrick, M. Voigt,P. Levermore, C. Belton, C. Cheung,D.-Y.Chung, J. Frost, A. Guite , J. Kwiatkowski, M. Ng, R. Stanley,T. Wellinger P. Wöbkenberg.

Organic semiconductors are a uniqueclass of materials with numerousemerging applications that includeorganic photovoltaics (OPVs), light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and field-effect transistors (OFETs). We have

Laser Scattering Sensors

Figure 3. A magnetic nanowirecarrying a domain wall with artificiallydecorated edges to control the propa-gation of the wall

Figure 2: Shows two tone Hall imagesof the magnetic field drivenmagetocaloric transition across the bface of a large single crystal ofprototype Gd5Ge4 at 30K. Blackindicates the antiferromagnetic (AFM)phase and yellow indicates the ferro-magnetic (FM) phase. The switch fromAFM to FM creates the necessaryentropy change to provide cooling.

Ballistic Probes to interrogate SpinPolarisation and Superconducting

Energy Gaps

3D Magnetic Memory Devices

Frustrated Magnetic Nanostructures

Narrow Gap Semiconductors forSpintronics and Sensors Applications

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the dcmagnetic metamaterial showing thesquare superconducting platescombined into a tetragonal lattice. Themagnetic field lies are pushed into thegaps between the plates. The arrowthrough the centre of the plates showsthe induced magnetic dipole. (AfterMagnus et al Nature Materials 08)

Molecular Electronic Materials andDevices

Sensors and Nanomagnetism

Plastic Electronics

23

active experimental and theoreticalprogrammes on charge transport.Experimental work has focussed onthe measurement of charge mobilityin organic films and its dependence onchemical structure, composition andprocessing conditions. Theoreticalmethods to relate the charge transportproperties to their chemical andphysical structure use a multi-scaleapproach incorporating atomisticmolecular dynamics (Figure 5),quantum-chemical methods andkinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Wehave also studied the physical structure– charge transport relationship incrystalline polymers for OFETs withour collaborators at Cornell usingsynchrotron X-ray diffraction.

At the device level, current researchareas include charge injection,transport, trapping and light emissionand the structure – property relationshipin conjugated polymers and smallmolecules, OLEDs and OFETs.Work on polymer LEDs includesresearch directed towards lightingapplications (funded by a BP projecton energy efficient buildings) andmetal-oxide cathode based structures(with Saif Haque in Chemistry). Wehave also recently gravure printedboth the PEDOT:PSS layer and thelight emitting polymer (LEP) layer ina high performance, flexible polymerLED, achieving the same performanceas a device fabricated by theconventional spin-coating method.We have investigated the confor-mation of high performance LEPs insolution using light scattering (withJoachim Steinke in Chemistry) andsmall angle neutron scattering at theRutherford Appleton Laboratory. We

have additionally been workingclosely with industry on the devel-opment of high mobility OFETs andintegrated circuits based on solublesmall molecule organics such as C60,C70 and C84 fullerenes. Use of highperformance organic semicon-ductors in bifunctional transistorssuch as light-sensing and light-emitting OFETs is also being explored.

Other, interface driven, research isconcerned with novel optical interac-tions that arise as a result of thenumerous interfaces found in typicaldevice structures. A notable oneinvolves the surface plasmon statesthat can be supported at metal-polymer interfaces. Our interest isin examining the strength of theseinteractions, particularly in terms ofthe energy-transferred or shared atthe interface and how it may becontrolled through sensitive choiceof structure-thicknesses-materialproperties. Significant modificationsto the radiative properties of astructure are possible and may beselectively employed in device struc-tures to enhance performance.

Two further themes in our researchhave been the development of: (i)processing methods that are well-suited to the fabrication of molecularelectronic devices and (ii) highconductivity variants of the polymericconductor PEDOT:PSS as replace-ments for indium tin oxide electrodes.In the former category are includeda new 'interlayer' lithography processfor patterning and a novel stamptransfer process for multilayerdevice fabrication (both the subjectof patent filings). In the lattercategory, the focus has been onanother patented procedure, namelythe vapour phase polymerization(VPP) of EDOT monomer: Excellentproperties have been achieved e.g.conductivity up to 1200 S/cm andready compatibility with flexiblesubstrate devices.

R. Murray, E. Harbord, P. SpencerE. Clarke, M. Taylor, M. Lumb, R.Hubbard

Nanoscale inclusions of InAsembedded in GaAs (Quantum Dots,QDs) offer significant attreactionfornext generation of laser sources fortelecommunications applications.More recent applications of QDs areas single photon sources (SPS) forquantum cryptography and somequantum computing schemes.Monolithic integration of QDs withinoptical cavities enhances photonextraction in SPS while the fastrecovery dynamics of QDs also makesthem ideal saturable absorbers formodelocking solid state lasers whichnow find applications in surgery,metrology, telecommunications andremote sensing. We have continuedto lead developments in these fields.

J. Zhang, P. N. Stavrinou, G. Parry,S. Y. Chiam, W. Elder

Research in this area aims toproduce GeSi based technology toimplement optoelectronic and micro-electronic devices such as quantumcascade lasers and optical modulatorson the silicon platform. Usingmolecular beam epitaxy for materialgrowth we have produced quantumcascade laser structures whichutlize inter-subband transitions forlight emission and demonstratedelectroluminescence. Recently wecommenced work on stress balancedGe/GeSi optical modulators basedon the quantum confined Starkeffect. Models of structures aredeveloped using envelop function

Silicon germanium based optoelec-tronics and microelectronics

Quantum Dots

Figure 6: Atomic Force Micrograph ofuncapped InAs islands deposited onGaAs. The islands are 40 nm indiameter and 7 nm high. Capping withGaAs completes the dots.

Figure 5: ITO-free polymer LEDs fabri-cated by Peter Levermore using VPP-PEDOT. (photograph courtesy of MeilinSancho)

Communications andOptoelectronics

approach to account for effects offield as well as strain.

S. Maier, P. N. Stavrinou, C. C. Phillips,D. D. C. Bradley, Y. Sonnefraud, R.J. Steed, M. Frogley, M. Matthews,D. Y. Lei, H. Yoon, G. McPhee

This research is driven by the visionto create highly miniaturized photoniccircuits and processing units withtypical dimensions far below thewavelength of the radiation used. Asone highlight, we have developedplasmonic surface waveguidesoperating at THz frequencies exhibitingso called spoof surface plasmonmodes, with highly increasedconfinement for applications in far-infrared waveguiding and opticalsensing, published in Nature Photonics.At mid-infrared frequencies, we havedeveloped the new concept ofquantum metamaterials based onhighly doped semiconductors, openingup a new paradigm for tunablesurface waveguides in this regime ofthe spectrum. Finally at opticalfrequencies, we have developed thebasic building blocks for slow-lightmetamaterials based on a classicalanalogue of electromagneticallyinduced transparency. In order toovercome the often significantabsorption losses, we are investi-gating the incorporation of polymerlayers exhibiting optical gain.

One of the attractive features ofSolid State Physics research is theway its discoveries and inventionsimpact across all the Sciences and,increasingly, we are becomingactively involved in implementingtheses advances ourselves. A prime

example is at the interface with thebiomedical sciences, and the factthat our research group is embeddedwithin one of world’s largest concen-trations of advanced bio-medicalresearch has helped a number ofcross-disciplinary research collabo-rations to flourish.

L. F. Cohen, S. Maier, C. C. Phillips,P. Stavrinou, R. Maher, M. Mohr

Plasmonic amplification of lightallows the extremely sensitivechemical detection, down to just ahandful of biomolecules, via adramatic enhancement of theiroptical absorption characteristics. Atthe other end of the spectrum, weuse designer “Spoof Plasmon”surfaces to squeeze THz radiationclose to surfaces where it can detectchemicals attached to them.Similarly, Raman Spectroscopy, atechnique for chemical detection,can be dramatically improved byplasmonic field enhancement.Enormous sensitivity enhancements,up to 108 are possible, and now weare developing colloidal gold nanos-tructures which are potentiallycapable of detecting disease-specific enzymes down to singlemolecular level.

S. Maier, C. C. Phillips, H. Amrania,J. Gambari

Mid-IR, in the 3< <14 m wavelengthrange, is absorbed by excitinglocalised vibrations in chemicalbonds in a way that gives each bio-molecule an easily recognisablespectral “fingerprint” . If we choseimage the slice at the rightwavelengths, we can “see” the samechemicals (e.g. the acids in DNA)that the traditional plant dyes pickup, but in a way that gives aplethora of new, and scientificallyrobust information that is provinginvaluable for both extending andsemi-automating cancer diagnosis.

The challenges are mainly techno-logical. Getting useable mid-IRpictures used to take 10’s of hours,

before we developed a brand newlaser-based system, a spin-off fromour opto-electronics research. Nowwe can get tissue images in a fewseconds. Also, we can image livecell cultures, cancer biopsy samplesand bone collagen with 100 psectime resolution, mapping out thechemical distributions withdiffraction-limited accuracy. The IRabsorption maps are combined intofalse colour “digitally stained”images that our pathologist collabo-rators can use for disease diagnosiswith much improved sensitivity andselectivity.

D. D. C. Bradley, J. Nelson, P. N. Stavrinou, M. Campoy Quilles

In collaboration with theOptoelectronics group in Cambridgeand the Medical Physics group inUCL Physics, we are developingorganic photodetectors to detect thegreen light from X-ray scintillationscreens. The current challenge is tointegrate them with their ownorganic OFET signal amplifier.

24

Figure 7: Localization of the electric fieldat 1 THz above a flat metal film (left), anda structured plasmonic metamaterials(right), based on the spoof surfaceplasmon concept.

Figure 8: Images of a throat cancerbiopsy (from collaborators at the Lincoln’sInn Fields Cancer Research UK Labs)taken with the standard “H+E” plantdyeing method (upper) and imaged in themid-IR. So called” digital staining”algorithms can be used to generatehighly selective imaging modalities

Organic photoconductors for X-rayimaging

Nanophotonics, Plasmonics andMetamaterials

Plasmonics for Biological Sensing

Mid-Infrared Imaging for CancerDetection

Research at the interface with theBiomedical Sciences

25

High Energy PhysicsHead of GroupProfessor J. Nash

The High Energy Group is influentialin many of the current and futureinternational experiments that inves-tigate the fundamental particles andthe forces between them. A primaryaim is to address basic questionssuch as the origin of mass and theobserved asymmetry between matterand antimatter. Much of the programmeis directed at discovering where theStandard Model, that has provedamazingly successful in the descriptionof electro- weak interactions, will breakdown, since theoretical expectationsimply that it cannot be the final story.This will be accomplished by testingpredictions to high accuracy andstudying phenomena outside themodel such as supersymmetry, darkmatter and neutrino oscillations.

G. Hall, T. Virdee, C. Foudas, J. Nash,D. Colling, G. Davies, M. Dellanegra,P. Sharp, D. Futyan, J. Hays, A. Tapper,G. Iles, O. Zorba, R. Bainbridge, R. Beuselinck, J. Fulcher, B. MacEvoy,A. Nikitenko, M. Raymond, M. Ryan,C. Seez, M. Stoye, S. Tourneur, S. Wakefield, M. Pioppi, G. Karapostoli

TThe CERN Large Hadron Collider(LHC) is complete and, after a shortfirst run in 2008, will collide protonbeams at 10 TeV centre-of-massenergy, the highest in the world, during2009. It will open a new window onparticle physics, and discoveries areeagerly awaited. The Compact MuonSolenoid experiment (CMS) is nowcommissioned and ready for data inits underground cavern. It will searchfor evidence of the elusive Higgsboson, by which quarks and leptonsof the Standard Model obtain theirmasses. New symmetries of naturesuch as supersymmetry, where allfermions have a partner boson whichleads to a plethora of new particles,may be found. The CMS scientificleader is Spokesperson Prof TejinderVirdee and Imperial College has majorroles in detector systems of theexperiment. The Electromagnetic

Calorimeter (ECAL) measures electronand photon energies via scintillationlight signals in lead tungstate crystals.Electrons are vital for W and Z bosonobservation and allow studies ofStandard Model physics which willconfirm performance and calibrateCMS as well as provide opportunitiesfor Higgs discovery. Precision ECALperformance is essential to detect aHiggs decaying to two high energyphotons, a discovery channel favouredby theoretical interpretations of existingdata. The CMS Tracker is a giant210m2 silicon detector system towhich we contributed major parts ofthe radiation hard readout electronics.The Tracker complements the ECALto identify electrons and photons andprecisely measures muons andhadronic jets, all of which are vitalfor physics discoveries. The GlobalCalorimeter Trigger selects the mostinteresting events for offline study anddetailed analysis. Collisions occur at25 nanosecond intervals and rawevent rates are far too high to allowall but a tiny fraction to be written tooffline storage, so meticulous selectionby the trigger system is crucial tothe experiment. CMS will extractphysics results from data as quicklyas possible. The experiment must bewell aligned, calibrated, accuratelysynchronised to the proton beamsand measurements of collisionsanalysed with great care. Imperialphysicists are active in all aspects ofthis, which will be the top priority inthe coming year.

G. Hall, M. Noy, M. Raymond, Y. Uchida, A. Vacheret, D. L. Wark,M. O. Wascko

T2K (Tokai-to-Kamioka) will be thefirst long baseline neutrino superbeamexperiment. In 2009 the experimentwill commission the world’s mostintense neutrino beam on the eastcoast of Japan, sending muonneutrinos towards the Super-Kamiokande detector, located 295km away in western Japan. T2K willpush the bounds of neutrino oscil-lation physics: the first, and still the

only, observed phenomenon notallowed by the Standard Model.

The most exciting physics that T2Kwill probe is the existence of a hithertounobserved neutrino oscillationprocess: muon neutrinos oscillatinginto electron neutrinos. If measured,this type of oscillation might providethe key to an understanding of why welive in a matter dominated universe.T2K will also make the world's mostprecise measurement of the so-calledatmospheric neutrino oscillation.

Imperial plays a leading role in theexperiment, especially as Prof DaveWark is serving his second consec-utive term as International Co-Spokesman. We have contributed tomany aspects of the design of thenear detector, which will be placed280 metres from the beam's origin,including the optimisation of thecalorimeter and electronics as wellas research and development on anew generation of photosensor. Thegroup is prominent in the developmentof analysis and simulation softwareused to fine-tune the detector designand will be used to physics once theexperiment starts running in 2009.We are also leading the way in reducingthe uncertainties due to neutrinointeraction cross sections, one of thedominant systematics for T2K. DrWascko is co-Spokesperson of theinternational SciBooNE collaborationat Fermilab, which successfullycompleted its beam data run in August2008 and published its first paper onneutrino cross sections in December.

O. Awunor, W. Cameron, P. Dornan,U. Egede, P. Koppenburg, R. Plackett,D. R. Price, T. Savidge, D. Websdale

The LHCb experiment at the LHC isspecifically designed to study thedecay of B-mesons with the ultimateprecision. The aim is to providemeasurements of CP-violation andrare decays with the highest sensi-tivity as a way to look for new physicsbeyond the Standard Model. For theCP-violation studies, particle identifi-

CMS

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/hep

T2K

LHCb

26

cation is required to identify theflavour of the quarks participating inthe B-decay. Particles of a knownmomentum travelling through a mediumwith velocity greater than the speed oflight in the medium emit photons at afixed angle depending upon themass of the particle. By imaging theemitted photons onto a plane theywill form a ring where the radiusidentifies the mass of the particle. InLHCb this is done with two RingImaging Cherenkov Detectors, RICH1and RICH2. The Cherenkov photonsare detected using arrays of hybridphoton detectors (HPDs). Each HPDhas one thousand pixels, eachsensitive to single photons. TheImperial group lead the design andconstruction of RICH1 which wasinstalled in the experiment during2008. The versatile trigger system isa crucial element of the LHCbexperiment. The LHC will provide Bhadrons at rates of 100 kHz, so evenwith a final trigger rate as high as 2kHz, LHCb has to be very selectivein the events that are saved forfurther analysis. The group is leadingthe implementation of the last decisionlevel and studying how to correct forbiases due to the trigger. With thestart of the LHC getting closer anincreased emphasis has been placedon preparing for data analysis. Theeffort concentrates on rare decayswhere the effects of physics beyondthe Standard Model will have itsbiggest impact. A new activity hasbeen started for an analysis of CPviolation that has the promise to bethe most sensitive method of any atLHCb. In addition the group is leadingthe development of Ganga, the userinterface for LHCb that allows physi-cists to perform their analysis on theGrid in a transparent and easilymanageable way.

D. Bauer, R. Beuselinck, G. J. Davies,J. Hassard, J. Hays, R. Jesik, P. Jonsson, T. Scanlon

The Tevatron, at Fermilab near Chicago,is currently the world's highest energyparticle accelerator, colliding protonsand anti-protons at close to 2 TeV,putting it at the very forefront ofdiscovery.

At a hadron collider the trigger (thereal-time selection of events) is criticaldue to the very large QCD background.Our highest level trigger, Level-3,partially reconstructs each event (in~100ms), placing it at the boundarybetween trigger and physics. Imperialleads the Level-3 activities. We havedeveloped the track-based triggers,including 'b- tagging' algorithms, usedto identify jets containing b-quarks.Such triggers are particularly importantfor Higgs searches or studying thematter-antimatter asymmetry in theuniverse. A group member alsocoordinates the experiment's overalltrigger strategy. The D√ò experimentis a pioneer in HEP Grid computingand the group was also heavilyinvolved in this area.

We are playing a leading role in two ofthe main physics activities: B- physicsand the search for the Higgs boson(s).The Tevatron produces some trillionB mesons per year allowing us tostudy CP violation, most excitinglythrough observing the way b and anti-b quarks mix. We were able, for thefirst time, to limit the range of theoscillation frequency to 17- 21 ps-1

at 90% confidence level, in goodagreement with the Standard Model(SM). As well as telling us about theweak force this result also indirectlyprobes extensions to the SM, suchas Supersymmetry (SUSY). As thedata sets grow in size, our focus isincreasingly on the search for theSM and SUSY Higgs bosons. Thegroup is responsible for several keyanalyses as well as playing a leadingrole in the management of the D√òHiggs group. In the next few yearswe will be able to detect a Higgs overa significant fraction of the predictedparameter space, making it a race

with the LHC to find this elusiveparticle. Already the Tevatron hasplaced new constraints on the allowedparameter space for both SM andSUSY Higgs bosons.

T. J. Sumner, H. Araujo, J. J. Quenby,A. Currie, B. Edwards, M. Horn, V. Lebedenko (deceased), K. Lyons,F. Neves (Visiting Researcher), N. J. T. Smith (Visiting Prof), C. Thorne,R. Walker.

The ZEPLIN III experiment is a directdark matter search looking for signa-tures of weakly interacting massiveparticles. These are thought to makeup the dark matter associated withour own galaxy, the Milky Way.ZEPLIN-III uses advanced two-phasexenon technology and was built atImperial College. It is now locatedin the deep underground laboratoryat Boulby in Northeast England. Itscommissioning was completed inFebruary 2008 and it was then runcontinuously for 83 days and collectedsome 847kg.days of raw data. Thefirst results from that run have justbeen announced and the instrumentachieved its full design sensitivity andhas joined two other direct searchexperiments as world leaders. Noneof the experiments has yet seen anyevidence for WIMPs in their data;however ZEPLIN-III is undergoingan upgrade which will improve itssensitivity by a factor of 10 and thiswill probably be the first instrumentto bite into the more favoured regionof supersymmetry for the neutralinowhich is the leading WIMP candidate(Fig. 3). The upgrade involvesreplacing the photomultiplier arraywith new lower background types andincorporating an active veto. TheImperial group leads a 30-strongcollaboration with STFC/RAL, Univ. ofEdinburgh, LIP-Coimbra (Portugal)and ITEP-Moscow (Russia) and hasformal responsibility for two work-packages as well as project leadership.In preparation for the next phase weled a proposal to the EU for ELIXIR,a design study within Framework 7for a tonne-scale xenon dark matterfacility. In this proposal we were joinedby new groups from Portugal,Switzerland and Spain. In addition

D Zero at Tevatron

Figure 1: The Ring-Imaging CherenkovDetector, built at Imperial College, andinstalled in the LHCb Experiment.

ZEPLIN-III

27

we have been invited to join with amajor US experiment, LUX, to form a50/50 partnership programme calledLUX-ZEPLIN, LZ, which will bedeployed in the new DUSELlaboratory in the Homestake mine inSouth Dakota. Imperial provides theEuropean PI for LZ3 and LZ20.

T. J. Sumner, H. Araujo, J. J. Quenby,G.K. Rochester, D. Hollington, M. Schulte, D. Shaul, A. Tang, S. Waschke.

The manufacture of the flight ChargeManagement System (CMS) for LISAPathfinder, the European SpaceAgency’s technology precursor satelliteto the gravitational-wave space mission,LISA, is almost complete. This hasfollowed on from Engineering Modelsof the CMS developed by Imperialfor ESA. This system is required byLISA to control the charge build-up onthe isolated proof-masses, which formthe mirrors for the large baselineinterferometry between the threespacecraft in the constellation.Charge build-up is caused by cosmic-ray impacts on the spacecraft andproof-masses. Analyses at Imperial(funded by ESA via QinetiQ) of theway in which the charge is deposited,using GEANT4, showed that thiseffect is more severe than previouslythought. A detailed computer simulationhas been developed to verify the chargecontrol process and this includes themicrophysics of the photoelectrongeneration and follows the chargetransport within the gravitational

reference sensor containing the proof-mass. Surface characterisation workis ongoing with the universities ofTrento and Modena. STFC fundingsupports Imperial in providing theLISA-PF European flight CMS. Thisis being done in consultation withAstrium UK and Astrium Germanywho are responsible for the overallsatellite provision to ESA.Theoretical work on cosmic backgroundgravitational radiation has beenundertaken to assess the likelihoodthat LISA will be able to make obser-vations in this area. The results haveshown that there are some scenariosin which a positive detection can bemade.

STFC funding is also in place todevelop the technology further forLISA in areas where improvementsare possible. This includes novel UVsources including LEDs and tripledsemi-conductor laser systems. Dataanalysis procedures are beingdeveloped to allow full data exploitationwhich will require a detailed knowledgeof charge control and specific routinesfor the removal of charge inducedartefacts from the data

J. K. Sedgbeer, Y. A. Shitov, T. R. Sashalmi, R. Beuselinck

Double Beta-Decay (DBD) is a secon-dorder weak process in which twoneutrons inside a nucleus sponta-neously transform into two protons.This lepton-number conserving process,2-neutrino DBD, has been observedin several nuclei with half lives ofabout 1020 years. If leptonnumber isviolated, neutrinoless DBD may occur.In this case the neutrino is reabsorbedby the intermediate nucleus. Thisreabsorption requires that the neutrinois its own antiparticle (a Majoranafermion) and must have non-zeromass. The Majorana hypothesis iscurrently favoured in Grand UnifiedTheories and supersymmetric theories.SuperNEMO is a proposed exper-iment to search for neutrinoless DBDas evidence for Majorana neutrinomasses down to a level below 0.05eV(equivalent to a half life of about1026 years), the region suggested bythe discovery of neutrino mass from

neutrino oscillation experiments. TheImperial group's interests are mainlyin software simulations and calorimeterdesign studies.

D. Bard, P. D. Dauncey

The BaBar collaboration is studyingCP violation and rare decays usingB mesons. In 2001 it made the world'sfirst observation of this phenomenonin B decays through the measurementof the parameter sin2β of the CKMmatrix. This parameter is indicativeof the "indirect" type of CP violation.In 2004, BaBar produced the firstevidence for the other, "direct", type ofCP violation in B mesons usingcharmless hadronic B decays.BaBar finished data-taking in 2008with a total dataset of around abillion B meson decays.

The Imperial group is heavily involvedin measurements of very rare decays,made possible by the enormousdataset of BaBar. Specifically thegroup is studying decays where theunderlying quark process is b --> dγ.These decays can occur through"penguin" loops, which are suppressedin the Standard Model. However, thedecay rate would be enhanced bynew physics processes throughvirtual particles in these loops, so thismeasurement could reveal physicsbeyond the Standard Model.

P. D. Dauncey, A-M. Magnan, M. Noy

The Calice collaboration is studyingboth electromagnetic and hadroniccalorimeters with an aim of obtainingexcellent jet energy resolution though"particle flow algorithm" (PFA)techniques.

The Imperial group has led the designof the readout electronics for prototypecalorimeters. Beam tests took placeat DESY, CERN and FNAL between2005 and 2008. These built up aunique dataset of electromagneticand hadronic showers measuredwith state-of-the-art PFA calorimetry.

The Imperial group is also involvedin the development of a binary-

SuperNEMO

BaBar

LISAPathfinder / LISA

Figure 3: The upper limit result for thespin-independent WIMP-nucleonscattering cross-section. Also shownare the other two world leading experi-ments, CDMS-II and XENON10. Thegreen shaded area is the more theoret-ically favoured region in whichneutralinos might be discovered.

Calice

readout electromagnetic calorimeterdesign based on monolithic activepixel sensors (MAPS). This couldpotentially give improvements in boththe spatial and jet energy resolutionat a lower cost. A first prototypesensor has been fabricated with28,000 pixels, each with a size of 50by 50 micrometres. This will be usedfor feasibility studies of the binarycalorimeter technique.

G. Barber, A. Cheng, P. Dornan, M. Ellis, A. Kurup, K. Long, A. Jamdagni, S. Jolly, J. Pozimski,P. Savage

The discovery of neutrino oscillationsimplies that neutrinos are massive,that the Standard Model is incomplete.The far-reaching consequences ofneutrino oscillations justify a dedicatedexperimental programme. The grouprecently led an International ScopingStudy on the Neutrino Factory, anintense high-energy neutrino sourcederived from the decay of a storedmuon beam, the ultimate tool for thestudy of neutrino oscillations. TheNeutrino Factory R&D programme atImperial is focused on the front end ofthe high- power proton source, theproton driver, and the muon coolingsystem. A front end test stand (FETS)is being constructed at the RutherfordAppleton Laboratory in the UK withthe aim of demonstrating the productionof a 60 mA, 2 ms, 50 pps choppedbeam at 3 MeV with sufficient beamquality as required for a MW protondriver. The muon beam that isproduced in the pion-decay channeloccupies a very large phase space,which must be reduced, or cooled. Itis proposed to reduce the energy ofthe beam by passing it through liquidhydrogen and then re-accelerating thebeam - this is referred to as 'ionisationcooling'. To demonstrate ionisationcooling, we are mounting the MuonIonisation Cooling Experiment, withcommissioning with beam in 2008.Imperial is responsible for the provisionof the scintillating-fibre trackingdetectors.

M. Aggarwal, D. Colling, B. MacEvoy,

J. Martyniak, G. Moont, S. Wakefield,D. Rand.

TThe LHC experiments will produceunprecedented volumes of data whenthe accelerator is commissioned inlate 2009. Processing of the dataexceeds the capacity of even thelargest computing centres, hence theexperiments will be using computingGrid infrastructures that are beingdeveloped in Europe and the USA.

Our group at Imperial is one of theUK leaders in particle physics e-Science research. The key aim of ourwork is to provide a robust, scalableinfrastructure capable of supportingthe LHC experiments. As contributorsto the GridPP and EGEE III projectswe have helped to produce a scalableinfrastructure both through technicaleffort (in particular component testingof the EGEE Workload ManagementSystem) and through effort in organ-isation and support, including ourleadership of the London GridCollaboration. We are also heavilyinvolved in the computing aspects ofthe experiments themselves and welead the UK contribution to the CMSComputing and Offline project.

In addition to computing for the LHC,we also help other communities(most notably bioinformatics) to usethe e-Science infrastructure.Outreach is an important part of ourprogram and we have developed amonitor which allows users to visualiseactivity on the Grid in (almost) realtime. This monitor has become oneof the most widely used disseminationtools in e-Science.

E. Leader

Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)is the generally accepted theory ofthe strong interactions betweenelementary particles, and our researchfocuses on testing QCD by comparingtheoretical predictions for spindependent measurements with data.Particularly interesting are singlespin asymmetries, which are very

large (about 40% in some cases)yet are predicted to be zero in thesimplest version of QCD. We studymechanisms for producing theseasymmetries and also the relatedquestion of the internal spinstructure of the nucleon.

J. Hassard, D. Colling, G. Davies, M. Richards

The particle physics-based Label FreeIntrinsic Imaging (LFII) paradigm hasincreased significantly its uptake inthe world of biotechnology andbiomedicine. It has been adopted asthe analytical platform of choice inDepartment of Defense programmesin the US. In the likely event of birdflu over the next few years, (with WHOestimates suggesting 40% globalinfectivity and up to 68% mortality inthose affected), it will be necessaryto produce genome-specific vaccinessufficiently fast to make an impacton epidemiological doubling-times ofa few weeks. LFII has also beenadopted by other major US Federalagencies both because of its speed,but also the way (without labels) wedo not introduce unnecessary biasinto an analysis- particularly importantfor the FDA. Joint work with theDepartment of Biomedical Engineeringshows an extremely powerful diagnosismethodology can be produced inLFII for both. Another analytical toolderived from pattern recognition toolsdeveloped in HEP (Differential UVAbsorption Spectroscopy or DUVAS)is manifest in the Air Quality Monitoringnow being adopted by District Councilsand some major instrumentationcorporations. Both the LFII andDUVAS benefited from e-Scienceinputs (such as the successful£2.08m 'DiscoveryNet' project),and the latter is central to the£4.2m 'MESSAGE' project, led byImperial College and includingCambridge, Newcastle and otheruniversities.

28

Neutrino Factory R & D

Testing QCD through SpinDependent Phenomena

Technology Transfer

e-Science

Hig

hE

nerg

yP

hysi

csG

roup

mem

bers

29

30

DirectorProfessor J. P. Marangos

The Blackett Laboratory LaserConsortium has wide ranging exper-imental and theoretical programmesfocused on developing and exploitingultra-high intensity and extremelyshort duration laser pulses to probea broad range of physical processes.Our research activities include thegeneration, characterisation andapplication of attosecond pulses,alignment and control of quantumprocesses in molecules, the inter-action of surfaces and sub-wavelengthtargets with intense laser fields andthe generation of high energy densityplasmas for laboratory astrophysicsexperiments

To enable our experimental work weoperate several terawatt (1012 W)laser systems able to access thepicosecond, femtosecond, and fewcycle regimes. Using a combinationof experiment and theory we continueto make pioneering contributions tothe fields of ultra-short pulse generation,non-linear optics, plasma physics,and molecular dynamics. We aresupported by the EPSRC, MOD, theBasic Technology Programme ofRCUK, and grants from the EU andRoyal Society. There are numerouscollaborations with leading groups inthe UK, Europe and US. The BlackettLaboratory Laser Consortium formspart of the Quantum Optics andLaser Science Group.

J. W. G. Tisch, J. P. Marangos, R. A. Smith, L. J. Frasinski, M. Ivanov,G. H. C. New, P. L. Knight, S. Baker,J. Robinson, L. Chipperfield, P. Bates,Y. El-Taha, C. Arrell, F. Frank, L. Brugnera, E. Skopalova

a) Novel technique for generating few-cycle pulses at shorter wavelengths.

Spectral broadening of high powerfemtosecond laser pulses provides aproven route to the generation offew-cycle laser pulses with centrewavelengths in the near IR.

However, under appropriate condi-tions, the broadened spectra canextend to the blue region of thespectrum, offering the possibility forgenerating shorter wavelength few-cycle pulses in the blue and green.

Such pulses are required for experi-ments where electron recollisionswill be driven by two colour laserfields Eω1(t)+Eω2(t). They will alsofind application in the study of visiblechromophores in 2D spectroscopyof biological samples.By broadening 700µJ/30fs pulses inan Ar filled hollow fibre, we generatespectra spanning 500-1000nm (Fig1). A dichroic beamsplitter is used toseparate the light into ‘short’ (500-600nm) and ‘long’ (680-1000nm)wavelength bands with energies of15µJ and 150µJ respectively. (Fig2a). The pulses in these bands canbe compressed using separatechirped mirror compressors givingtwo precisely synchronised, waveformcontrolled pulses (here at ω and1.5ω where ω is the frequencycorresponding to 800nm). The

spectra are sufficiently broad tosupport sub-10 fs pulses (Fig 2b).

b) All-optical interferometric techniquefor characterising XUV attosecondpulsesIn collaboration with the group ofProf Ian Walmsley at Oxford University,we have been developing a self-referenced interferometric techniquefor characterising XUV attosecondpulses produced by high harmonicgeneration (HHG) in gases. Suchtechniques are well established formeasuring ultra-short laser pulses inthe infrared, but have yet to besuccessfully applied to XUV pulses.The all-optical approach afforded byinterferometry has potentially muchgreater sensitivity than current methodsbased on photoelectron production,along with acquisition times ofmilliseconds rather than hours.

Two femtosecond laser pulses wereproduced in an interferometer andfocused to spatially separate regionsin a gas jet. The high harmonicfields generated from each focus

Laser Consortium

Figure 1: Wavelength conversion setup A gas-filled hollow fibre setup is used to few-cylce pulses at two wavelengths from one laser source.

Figure 2. Spectra and Fourier TransformLimited Pulses. The black curves corre-spond to the 500-600nm band, the bluecurves to the 680-1000nm band.

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/qols/research_areas/laser_consortium.htm

Attosecond Science and Technology

Figure 3. Results from interferometricanalysis of XUV pulses produced by highharmonic generation. (a) Typical inter-ference pattern, featuring horizontalspatial fringes, formed from two highharmonic sources incident at a smallhorizontal angle on a spectrometer. Theamplitude (blue) and phase (red) of threeof the harmonics, indicated by the whitelines, are shown in (b), (c) and (d).

were combined at an angle in animaging XUV spectrometer, producingspatial fringes as shown in Fig. 3(a).Various transformations are appliedto one of the laser fields, such alateral movement or a frequencyshift, with the spacing of the fringesencodes the phase of the high-harmonic field. Over the past year,work has focused on constructing theinterferometer with sufficient stabilityto work in the 40 nm range. Recentresults include the first measurementof the spatial phase, or wavefront, ofhigh harmonics, are shown for threedifferent harmonics in Fig. 3(b)-(d) (redcurves). The phase-front curvaturevaries with the harmonic order, carryingimplications for the focusing of theXUV radiation. The acquisition timefor this data is typically only a fewlaser shots, offering the possibility ofonline monitoring and optimisationof high-harmonic sources.

J. P. Marangos, J. W. G.Tisch, L. J. Fransinski, M. Ivanov, S. Baker,R. Torres, L. Chipperfield, D. Darios,T. Siegel, N. Kajumba, C. Haworth,J. Robinson.

Attosecond pulses of extreme ultra-violet light are normally generated inatoms interacting with a high intensitylaser pulses. For greater versatility,molecules offer a new degree ofcontrol. The Consortium has joinedan international team at the SaclayLaser Interaction Centre near Parisand measured quantum interferences

in aligned carbon dioxide molecules(Fig. 4). The control of these inter-ferences allows new ways of shapingthe attosecond emission, andcontributes to the goal of ultrafastimaging of molecular orbitals as wasshown also in earlier work at ImperialCollege.

The generation of ultra-highharmonics by molecules interactingwith intense laser fields offersunique opportunities to make“movies” of the electronic dynamicsin these molecules, combiningattosecond time resolution with sub-Angstrom spatial resolution.Information about the electron-holedynamics in a molecule is recordedin the spectra, phases, and polariza-tions of the emitted radiation. Weare working on the ways to decodethese spectra and “develop the

movie”. Figure 5 shows the experi-mental and theoretical radiation fromaligned a CO2 molecules, as afunction of the harmonic numberand alignment relative to the laserpolarization.

J. P. Marangos, J. W. G.Tisch, L. Chipperfield

We have investigated theoretically“perfect waveforms” which, during astrong field interaction, generate themaximum possible electron recol-lision energy. These idealwaveforms have the form of a linearramp with a dc offset which drivesrecollision energies over 3 timeshigher that for a pure sinusoidalwave. A genetic algorithm wasemployed to find an optimised andpractically achievable waveform

31

Figure 4. Attosecond dynamics of theharmonic emission from aligned CO2molecules. The emission timing iscontrolled with the accuracy of ± 50 as.

Figure 5. The spectrum of the emitted radiation, measured (a) and calculated (b) in aCO2 molecule, as a function of the harmonic number and molecular alignment. Panel(c) shows the decoded dynamics of the hole left in the molecule between ionization andrecombination.

Ultra-Fast Molecular Imaging

Theory on waveform synthesis

Figure 6. (a) Left: Optimised laser field (dotted) and highest energy trajectory (solid)for an optimised synthesized wave. (b) Right: Calculated HHG spectra (including propa-gation), 800nm drive field (black), 1200nm drive field (green), optimised waveform (red).

32

composed of a longer wavelengthfield, to provide the offset, inaddition to higher frequency compo-nents. This second waveform(figure 6 (a)) is found to be capableof generating electron recollisionenergies as high as those for theperfect waveform while retaining thehigh recollision amplitudes of a puresinusoidal wave. Calculations of highharmonic generation demonstratethis enhancement, by increasing thecutoff energy by a factor of 2.5 whilemaintaining the harmonic yield(figure 6 (b)), providing an enhancedtool for attosecond science andmolecular probing.

I. Mercer (UCD),J. W. G.Tisch,J. P. Marangos, N. Kajumba, Y. El-Taha

Understanding the role of coherentelectronic motion is expected toresolve general questions of impor-tance in macromolecular energytransfer. In collaboration with Dr Mercer

of UCD, Dublin and the CLF we havedemonstrated a novel nonlinear opticalmethod, “angle resolved coherent wavemixing”, that separates out coherentlycoupled electronic transitions andenergy transfers in an instantaneoustwo-dimensional mapping. Angularresolution of the signal is achieved byusing millimeter laser beam waists atthe sample and by signal relay tothe far field; for this we use a highenergy, ultra-broadband hollow fiberlaser source. The measurements(see figure 7 reveal quantum electronicbeating with a time-ordered selectionof transition energies in a photosyn-thetic complex. It is expected that thispowerful technique will be applicableto a wide range of complex systemsand processes.

R. A. Smith, J. Lazarus, M. Hohenberger,J. Robinson, H. Doyle, R Carley.

Surprisingly, despite the many ordersof magnitude differences in length andtimescales between astrophysicalobjects such as supernova remnants(SNR’s) and the laboratory, we cannow carry out experiments thatclosely mimic many of the key physicalprocesses underlying their evolution.This is achieved using “scaling laws”based on dimensionless parameterssuch as the Mach and Reynoldsnumbers. Very high energy densityplasmas must be created in thelaboratory to achieve this scaling,and we accomplish this using alaser heated “atomic cluster” gas, orwith a large Z-pinch in collaborationwith the Plasma Physics group.

Atomic clusters are fragile aggregatesof cold atoms with a remarkableability to absorb laser light. In ourexperiments a few mm scale mediumof clusters is irradiated with a shortlaser pulse focused to an intensity>1017 Wcm-2 to create a high energydensity (up to 109 J/g) plasma. Ahigh temperature thermal wavepropagates into the surrounding gasat velocities up to Mach 100 andevolves in a similar way to a supernovaexpanding into the interstellarmedium. We follow the time historyof this complex system using techniques

such as “streaked Schlieren” imaging(Fig. 8) to sweep a 1D slice of animage out in time. Using this techniquewe have been able to observe a“cooling instability” for the first time,a process that is believed to driveturbulence which causes SNR’s tobreak up into fantastically compli-cated nebulae. Here a very hot blastwave radiates away energy andslows down. It then rams into pre-heated material, regains energy andspeeds up again, resulting in thevelocity oscillations seen in figure 8.

Our laboratory experiments provideus with scaled models of processeswhich occur in nebulae, and arenow being used to testing complexcomputer models. However manyastrophysics systems are dominatedby large magnetic fields. To addressthis we are collaborating with thePlasma Physics group to build a verylarge laser system to enable us toprobe magnetically driven jets launchedby a large Z-pinch. This will mimicthe “magnetic tower jet” mechanismbelieved to be responsible for creatingthe jets of matter seen emergingfrom planetary forming nebulae andblack hole accretion disks.

Figure 7. Measured ARC-TG maps ofthe molecule LH2 for various pulse timedelays: (a) full maps overlaid with lines at‚=250, positioned to overlay features atlongest delay; (b) maps with signal band-pass filtering at 880 nm (10 nmbandwidth), overlaid with a vertical and a450 diagonal line, and with illustration ofthe feature displacements (dottedarrows) associated with ¢ and ‰. A boxshown in (a) illustrates the position of theframe for figure (b). Colour representa-tions are in detector counts per pixel.

Multidimensional Spectroscopy ofComplex Systems

Laboratory Astrophysics and HighEnergy Laser Development

Figure 8. Temporal evolution of aradiative blast wave in Kr cluster gasdriven with 9J laser pulse. (a) shows raw“streak” data and extracted blast waveradius. (b) displays the oscillating shockvelocity, Us, and an averaged velocity(dashed line) calculated to match theshock trajectory. (c) displays decelerationparameter · (blue and radiation loss rate (green).

33

Pho

toni

csG

roup

mem

bers

Photonics

34

PhotonicsHead of GroupProfessor P. M.W. French

Our broad research themes are fibreand laser optics, electromagnetictheory, imaging technology andapplications and biophotonics.Current fibre/laser projects includecompact and high power fibre andsolid-state laser technology, includingbroadly tunable supercontinuumsources, ultrafast fibre lasers, ampli-fiers and nonlinear optics.Theoretical projects include rigorouselectromagnetic theory (FE, FDTD,volume integral methods) applied toimaging, optical storage and polari-sation studies, chiral media, Braggstructures and photonic crystals.Our imaging projects focus onadaptive optics applied to astronomy,microscopy and ophthalmic imagingand optical molecular imaging, includingmultidimensional fluorescence imagingimplemented in microscopy, endoscopyand tomography systems, applied totissue diagnosis, molecular biologyand drug discovery. Most of ourprojects are interdisciplinary and wework closely with industry.

J. Travers, S. Popov, J. R. Taylor

The past year has been particularlysuccessful in relation to recognitionof the group’s achievements andadvances in high power c.w. pumpedsupercontinua. This came throughthe Imperial College ResearchExcellence Award and the RoyalSociety Brian Mercer FeasibilityAward. The underlying researchtheme for both relates to the mecha-nisms for the spectral power densityenhancement and spectral extensionof the wavelengths of operation ofc.w. pumped supercontinua. Theprimary route to this is throughoptimal design of the longitudinaldispersive characteristic of thephotonic crystal fibres deployed andthis was effectively the main themeof the programme associated withthe Research Excellence Award,while the immediate applicationsand potential commercial impact of

the device was the theme of theBrain Mercer Feasibility Award.

Under c.w. pumping conditions,modulational instability initiates thesupercontinuum generation processwith c.w. pump sources in theanomalous dispersion regime.Raman amplification leads to rapidsingle soliton evolution and selfRaman interaction leads to longwavelength extension on propagation.In addition, group velocity matchingleads to the binding of the evolvinginfra-red solitons to dispersive wavesin visible and as the solitons shift tolonger wavelength so too do thecaptured dispersive waves. Extensivenumerical modelling has led to theprediction of optimum fibre geometriesfor visible generation and enhancementof the above processes and we haveadditionally just realized the firstexperimental observations.

Initially demonstrating supercon-tinuum generation with an averagepump power of 30W, we have thisyear rescaled this by more than anorder of magnitude deploying anindustrial scale 400W Ytterbiumfibre laser, available through ourcollaboration with the IPG PhotonicsGroup of companies and havedemonstrated visible generationdown to 600 nm, under one micronpumping, while we have achievedrecord breaking spectral powerdensities in the infra red continuumexceeding 100mW/nm. Through thesimple expedient of spectral selection,this powerful continuum provides aversatile source that can replacenumerous conventional lasers in thespectral region 600nm to 2000nm.

A. Minassian, M. Damzen

We are developing a range of laserand nonlinear optical technologiesfor industrial, medical, remote sensingand basic science applications. Noveldiode-pumped micro-slab lasertechnology has been designed andoperated as next-generation industriallaser technology. This technology hasbeen demonstrated in our laboratorieswith unique combination of perfor-mance including very high averagepower levels >200W, excellent beamquality, ultrahigh conversion efficiencies(60%-70%), and world-record Q-switching pulse rates (>1MHz). Ultra-short pulse mode-locked versionshave also been demonstrated. Themicro-slab technology is now beingcommercialized through spin-outcompany Midaz Lasers Ltd. We havepioneered self-organising lasers thatexploit a novel dynamic holographyprocess to automatically correctadverse thermal effects. More recently,we are applying adaptive interferom-eters to a range of optical metrologyproblems including remote ultrasound,non-destructive testing and remotesensing. A recent new initiative is acollaborative programme on nonlinearoptical meta-materials utilising hybridengineered meta-materials grown on

Optical Fibre Laser Technology

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/photonics

Figure 2. Spectrogram and supercon-tinuum generated by a high power cwYb fibre laser operating around 1060nm launched in the region of the zerodispersion of a photonic crystal fibre.Note the trapping of discrete dispersivewave components (lower) by solitons(upper)

Figure 1. A multidimensional fluorometerdeveloped for studying protein interac-tions that exploits a tunable excitationsource based on a fibre-laser pumpedsupercontinuum and is able to resolveexcitation and emission spectra, polar-isation and fluorescence lifetime.

Nonlinear Optics and LaserTechnology

35

nonlinear materials for new futurematerials and applications.

P. Kinsler, M. McCall

Naturally occurring media are magneti-cally inert above a few gigahertz andit would indeed seem that one mustresort to electromagnetically engineeredmaterials (called metamaterials) toachieve any non-vacuum value of themagnetic permeability at higherfrequencies, let alone the negativevalue required for achieving a negativerefractive index. However, we haverecently challenged this logic byanalyzing a linear, isotropic, homoge-neous dielectric in motion. We haveshown that certain geometries supportan effective negative refractive index,previously supposed to be the exclusivepreserve of artificially produced meta-materials. The key requirement for amoving medium is that it be movingrelativistically, exceeding the speedof light in its rest frame. Calculation ofray trajectories when the translationalsymmetry is broken (so that thePrinciple of Relativity is not violated)yield prospects for observablephenomena in astrophysical contexts.

E. Grace

The propagation of light and itsinteraction with complex structuresis of increasing scientific interestwith many new emerging applications.As a result, computational methodsin optics and photonics are becomingever more important, particularly forreal-world photonics applications.Our research is concerned with theformulation of computational techniquesand their application to topical problemsincluding scattering from complex

structures and the propagation ofnovel vectorial spiral beams. Thesebeams are a superset of familiar scalarBessel beams, for which the polari-sation of the illumination is a criticalfactor. Understanding their generationand interaction with microscopicstructures is of interest for applica-tions in integrated optics and micro-manipulation and micro-fabrication.We are also investigating the inter-action of optical radiation with spiralmicro-structured materials, whichhave potential applications in opticaldata storage.

A.Van der Ness, P. Török

Our research partly aims to improveoptical storage capacity by exploitingthe maximum information content perunit area that is possible to store on anoptical disk. One approach we describeas Multiplexed Optical Data Storageor MODS is to encode more than asingle bit of information into a singlepit. Another direction is to explore thenonlinearities of materials and increasefurther the numerical aperture of thelens. This direction is exploited via theSURPASS EU project that started inJune 2008.

Our work on optical data storage hasnaturally branched into research onultra high-resolution micropolarimetry.It is possible to determine the polari-sation properties of the samples withextreme accuracy. An example isgiven in Fig.1, which shows a retar-dance image of a DVD.

We are also involved with the EUproject “NanoPrim”, which focuseson detection of nanoparticles. Forthis we study, both numerically andexperimentally, the change of theelectromagnetic field for single andmultiple nanoparticle scattering.

Other projects include theory ofradiometry, coherence theory, opticalencoders and microscopy, withparticular emphasis on confocalmicroscopy.

G. Kennedy, P. Lanigan, M. Neil

We are working to manipulate lightin a programmable fashion for appli-cations in microscopy, metrology andthe life sciences. We continue todevelop the application of ferroelectricliquid crystal spatial light modulatorsto impart a binary phase modulationonto a light beam and are using thistechnology to define both arbitrarywave-front shapes for metrology oflarge mirrors, and to control the pointspread function in microscope systemsfor polarisation and super-resolutionimaging and for optical trapping. Aspart of the Single Cell Proteomicsproject at Imperial, we using opticallytrapped and biochemically function-alised oil droplets - Smart DropletMicrotools - to manipulate and probebiological cells.

Another continuing area of researchis based around bio-imaging applica-

Figure 3: Self-organising laser design.a) Incredibly high beam quality even athigh laser powers; b) Vortex modeexhibiting angular momentum generateddirectly from a specially designed highpower laser (17W); and c) Spiral(corkscrew) mode produced by inter-ference of the vortex mode with aspherical wave.

Electromagnetic Focusing andImaging with Applications to Optical

Data Storage and Microscopy

Computational Electromagnetics

Figure 4 : Ray trajectories in a medium with non-uniform relativistic velocity field

Light in Moving Media

Figure 5: Retardance image of a DVD.

Programmable Light

Figure 6: False colour fluorescenceintensity images of optically trappedsmart droplet microtools after dockingand removal of (a) membrane tetherand (b) EGFP protein solubilisationfrom EGFP labelled human coloncancer cell. Scale bars = 4µm.

36

tions of microstructured LED arrays,developed in collaboration withStrathclyde University. We haverecently shown better than confocalperformance of line array devices inmicroscopy applications and withcolleagues from the IBE at Imperialwe are now using 2-d array devicesfor patterned photo-stimulation ofneuron cultures.

G. Kennedy V. Nadeau, I. Munro, C. Dunsby, M. Neil, P. French

We are working to translate ourexpertise in optical microscopy toclinical applications. This includesdeveloping FLIM endoscopes utilisingboth wide-field time-gated imagingand laser scanning microconfocalendoscopes. We are also devel-oping novel illumination strategiesfor clinical endoscopy and surgicalprocedures exploiting high powerLED and laser-pumped phosphorapproaches. We believe there issignificant scope for translating ourimaging capabilities to clinical appli-cation for improved diagnosis, inter-vention and drug discovery.

E. Auksorius, G. Kennedy, S. Kumar,A. Margineanu, E. McGhee, J. McGinty, I. Munro, C. Talbot,C. Dunsby, M. Neil, P. French

Our overarching mission is to createnew opportunities for scientificdiscoveries, particularly in biomed-icine, by developing and applyingultrafast and tunable photonicstechnology to novel imaging andmetrology applications. We work incollaboration with colleagues fromBioengineering, Biology and Chemistry,

as well as the Faculty of Medicine, andinteract strongly with the ChemicalBiology Centre. This interdisciplinaryprogramme focuses on multi-dimen-sional fluorescence imaging (MDFI),with particular emphasis on fluores-cence lifetime imaging (FLIM), forclinical diagnosis, molecular biologyand drug discovery.Our FLIM technology providesmolecular contrast of differentchemical species and differentfluorophore environments utilizingboth one and two photon excitation.A key strength is high-speed FLIMthat is being applied to clinicalendoscopy and multiwell plate readersystems for High Content Analysis,as well as to microscopy of cellbiology, disease states in tissue andreactions in microfluidic devices.Increasingly, we combine opticalsectioning and FLIM with multi-spectral or hyperspectral imaging torealize 5-D fluorescence imaging orwith polarization resolution to imagerotational diffusion dynamics. Thismay be used to obtain 3-D images ofligand binding or viscosity distributions– as recently applied to micro-fluidicdevices. We have recently developeda super-resolution FLIM microscopesystem based on STimulated EmissionDepletion (STED) microscopy, whichallows sub-diffraction limited fluores-cence images to be obtained in ascanning confocal microscope. Forcell biology we apply FLIM-FRET andMDFI techniques to image proteininteractions and recently demon-strated multiplexed FRET – simulta-neously reading out two differentprotein interactions – and haveintegrated optical tweezers with MDFImicroscope system to better imagemolecular interactions in live cells.For developmental biology we havedeveloped the first FLIM-opticalprojection tomography system, whichwe have demonstrated for imaging

embryo development (figure 7). Forclinical studies we have deployeddedicated FLIM instrumentation atHammersmith Hospital, including anovel multiphoton microscope forclinical imaging, to explore label-freeautofluorescence contrast in tissue,of which an example recorded invivo is shown in Figure 8. In 2008our work, in collaboration withcolleagues in Life Sciences andMedicine, was recognised by theImperial College London Rector’sResearch Excellence Award.

D. Lara, C. Paterson

We are developing adaptive opticstechnology and applying it to situationssuch as biomedical imaging, ocularimaging and in the eye. Correctingaberrations using adaptive opticsmakes it possible to image individualphotoreceptors at the fovea and toobtain detailed images of the cardio-vascular system at the front of theretina. We are applying informationtheoretical approaches to improvethe efficiency of wavefront sensing.We have also been applying estimationtechniques from adaptive optics tothe analysis of retinal images which incollaboration with ophthalmologistsat City are helping in the earlydiagnosis of retinal diseases.We are now extending our highresolution retinal imaging to includefull polarisation properties of the retina,using Mueller matrix imaging. This willenable us to image structures notpossible with conventional techniqueswith the hope that this will lead tonew understanding of the causes ofloss of vision where current treat-ments are ineffective.

Adaptive Optics and Retinal Imaging

Figure 9: CSLO image of the photore-ceptor mosaic of the human retina.

Multidimensional FluorescenceImaging for Biology and Medicine

Figure 7: FLIM-OPT image of mouseembryo

Endoscopy

Figure 8: In vivo FLIM of human skinwith sub-cellular resolution.

37

Pla

sma

Phy

sics

Gro

upm

embe

rs

Plasma Physics

38

Head of Group: Professor S. J. Rose

The group is involved in all of themajor research areas of laboratoryplasma physics. These areas includeMagnetic Confinement Fusion, laserplasma interactions, high energydensity plasmas (including InertialConfinement Fusion), dusty plasmas,and plasma astrophysics.

S. V. Lebedev, J. P. Chittenden, S. N. Bland, G. Hall, A. Harvey-Thompson, J. Palmer, F. Suzuki-Vidal, G. Swadling, M. G. Haines

Wire array Z-pinch implosions areused to generate intense pulses ofsoft X-rays for Inertial ConfinementFusion research. The quality of theX-ray pulse depends on the level ofinstabilities developing during theimplosion, which are seeded by theperturbations in plasmas of individualwires. On the MAGPIE facility wehave continued work on modificationof the initial perturbations by usingcoiled wires in an array. This hasallowed us to control the phase ofperturbations between all the wiresin an array, and has resulted in awell-organized implosion. Laserprobing diagnostics, such as in Fig.1showed that the level of plasmacompression significantly exceededthat attainable in standard wire arrayimplosions and demonstrated anincrease in X-ray power.

S. V. Lebedev, A. Ciardi, F. Suzuki-Vidal, A. Marocchino, S.N. Bland, G. Hall, A. Harvey-Thompson, G. Swadling, J. P. Chittenden

We have continued scaled laboratoryexperiments to model the physicsrelevant to formation and propagationof protostellar jets. The main focuswas on studies of plasma jets drivenby the pressure of the toroidal magneticfield in a “magnetic tower” jet config-uration. We have demonstrated thatthe episodic operation of the magnetictower jet scenario results in a wellcollimated jet with a number of knotsin the body of the jet. It was foundthat the degree of collimation of theoutflow strongly depends on the levelof radiative cooling of the jet material.These experiments were modelledwith a 3-D resistive MHD code.

We are also investigating the gener-ation of “hydrodynamic” radiativelycooled jets and their interaction withambient gas. Fig.2 shows laser probingof an Al plasma jet propagating throughargon gas. The jet was formed byplasma ablated from the thin Al foildriven by 1MA current pulse. Theformation of the plasma on the foil isalso responsible for the creating ofradiative conical shock in argon,moving at ~60km/s. The workingsurface formed at the tip of the jet isresponsible for formation of the bowshock moving with speed of~110km/s ahead of the jet.

J. P. Chittenden, N. P. Niasse, B. Appelbe, A. Marocchino, S. W Vickers

Wire array Z-pinches are an intense

source of soft X-rays which can beused as a heat source for inertialconfinement fusion research. Magneto-hydrodynamic simulations provide apowerful tool for improving ourunderstanding of these imploding Z-pinch plasmas and for optimising theX-ray pulse that they produce. Byusing Imperial College’s CX1 clusterand our 3D MHD code “Gorgon”, wehave performed the first large scaleparallel simulations with sufficientresolution to capture the importantphysical phenomena over the entireplasma volume. Fig. 3 shows thestructure that results from applying acurrent of 20MA to a cylinder of 156fine metallic wires. Implosion of theplasma cylinder by the magneticforce results in the growth of aRayleigh-Taylor instability. At thistime the unstable plasma is about tocollide with a second, internal arrayof wires. This collision decreasesthe Raylieigh-Taylor perturbationand results in improved symmetryand therefore higher X-ray power,when the plasma reaches the cylin-drical axis. These simulations ofexperiments on the Z generator atSandia National Laboratory, typicallyrequire up to 700 million computa-tional elements and run for 3 weekson 400 processors.

Z. Najmudin, A. E. Dangor, S. Mangles,S. Nagel, C. Bellei, S. Kneip, C. Palmer,A. Rehman, N. Dover, J. Schreiber

High intensity laser produced plasmasare capable of accelerating particlesto high energies over very shortdistances. Our group was the first

Plasma Physics

Figure 1: Laser probing image showinglittle trailing mass present duringimplosion of a coiled array

Figure 2. Laser probing image of jetpropagating in ambient plasma.

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/plasma

Figure 3. Density map from a 3Dsimulation of a nested, stainless steel,wire array experiment.

Wire Array Z-pinch Experiments

Laboratory Experiments to SimulateAstrophysical Jets

Simulations of Wire Array Z-pinches

Laser Produced Plasmas as aCompact Particle Accelerator

to demonstrate that mono-energeticelectron beams could be producedby this method (Nature 2004). Withthe recent commissioning of the AstraGemini laser, which produces a worldleading 10 J in an ultrashort 50 fspulse, we have been able to extendthis to measured energies in excessof 800 MeV in a distance of around1 cm. The high intensity laser is ableto interact for such long distances,(about 10 x the length before whichit would normally defract in vacuum)due to the self-generation of arelativistic optical fibre.

Z. Najmudin, A. E. Dangor, P. A. Norreys, S. Mangles, S. Nagel,C. Bellei, S. Kneip, C. Palmer,A. Rehman, N. Dover, J. Schreiber

We have performed a number ofstudies of relevance to laser driveninertial confinement fusion. Thisincludes the studies of the self-generated magnetic fields of laserbeams and their effect on energydistribution within an ICF interaction.We also performed experimentsrelevant to the fast-ignition conceptof ICF, such as that proposed foruse in the HiPER project, where ahigh-intensity laser pulse generates

hot electrons that provide the sparkto ignite a compressed fuel capsule.This includes measurements of fastelectron transport produced in theseinteractions by observations of theplasma expansion from the rearsurface of such a target, as well asthe optical transition radiation which isproduced when they exit into vacuum.

R. J. Kingham, A. G. R. Thomas,C. P. Ridgers, J. J. Bissell, B. Williams

We are developing new computationaltechniques to investigate transport inplasmas heated by intense laserpulses. Under such extreme condi-tions, the plasma is far from thermo-dynamic equilibrium, and so fluid/MHDmodels break down. Many aspectsof the fundamental processes underthese conditions are still poorlyunderstood, despite being prevalentin laser-plasma experiments and appli-cations, such as inertial confinementfusion. We have developed a newkinetic code, IMPACTA, which solvesthe Vlasov-Fokker-Planck (VFP)equation for electrons. It is the firstVFP code to use implicit methodsand include anisotropic pressure effects.

Using this, we have investigatedplasma heating by a linearly polarizedlaser beam. The enhanced electronpressure in the polarization directiongenerates strong B-fields which leadto non-symmetric electron flows. Thecode is computationally intensive, sowe are using the ‘ab initio’ transportresults to formulate reduced modelsfor inclusion in hydro codes.

R. G. Evans, R. J. Kingham, C. P. Ridgers, R. Lloyd, S. J. Rose,M. Sherlock

HiPER (High Power laser EnergyResearch facility) is a large laserproject, driven by the Europeanacademic community, to exploreInertial Fusion Energy (IFE) andassociated high energy density physics.It will use a combination of conven-tional nanosecond-duration lasers tocompress a fusion fuel capsulefollowed by ultra-high power pico-second laser pulses to heat the plasmato ignition. This scheme promisesto achieve fusion conditions with~300kJ of laser energy compared tothe ~2MJ required by the currentgeneration of laser systems such asNIF (USA).We are involved in developing thecomputational capability to simulatethe heating of the compressed fuelcapsule by the high power laser.This is part of the design phase ofHiPER and will inform the finalspecification of the laser & targetprior to construction. The heatingphase involves generation of anintense beam of ‘fast’ electrons (withseveral MeV energy) followed by theirpropagation into the ~100x soliddensity compressed core. The physicsof this is very rich; the beam densityis comparable to plasma density inplaces and the high currents generatestrong electric and magnetic fieldswhich can affect the beam diver-gence, propagation and may eveninduce filamentation.

S. J. Rose, E. Hill, J. Gaffney

Whether the conventional or fastignition approach is used, one of thegreatest challenges in science willbe the production of ignited fusionplasmas, where small quantities ofD-T fuel undergo thermonuclearburn. The resulting amplification ofenergy density will produce plasmasunder even more extreme conditionsthan have hitherto existed in thelaboratory.

39

Figure 4. Electron acceleration in aplasma accelerator up to 800 MeV

Figure 6: IMPACTA kinetic calculationof heating by a 1015 W/cm2 circularcross-section (10µm) laser beam.Anisotropic pressure from the (horizontal)linear polarized light causes non-circulara) heat flow and b) density profile.

Figure 5. Fast electron transport indense target characterised by coherenttransition radiation (CTR), as well assynchrotron radiation from target edge.

HiPER laser-target modelling

Experiments relevant to ICF

Computational & Theoretical LaserPlasma Interactions

Modelling burning plasmas producedin inertial confinement fusion

We are starting to model such burningplasmas including the effect of dopingthe DT with a higher-Z material, whichcan potentially act as a diagnostic ofthese extreme plasma conditionsthrough measurement of the spectralline emission from the highly-ioniseddopant. However the coupling of theatomic physics of the dopant ionswith line radiation transport throughthe fast-evolving burning DT plasmarequires the development of newmodels. We are developing newtheoretical techniques that can beapplied under these conditions.These models present challengessimilar to those encountered inmodelling extreme astrophysicalobjects, although there are newcomplications in modelling our home-made sun.

M. Coppins, M. Bacharis, T. Zimmermann, C. Willis, J. E. Allen,W. Fundamenski

Dusty plasmas are plasmas containingsmall sold particles. Over the lastdecade or so, such plasmas haveattracted much interest, partly becauseof the fascinating physical phenomenathey support, and partly because oftheir ubiquity. Dusty plasmas occur inspace as well as in plasma experiments.One area which we study is dust inTokamaks. This is a topic whoseimportance has only recently beenrecognised. Plasma-surface interac-tions will play a significant role in bothITER and possible future commercialreactors. An important facet of thisquestion is the production andbehaviour of dust. We are currentlycontinuing the development of ourdust transport code, DTOKS. Latestwork on DTOKS includes: (1) newdust materials, including Beryllium,(2) more detailed ITER simulations,(3) further benchmarking of the codeagainst other codes and experiments.In addition to this, our ongoing researchprogramme on the fundamental physicsof dusty plasmas allows us to refinethe basic physics model underlyingthe code. The forces experienced bythe dust grain are particularly important.The figure shows the comparativesizes of the various forces acting ona 1 micron Carbon dust grain in the

MAST Tokamak. For most of itslifetime the ion drag forcedominates.

W. Fundamenski, I. Abel, M. Coppins,S. Cowley, O. Ford, T. Hender, E. Highcock, M-D Hua, M. Lilley, A. Meakins, D. Moulton, A. Schekochihin, S. Tallents, D. Temple, M. Windridge

Both theoretical and experimentalstudies have been conducted on theMAST tokamak, which is operatedby UKAEA Culham. MAST, theMega Ampere Spherical Tokamak, ischaracterised by having a low aspectratio so that the plasma configurationresembles a cored apple. On MASTstudies aimed at understanding edgeflows using Langmuir-type probeshave continued as have studies onmeasuring internal flows associatedwith transport barriers.Computations on the stability of theMAST plasma to vertical instabilities,and the attendant ‘halo’ currents thatflow into vessel structures are reachingcompletion and studies on instabilitiesdriven by fast ions are continuing, asare studies on long duration instabil-ities that can limit performance.

Theoretical and experimental studieshave also continued on the JETtokamak – the world’s largest magneticconfinement facility. Studies usingBayesian methods to improve theconsistency of data from various sourcesare being undertaken and as onMAST there are studies of fast iondriven instabilities. Also a project onnumerical modelling of highly radiativeJET plasmas, using a code whichcouples multi-fluid plasma and Monte-Carlo neutral treatments is well under-way. To this effect, the statistics of Edge

Localised Modes (ELMs; peeling-ballooning MHD instabilities drivenon the outboard side of the tokamak),are being studied in order to bothconstrain existing models and topredict heat loads on future devices.

M. K. Lilley, T. Hender

Theoretical efforts have continuedinto understanding the effect of fastparticles on internal plasma processes,knowledge of which will be vital infuture fusion machines with a largepopulation of fusion born alphaparticles. Neutral Beam Injection(NBI) and Ion Cyclotron ResonanceHeating (ICRH) also create popula-tions of fast particles that can exciteAlfvén waves. Low frequency NBIdriven waves are observed on MASTas strongly non-linear bursting events,whereas ICHR driven waves on JET(the Joint European Torus) are seento display steady state saturation,amplitude modulation and chaoticnon-linear regimes. The disparitybetween the two is now understood tobe a result of the type of collisionalprocess that dominates at the wave-particle resonance. NBI on MAST hasnow been shown to be dominatedby dynamical friction of the fast ionson the thermal electrons, whereasICRH is dominated by velocity spacewave diffusion on JET. Dynamicalfriction (α) has recently been shownto provide a destabilising effect onthe system in contrast to velocityspace diffusion (ν) (Fig 8), indicatingthat bursting events are likely whendynamical friction dominates, as isindeed observed on MAST and ispossible in future machines.

40

Figure 7: Forces acting on a 1µm Cdust grain in MAST

Dusty Plasmas

Magnetic Confinement FusionExperiments and Theory

Magnetic Confinement Fusion

Figure 8: Calculations of DynamicalFriction vs Velocity Space Diffusion forMAST

41

Qua

ntum

Opi

csan

dLa

ser

Sci

ence

Gro

upm

embe

rs

Quantum Optics and Laser Science

Quantum Optics and Laser Science

42

Head of Group:Professor R. Thompson

The research mission of the QOLSgroup is to carry out basic scienceusing lasers and to investigate, utilizeand control photonic and materialstates and processes down to thequantum level. Our theoretical andexperimental teams are carrying outgroundbreaking research in quantuminformation, laser dynamics, non-linear optics of ultra-short laserpulses, cold condensed matter,fundamental symmetries, ion trapping,the physics of atoms confined withinclusters and nanostructures, andatomic and molecular coherenceapplied to non-linear optical processes.Our work is well supported by UKand European research funding andin recent years we have been ableto expand our research programmeby making new strategic academicappointments.

P. L. Knight, M. Ivanov, M. B. Plenio,T. Rudolph, S. Scheel, S. Barrett,F.G.S.L. Brandão, D. Burgarth, A. Retzker

During the last year, we have estab-lished several new results concerningthe interface of quantum informationtheory and the study of condensedmatter systems, novel approachesto quantum computing and quantumsimulation, results on the characteri-zation, manipulation and quantificationof entanglement, and the relationshipof entanglement to thermodynamicsas well as the exploration of quantumeffects in biology.

The study of the properties of quantummany-body systems and theirsimulation both on classical andquantum simulators continues torepresent a key interest of the group.We have been able to connect thestudy of channel capacities undercorrelated error to the study of criticalbehaviour in many-body physics.The channels we study can thereforedisplay analogous behaviour to

associated many-body systems,including 'phase transitions'! We havedeveloped novel approaches to thesimulation of quantum systems onclassical computers and are exploringtheir applications in a variety ofsettings. We have also studied theuse of quantum systems as quantumsimulators. We continue to explorequantum simulators based on coupledarrays of micro-cavities. In the realmof trapped ions we also demonstratedthat Penning traps may allow for theobservation of a quantum phasetransition associated with the changeof the equilibrium position of theions. For ultra-cold atoms we alsoproposed an experiment for detectingthe Unruh effect in a Bose-Einsteincondensate and are now exploringthe realisation of these ideas. Wehave also explored scenarios underwhich the thermal states of many-body systems do (or do not) havethe ability to be useful for quantumcomputing.

We have continued our investiga-tions into the role of fluctuatingelectromagnetic field effects such asmodified decay rates and dispersionforces, in particular Casimir-Polderforces, in trapping ultracold atomsand cold polar molecules. We havestudied surface-induced heatingprocesses of polar molecules, screeningproperties of d-wave superconductors,and scaling laws for higher multipoledecay rates. Until recently, Casimir-Polder forces have been viewed asa nuisance effect that limits one’scapability of trapping cold neutralparticles very close to surfaces. Ourincreased understanding of theseunavoidable quantum effects has ledus to consider them as additionalengineering tools. For example, wehave found that in thermal non-equilibrium situations there existtransient Casimir-Polder forces withalternating sign which could beexploited for additional guiding andfocussing of cold polar molecules.

We are studying ways to suppressdecoherence in simple quantumsystems by tailored laser pulses.

Our toy model is a rotationally hotdiatomic molecule, where we focuson the decoherence of the vibra-tional motion due to ro-vibrationalcoupling to the hot rotational bath.This simple and experimentallyeasily accessible system maps instandard models of decoherence.Possible strategies to suppressdecoherence could include optimalpreparation of the vibrationalwavepacket and/or periodic correc-tions of the vibrational motion withtailored laser pulses. One of thestrategies that we have proved to besuccessful is to trap the wavepacketon a stable island inside thenonlinear resonance, where itbecomes effectively decoupled fromthe bath.

We have also started a new researchdirection into the exploration ofquantum effects in biological systemsoriginating from our longstandinginterest in noise assisted quantumprocesses and recent experimentalresults. Studying transport of excitonsin photosynthetic complexes wediscovered that the presence of anappropriate amount of dephasingnoise is essential to explain theobserved transport properties. Theunderlying principles that we havefound to lead to this effect maysuggest ways to optimize nano-structures for example in organicsolar cells to improve their efficiencies.

We have continued our work onabstract entanglement theory where

Figure 1: The resonant and non-resonant contributions to the transientCasimir-Polder force on an ultracoldpolar molecule (LiH) near a single goldsurface held at room temperature.

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/qols

Quantum Information andControlled Quantum Dynamics

we have succeeded to demonstratea rigorous connection between thetheory of entanglement and that ofthe second law of thermodynamics.In the process we have discovered anovel mathematical theorem concerningquantum hypothesis testing.

We have established a statisticalmethod for quantum state and processreconstruction that is capable ofextracting measurement covariances(error bars) from a tomographicmeasurement. This method, basedon Kalman filtering, promises to bea versatile diagnostic tool in quantumengineering as it provides real-timeinformation about statisticalmeasurement uncertainties and thevalidity of assumptions on the under-lying measurement noise model. Withthe help of a reconstructed processmap, we found that it becomes possibleto distinguish between classical andpurely quantum-mechanical noisesources in an experiment.

We have made considerable progressin our theoretical work addressingthe problem of building a quantumcomputer. We described a schemefor full scale quantum computingwith atomic ensembles. Our schemeuses similar methods to those thathave already been demonstratedexperimentally and thus representsa significant step towards a techni-cally feasible implementation. Wehave also examined the effect ofnon-markovian decoherence onsolid state single photon sources,and discovered strategies forovercoming it.

Our collaboration with experimentalquantum information science groupshave continued. Here we havedeveloped theoretical methods toderive benchmarks that determinewhether a memory performs a trulyquantum mechanical task, i.e. isable to store quantum mechanicalcorrelations. These methods arenow being employed to assess thequality of a memory based on atomicensembles that are currently beingtested. We have collaborated withcolleagues in Oxford to realise theconcept of quantum calibration ofphoto-detectors bringing together

abstract techniques from optimizationtheory with concrete experiments.We have also collaborated withcolleagues in Bristol to implementexperimental quantum processdiscrimination.

E. Hinds, B. Sauer, J. Hudson, M. Tarbutt

The Centre for Cold Matter isdevoted to the study of fundamentalproblems using the techniques ofatomic and laser physics. Our workis focussed on the formation, manip-ulation and exploitation of coldmolecules and ultracold atoms.

Our work with cold molecules grewout of the exceptional sensitivity ofsome molecules to time-reversalviolating interactions, particularly thevalue of the electron's electric dipolemoment (edm). Over many years wehave built a sophisticated experimentthat uses cold molecules to measurethe edm. The results will test time-reversal symmetry and probe physicsbeyond the Standard Model. Byautomating all aspects of the exper-iment we are now able to take verylarge amounts of edm data as well asmeasuring and eliminating a multitudeof possible systematic effects. Theexperiment is currently taking newdata with world-leading sensitivity.

We are also developing techniquesto guide and decelerate cold moleculesto low velocity so that they can betrapped for long periods of time.Recently, we decelerated LiH moleculesfrom 430m/s to 50m/s in preparationfor electrostatic trapping. We havebuilt a magneto-optical trap ofutracold lithium which we plan to useas a refrigerant for the LiH molecules

so that they can be cooled to ultralowtemperatures. Such an ultracold gasof dipolar molecules is a perfectstarting point for investigating thephysics of strongly correlated quantummatter. We have also shown how toguide and decelerate far heaviermolecules using an alternatinggradient focussing technique.Finally, we have developed a newkind of source for cold moleculesbased on a cryogenic buffer gas cell.

Our work with ultracold atomsfocusses on "atom chips" whereatomic physics experiments areshrunk down onto microchips. Theseatom chips have applications forprecision sensors and quantuminformation processing, as well asfor investigating the fundamentalinteractions of atoms with photons,with surfaces and with one another.In one project we coherently splitand recombine a single Bose-Einstein condensate so as to performinterferometric measurements.During the last year, we haveobtained the required degree ofcontrol over the condensates andare now able to routinely measurethe beautiful interference fringesresulting from this macroscopicquantum state. In a second exper-iment, we use a microfabricatedmagnetic trap to prepare and manip-ulate long, thin cold atomic samples.We are presently working towardsthe study of low-dimensional gasestrapped near the surface of thisatom chip, as well as on atomtransport. A third experiment is theuse of micro-fabricated cavities tostudy the fundamental interactionsof atoms and photons and buildsingle atom detectors. We haveproduced planoconcave micro-cavitieswith high finesse consisting of a

43

Centre for Cold Matter

Figure 2 : A dataset from the electron EDM experiment. Each vertical line representsa five minute measurement of the electron EDM in a particular machine state, with itsÛ uncertainty. The vertical axis has units of e.cm. This particular dataset containsabout 4000 individual measurements. The analysis includes a blind offset, thus thecentral value in this plot is not meaningful.

44

spherical reflector etched into a Siwafer and a single mode fibre with ahigh reflectivity coating on its tip.Using this device we are now able todetect single atoms with extremelyhigh sensitivity. Finally, we haverecently developed a novel methodfor creating an array of laser cooledatomic samples directly on an atomchip. We have etched a series ofsquare based pyramids into a siliconsubstrate, creating an array of magneto-optical traps and have recentlyobserved the first ultracold atomsproduced in these microscopicpyramid traps.

R. Thompson, D. Segal

We are currently involved in twomajor projects, both of which employthe Penning trap. This is a devicewhich holds charged particles, atomicions in our case, at a well definedposition away from the walls of anevacuated chamber in an almostperturbation free environment. Thefirst project is aimed at performinghigh resolution spectroscopy ofhighly charged ions – atoms thathave had all but one (or a few) oftheir electrons removed. These ionscannot be made at Imperial College,but require the use of a particleaccelerator. We therefore dopreparatory work here and will

perform the final experiments at GSIin Darmstadt, Germany. The fieldsexperienced by an electron in sucha system are enormous and the aimof the project is to test QuantumElectrodynamics in this importanthigh-field regime. In the last year wehave built a trap which is identical tothe one to be used in GSI and haveused it to store Ca+ ions. This hasallowed us to develop and test thefluorescence detection systemrequired eventually at GSI.

Our other project is conducted in ourown laboratories at Imperial. In thisproject we are trying to demonstratethe feasibility of performing quantuminformation processing (QIP) usingCa+ ions in Penning traps. Our workthis year has concentrated on twoaspects. Firstly we have designedand built a novel Penning trapbased on planar sets of ‘pad’electrodes. Figure 4 shows thecompleted structure which consistsof two pieces of vacuum compatiblecircuit board facing each other. Theinner surface of each board has anarray of hexagonal pads milled intothe surface. The gap between theboards is 5mm. This arrangementactually makes three trapping zones(in line with the three 1mm holesalong the central line of pads). Thisarrangement of electrodes allows forthe controlled shuttling of ions from

one trapping zone to another. Wehave demonstrated this techniqueusing small clouds of ions and willnow try to improve our technique toallow the shuttling of single ions.Multiple trap arrays like this aregenerally seen as a possible routeto scaling ion-trap QIP up to largernumbers of quantum bits. We have also investigated aphenomenon which is linked to themixing of quantum states caused bythe magnetic field used to trap theions. The degree of mixing is verysmall but is rendered remarkablyvisible by the technique of ‘electronshelving’. The tiny degree of mixingleads to abrupt changes in thefluorescence level for a single ion inthe trap as seen in figure 5.

Figure 5 : Quantum jumps of a singleCa+ ion in a Penning trap. The jumpsinto the ‘dark’ state are only allowedthrough magnetic-field mixing of thebare atomic states.

Figure 4: Multiple Penning trap made from vacuum compatible circuit board

Figure 3: Magnetic noise in the electronEDM experiment. Vertical axis is thelaboratory magnetic field measured overa five minute interval. Horizontal axis istime of day, where zero is midnight. It isobvious that that the laboratory is muchquieter late at night. Considerable efforthas been made to automate the EDMexperiment so that data can berecorded during this quiet period.

Ion Trapping

45

Spa

cean

dA

tmos

pher

icP

hysi

csG

roup

mem

bers

Space and Atmospheric Physics

Space and Atmospheric Physics

46

Head of GroupProfessor S. J. Schwartz

The space and atmospheric physicsgroup carries out a broad researchprogramme that includes the extendedsolar atmosphere and solar wind, themagnetospheres and atmospheresof the planets, and the neutral atmos-phere and oceans of the Earth. Thegroup is an active participant in themulti-disciplinary Grantham Institutefor Climate Change. A major part ofthe group’s activity is the developmentand operation of sensitive space(and other) instrumentation. This iscomplemented by a programme intheory, modelling and data analysis.

T. S. Horbury, S. J. Schwartz, R. J. Forsyth, E. Lucek, C. M. Carr,P. J. Cargill, A. Balogh

We study fundamental plasmaprocesses using a combination ofspacecraft data, theory and modelling.We lead the magnetic field instrumentson missions which make importantcontributions to space plasma physics.The four Cluster spacecraft fly information around the Earth andcelebrated their 10th anniversary in2010. The Ulysses spacecraft wasturned off in 2009 after over 18 yearsof highly successful exploration overthe Sun’s poles, covering more thantwo solar cycles of activity.

The Sun has recently passed througha very deep minimum of activity, withalmost no sunspots for several years.This weakening seems to be relatedto a lack of discrete eruptions of matterfrom the Sun's atmosphere known ascoronal mass ejections, highlightingtheir important role in the solar

magnetic cycle.

The solar wind is filled with turbulence,which heats the plasma and scatterscosmic rays. We have measured theproperties of the turbulence on scalessmaller than a proton gyroradius,showing that even here there is stilla complex cascade of energy witheddies that are highly stretched alongthe magnetic field.

A new area of research has openedup with the launch of the twin STEREOspacecraft capable of imaging thesolar wind from the Sun to the Earth.As coronal mass ejections travelthrough the highly structured solarwind, they become highly distorted.We find good agreement betweenour models and STEREO images.

Our involvement in space plasmaphysics will continue with our leadingrole in the next generation Europeanmission Solar Orbiter, which will flyclose to the Sun.

Most of the extreme ultra-violet lightfrom the Sun originates in the thintransition region below the hot corona.We have used simulations to show

that, under dynamic conditions, adownward flux of coronal energy andmass powers this radiation ratherthan the conventional thermallyconducted heat flux. Observationalstudies from the Japanese Hinodespacecraft are beginning to confirmthis new result.

M. K. Dougherty, M. Galand, I. Mueller-Wodarg, C. M. Carr

Planetary research is focused on thehighly successful Cassini mission toSaturn and Titan, its largest moon andthe only one with a dense “Earth-like”atmosphere. The group leads themagnetometer and is also a memberof the ion neutral mass spectrometerteam.

Cassini magnetic field observationshave been used to identify the firstexamples of hot flow anomaliesupstream of Saturn’s bow shock.These cavities of heated, deflectedsolar wind plasma have similarproperties to those observed at theEarth. At Saturn’s magnetopause,which separates magnetopshericplasma from solar wind plasma,surface waves have been observedwhich are driven by the Kelvin-Helmholtz (sheared flow) instability.This perturbation of the boundary isexpected to lead to transport of solarwind energy into the magnetosphere.

Figure 1: Interplanetary magnetic field strength near the Earth, which is currentlylower than at any time since measurements began.

Planetary Physics

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/spat

Space Plasma Physics

Figure 2: Turbulence in the solar wind.The shape of the turbulence eddies canbe seen as lines of constant colour: theyare stretched along the local magneticfield lines.

Figure 3. STEREO image of a coronalmass ejection leaving the Sun, with amodelled structure overlaid in red.

47

Another focus has been Saturn’smagnetotail, where energy is releasedthrough magnetic reconnection.Magnetic field lines break and mergeto form new field lines, heating theplasma and accelerating energeticparticles away from the planet. Wehave built up a global picture ofreconnection and have shown thatevents occur at a preferential pointin Saturn’s rotation cycle.

After 3 years and 31 close flybys,the Cassini spacecraft observedTitan outside of the magnetosphereand in the shocked solar wind. Theflow-induced magnetosphere aroundTitan is in fact populated by “fossil”fields originating from Saturn itselfthat diffuse slowly.

Titan’s ionosphere plays a key role incoupling Titan’s neutral atmospherewith Saturn’s magnetic environmentand initiates the complex chemicalreaction chains that affect the entireatmosphere. We have for the firsttime been able to unambiguouslyidentify the main source maintaininga substantial ionosphere on thenightside of Titan. (Figure 4).

Our empirical model of Titan's neutralatmosphere describes the densitiesand temperatures in the thermos-phere and revealed a distinct equatorialoblateness. We showed that ion-neutral coupling in Saturn's thermos-phere / ionosphere provides a possiblesolution to its well known “energycrisis”. We successfully completedour first campaign of accurate radiotracking of the Venus Expressspacecraft to derive in-situ thermos-

pheric densities at Venus, the firstever measurements of this kind.

In September 2008 the ESA Rosettaspacecraft flew past the asteroid Steins.The instruments of the Rosetta PlasmaConsortium, parts of which were builtin the group, were operated duringthe flyby. This will be followed in2010 by a flyby of the asteroid Lutetiaand in 2014 the rendezvous with thecomet 67P Chuyumov-Gerasimenko.

J. E. Harries, H. E. Brindley, J. E. Russell, J. Pickering

We provide the scientific lead for theGeostationary Earth Radiation Budget(GERB) project, the first to observethe broadband energy emitted andreflected by the Earth at high temporalresolution. GERB data are used toprovide new insights into the radiativeeffects of cloud and aerosol, test thefidelity of climate models and quantifythe short time-scale variability of theclimate system. Ultimately, a highprecision, stable, long term datasetwill be produced for climate trendstudies. To this end we are currentlyinter-calibrating the first two GERBinstruments using co-incident Earthobservations and vicarious calibrationtargets such as the moon (Figure 5).

The past year has also seen a major

effort at interpreting measurementsmade by the Tropospheric AirborneFourier Transform Spectrometer(TAFTS). A particular focus is toimprove our knowledge of the radiativeeffect of cirrus clouds in the far infraredregion of the electromagnetic spectrum(Figure 6). We have also beenemploying EO data to study watervapour feedback, quantify the radiativeeffect of dust aerosol and investigatethe decadal variability of the Earth’senergy balance, a vital step towardsassessing possible climate changesignals above those due to naturalfluctuations.

A. Czaja, J. D. Haigh, R. Toumi

Ocean-Atmosphere interactions.We study the impact of the oceancirculation on climate by simulatinga waterworld using our own coupledocean-atmosphere climate model(FORTE). Climate variability isdominated by large tropical warm / coldevents associated with anomalous exportof heat by wind-driven ocean currents.

In the real world, the Gulf Stream andthe Kuroshio carry a very significantamount of heat which is transferredto the atmosphere through evaporation.We have shown that such moistprocesses are associated with avigorous circulation of air masses fromthe sea surface to the ‘tropopause’(Fig. 7).

Atmospheric processes.We study the behaviour of the atmos-phere using a simplified climate modelwhich includes a full representationof the dynamical motions but highlyparameterised representation ofphysical processes (such as solarheating). We can carry out many

Earth Observation

Figure 4: The density profiles ofdifferent ions organized by mass-to-charge ratio (dotted) and total iondensity (solid) for Titan's nightsideionosphere.

Figure 5:GERB inter-calibration usingthe moon. Longwave and shortwave'images', peak black body temperatureand maximum and mean shortwaveradiance.

Figure 6: Downwelling radianceobserved by TAFTS beneath thin cirrus(black upper curve) and simulated byLBLRTM for clear-sky (blue curve).Residuals (lower curve) show the cloudeffect

Climate Modelling

48

experiments to investigate how theclimate might respond to differentfactors, such as increased green-house gases or variations in theSun's output. The response to manyforcings may be mapped onto theintrinsic modes of variability of the

atmosphere (see Figure 8) and thusthe location and strength of the mid-latitude jet stream and storm tracks.

Regional Climate processes.Climate models predict more intensestorms as the world warms. We aremodelling idealised storms and findthat peak rainfall scales with availablemoisture as predicted by the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship. However,these storms also cover a largerarea so that the volume of rain andflooding may increase more withtemperature than is currently thought.

C. M. Carr, J. E. Harries, J. Pickering,R. Toumi

The group’s scientific interests areunderpinned by major instrumen-tation projects for space-flight, onresearch aircraft, and in the laboratory.

The TAFTS instrument is the firsthigh resolution, far-IR, FT spectrometerundertaking simultaneous up- anddown-welling radiance measurementsin-situ in the atmosphere. As part ofthe CAVIAR (Continuum Absorptionin the Visible and Infrared and itsAtmospheric Relevance) project TAFTStook part in a flight measurementcampaign in 2008 on board the NERC/Met Office FAAM, studying thecomponent of the absorption of electro-magnetic radiation which variesrelatively slowly with wavelength,known as the water vapour continuum.This absorption is a significantcontribution to the greenhouse effect,but surprisingly its strength, dependenceon conditions (e.g., temperature,pressure) and physical origins arenot well understood.

Four GERB (Geostationary EarthRadiation Budget) instruments arescheduled to fly on the MSG opera-tional satellites, due to continue untilat least 2016. GERBs 1 and 2 arealready in orbit. Before launch bothinstruments underwent a thoroughground calibration and characterisationusing the group's Earth ObservationCalibration Facility (EOCF). Last yearthe third GERB completed a secondcalibration in the EOCF, prior to itsintegration on the satellite, to belaunched in early 2011. The fourthGERB is currently finishing its firstcalibration.

The group has a long history ofleading magnetometer instrumentsfor space research. Looking to futuremissions, where the emphasis willbe on low mass, low power, wehave migrated the magnetometerelectronics from an analogue designto a digital signal-processing design.

Our continued collaboration withUltra Electronics Ltd has resulted in

a new fluxgate design which at 100gis half the mass of any sensor wehave previously flown in space. Wehave also completed a first stage oftesting new, commercially available,solid-state Magnetoresistive sensors,with promising results. During 2010the group was awarded a EuropeanSpace Agency sponsored contractto investigate how our magnetic fieldtechnology can be transferred to theoil and gas exploration market

Our high resolution spectroscopylaboratory has a unique visible-vacuum ultraviolet Fourier TransformSpectrometer. We study atomic andmolecular spectra of importance forinterpretation of spectral measure-ments of planetary atmospheres andastrophysical objects, such as thenew generation of stellar atmos-phere models (non-local thermody-namic equilibrium), looking atabundances of elements in stars.We completed the first highresolution measurements of SO2photoabsorption cross sections atlow temperature (198K), for applica-tions to studies of Io and Venus.

Instrumentation Development

Figure 8: Wind speed calculated in acomputer model of the climate. (Top)Average value as a function of latitudeand pressure (altitude). The strongvalues centred around 45N, 200hParepresent the jet stream. (Bottom)Major modes of positive (red) andnegative (blue) variability of the wind:(left) Leading mode: jet wobbling aboutits mean position; (right) Second mode:jet weakening and expanding (orstrengthening and narrowing) in situ.

Figure 9: A refueling stop off during aCAVIAR project flight in September 2008.

Figure 10: The GERB instrumentbeing placed in the thermal vacuumchamber in the EOCF for calibration.

Urban areas account for much of thecarbon emissions. We are developingan observing platform to measurecarbon fluxes at the Imperial campus.

Figure 7: North (red) - South (blue) masstransport by the atmosphere per bin ofdry (x-axis) and moist (y-axis) staticenergy across 40N. (Science, 2008).

49

The

oret

ical

Phy

sics

Gro

upm

embe

rs

Theoretical Physics

50

Head of GroupProfessor C. M. Hull

The work of the Theoretical PhysicsGroup covers a wide range of researchareas bound together by the themeof fundamental questions in cosmology,gravity, particle physics, and quantumtheory. Our research activity benefitedfrom the Geometry and String Theoryprogramme at the MathematicalInstitute, which brought many visitorsto the Group. The group organised“Gravity, Supersymmetry and Branes”,an international conference incelebration of Prof. Kellogg Stelle’s60th Birthday on April 24-25th 2008.

Outreach highlights included TheFriends of Imperial College Lecture“Eleven dimensions of the UnifyingTheory” by Michael Duff, Abdus SalamProfessor of Theoretical Physics, whichfilled the Alexander Fleming lecturetheatre to its capacity of 300 (1stJanuary). The lecture can be viewed athttp://www.friendsofimperial.org.uk/index.php?page=past-events.According to Chair Roderick Rhys-Jones, this was the highest atten-dance on record in the history of theFriends’ lecture series. Prof. Duff wasalso interviewed by Andrew Marrabout “M-theory” on BBC Radio 4’sStart the Week (24th March), gave aRoyal Institution Evening Discourseon “The world in eleven dimensions”(4th April) and other public lectures.

Further highlights included Prof. JoaoMagueijo presenting a DiscoveryScience Channel documentary, “The

Big Bang Universe,” on cosmologyand his research. Dr. Carlo Contaldiand Dr. Toby Wiseman’s work wasfeatured in a New Scientist article,“Has ‘dark fluid’ saved Earth fromoblivion?” (6th March). Dr. FayDowker appeared on the BBC TVHorizon programme “Do You KnowWhat Time it is?” (2nd December)describing her research on thenature of time.

C. R. Contaldi, T.S Evans,H.F.Jones (emeritus), T.W.B. Kibble(emeritus), J. Magueijo, A. Ranjantie,R.J. Rivers (emeritus), T. Wiseman,N. Bevis, A. Niarchou

Cosmology links together the researchof the group: fundamental physics willbe tested by making cosmologicalpredictions and cosmology needsfundamental physics to addressoutstanding questions. Cosmology isan experimental subject and as yetmore detailed data on cosmic micro-wave background (CMB) fluctuationsand Large Scale Structure (LSS)surveys arrives, our work continuesin testing the detailed predictions ofa number of cosmological models.

On the observational front Contaldicontinued to participate in a numberof important CMB experimentalcollaborations such as SPIDER, aballoon-borne large-scale CMBpolarimeter, leading the analysis andtheoretical interpretation. The publi-cation of the high resolution CMBpower spectrum from the completeACBAR data set was a highlight.

In theoretical cosmology, Contaldi andco-workers investigated anisotropicinflationary models with massive vectorfields, showing ghosts render themodels unstable. Contaldi, Wisemanand their student also studied Tensor-Vector-Scalar (TeVeS) Theory, acovariant theory that has ModifiedNewtonian Dynamics (MoND) as itslow-velocity phenomenology. Theyfound that, generically, the vector fielddevelops caustic singularities ontime scales of order the gravitationalin-fall time and argued that the theorymust be modified to the more generalform of Einstein-Aether theories.

CMB polarisation measurementshave the potential to tell us muchabout the history and structure ofthe universe and Contaldi, Magueijoand a co-worker considered thepossibility that anomalous CMBpolarisation with interesting observa-tional consequences could arisefrom gravitational waves if gravity ischiral and breaks parity symmetry.

Theoretical Physics http://www.imperial.ac.uk/research/theory

Cosmology and Quantum FieldTheory

Figure 1: Prof. Kellogg Stelle

Figure 2: The CMB Power Spectrumfrom the Arcminute CosmologyBolometer Array Receiver (Reichardt etal. 2008).

Figure 3: Simulation of mattercollapsing to form a black hole in theTeVeS theory of Dark Matter. Thevertical lines are the integral curves ofthe dynamical vector field and theirmeeting at the top center demonstratesthe formation of a ‘caustic singularity’

Figure 4: Chiral gravity model tensorcontribution to the TB (solid, black), BB(dashed, red), and EB (dotted, blue)spectra for a standard ACDM modelwith tensor to scalar ratio r =0.1 andimaginary Immirzi parameter γ = 10.

51

The widespread belief in inflation ispartly due to a lack of alternativemodels for generating primordialdensity perturbations. Magueijosuggested a novel and very generalmechanism: if the speed of soundwere vastly larger in the early Universea near scale-invariant spectrum ofdensity fluctuations could have beenproduced even in the absence ofinflation. The strength of this proposalis that it is not tied to a specific modeland Magueijo implemented the generalscenario in two contexts: bimetricvarying speed of light theories anddeformed special relativity. Magueijoalso studied the residue that the initialthermal state of the universe – the BigBang – could have on the large scalestructure of space-time. By comparingthermal and vacuum fluctuations,Magueijo and a co-worker placed aconstraint on the temperature of theUniverse before and during inflation.Our research in non-perturbativeaspects of quantum field theorycovers applications from particlephysics and cosmology to effectivetheories of condensed matter systemsand networks.

Any observed non-Gaussianity ofcosmological density perturbationswould be a hugely important clueinto the physics of the early universe.For example, if light scalar fields arepresent at the end of inflation, theirnon-equilibrium dynamics can producenon-Gaussian density perturbations.Rajantie and his student calculatedthese perturbations using non-linearlattice field theory simulations. In themassless preheating model, theyfound that some parameter rangesare ruled out and others lead toacceptable but observable levels ofnon-Gaussianity. Rajantie also showedthat quantum and thermal gauge fieldfluctuations give rise to superhorizoncorrelations in a network of gaugedcosmic strings.

Evans studied complex networksarising in a variety of contexts. Helooked at exact analytic solutions andvarious numerical results for therewiring of bipartite networks. He alsoshowed how the results can be appliedto many other areas including the Voterand Urn models of statistical physics,

the Minority Game of econophysicsand certain models of ecology.

Kibble continued the study of cosmicstrings with junctions, and also workedon the formation of monopolesconnected by strings in a particularmodel. He also wrote the definitivearticle for Scholarpedia on the “Englert-Brout-Higgs-Guralnik-Hagen-Kibblemechanism.” Rivers worked on dualmodels for strings with junctionswhich led to an understanding of theirevaporation patterns and possibleimportance in the early universe.Jones continued his work on non-Hermitian systems, addressing thequestion of how non-Hermitian systemscouple to the Hermitian world.

M. Duff, J. P. Gauntlett, A. Hanany,C. M. Hull, K. S. Stelle, A. A. Tseytlin,D. Waldram, T. Wiseman, A. Alexandrov,E. Antonyan, J. Bedford, S. Kim, D. Martelli, A. Rej, R. Ricci, J. Sonner,B. Stefanski, M. Wolf

Superstring theory is now understoodto arise from the more fundamentalM-theory, in which strings are accom-panied by higher dimensional extendedobjects, called branes. A crucialdiscovery is that quantum gravity andquantum field theory are differentfacets of a single structure. Forexample, the AdS/CFT correspon-dence relates conformal quantumfield theory to string theory propa-

gating on Anti de-Sitter (AdS) space-time. This has revolutionised ourunderstanding of strongly coupledquantum field theories and it maylead an analytic description of thestrong-coupling dynamics of QCD,solving a major outstanding problemin high energy theory. We havemade many key discoveries in theAdS/CFT correspondence.

The work of Tseytlin focused onunderstanding the string theory sideof the AdS/CFT duality. Importantprogress towards an exact solutionof string theory in AdS5 x S5 spacewas made by reformulating stringtheory in terms of invariant “current”variables and constructing an equiv-alent model for the physical degreesof freedom based on a Wess-Zumino-Witten type reduced theory. Theformulation in terms of currentvariables led Tseytlin (together withRicci and Wolf) to the explanation ofthe string theory origin of a novel dualsuperconformal symmetry that playsa crucial role in relating gluonscattering amplitudes and Wilsonloops in gauge theory. Tseytlin alsostudied the structure of the largespin expansion of anomalousdimensions of fixed twist operatorsin a super Yang-Mills theory dual torotating strings in AdS5 space andhas shown that the remarkablereciprocity property observed atweak coupling holds also at strongcoupling, both at leading andsubleading (string 1-loop) orders.

A significant recent development inM-theory is the progress on under-standing the quantum field theoriesthat arise on collection of membranes.Bagger, Lambert and Gustavsonconstructed new maximally super-symmetric actions based on novel

String Theory and Quantum FieldTheory

Figure 5: Quantum fluctuations meanthat cosmic strings formed in the earlyuniverse have correlations that extendover many horizon lengths, with poten-tially observable effects.

Figure 6: String world surface endingon two parallel light-like Wilson lines atthe boundary of AdS5 space.

52

algebras with a triple product. Gauntlettproved a “no-go theorem” for suchalgebras that provided importantconstraints on the construction ofsuch theories which was influentialfor subsequent developments.Gauntlett has continued to study theAdS/CFT correspondence anddiscovered infinite new classes ofsolutions of string theory with three-dimensional anti-de-Sitter factors thatare dual to two-dimensional quantumfield theories. An interesting newapplication of the AdS/CFT corre-spondence is to use it to study systemsof interest in condensed matter andGauntlett has constructed new classesof solutions with a non-relativisticconformal symmetry.

Hanany made further progress inunderstanding very large classes ofsupersymmetric gauge theories. Hecontinued to use his plethysticprogramme for systematically countingthe single and multi-trace gaugeinvariant operators of a gauge theory,applying it to Supersymmetric QCDamong other examples. Hananyextended his leading work on Branetilings which are e•cient mnemonicsfor Lagrangians of N=2 Chern-Simons-matter theories which are conjecturedto arise on M2-branes probing singulartoric Calabi-Yau fourfolds. For example,he and a co-worker presented a newinfinite class of Chern-Simons theoriesusing brane tilings. The new classreproduces all known cases so farand introduces many new modelsthat are dual to M2 brane theorieswhich probe a toric non-compact CY

4-fold. The master space of the quivertheory was used as a tool to constructthe moduli space for this class andthe Hilbert Series was computed forsome examples.

It is important to understand regimesof string theory in which familiarconcepts of low-energy supergravitydo not apply and in which M-theoryis very different from field theory.Indeed, generic solutions of stringtheory are not conventional geome-tries. Hull continued his leading workon “non-geometric” string backgroundsinvestigating, with a co-worker,compactications with T-duality twistsand calculating the gauge algebra ofthe dimensionally reduced theories.These reductions can be formulatedin a ‘doubled space’ in which eachcircle is supplemented by a T-dualcircle to construct a geometry whichis a doubled torus bundle over acircle. Hull and co-workers alsoworked on topological sigma models.One class was obtained by twistingthe N=(2,2) supersymmetric nonlinearsigma model and when the twocomplex structures commute, it wasshown that the quantum theory isglobally well-defined. They also lookedat two dimensional N-extendedsupersymmetry in Euclidean signatureand its R-symmetry.

Waldram and co-workers studied“exceptional generalised geometry”(EGG), an extension of Hitchin’sgeneralised geometry that providesa unified geometrical description ofbackgrounds in eleven-dimensionalsupergravity. On a d-dimensionalbackground, as first described byHull, the action of the generalisedgeometrical O(d,d) symmetry groupis replaced by the exceptional U-duality group Ed(d). The metric andform-field degrees of freedom combineinto a single geometrical object, so

that EGG naturally describes genericbackgrounds with flux. In further work,Waldram and co-workers derived localexpressions for the pure spinorsdescribing the generalised geometrydual to an SU(3) structure background,and showed that the equations for N= 1 vacua are invariant under T-duality.They also proposed a local gener-alized geometrical definition of thecharges f, H, Q and R appearing ineffective four-dimensional theories,using the Courant bracket.

Duff continued his work on the intriguingcorrespondence he discoveredbetween the entropy of certain four-dimensional black holes in stringtheory and entanglement measuresin quantum information theory. Heand his students considered theconfigurations of intersecting D3-branes, whose wrapping around thesix compact dimensions provides thestring-theoretic interpretation of thecharges, and associated the 3-qubitbasis vectors |ABC > with the corre-sponding 8 wrapping cycles. Recently,they provided a new interpretation of3-qubit entanglement based onFreudenthal triples. Duff also studiedthe 21-year-old paradox arising fromhis ”membrane at the end of theuniverse” idea: certain branes exhibitedthe required symmetry enhancementin the near-horizon limit but others,for example the heterotic string, didnot. Duff argued that the recentlydiscovered symmetry enhancement ofthe heterotic string, due to a' correc-tions, would resolve the paradox andprovide new AdS/CFT dualities if it canbe extended to other strings and branes.

Stelle and co-workers carried out adimensional reduction of M-theory toone dimension on Calabi-Yau 5-foldswith a view to studying minimalsupersymmetric cosmology usingthe resulting N=2 supersymmetric

Figure 7: Features of the topology of aclass of AdS3 solutions of type IIBsupergravity that are holographicallydual to two-dimensional conformal fieldtheories.

Figure 8: (i) Quiver diagram for the ABJM theory (ii) Tiling for the ABJM theory

53

quantum mechanics. A study was doneof the implications of supersymmetricnonrenormalisation theorems for theultraviolet structure of maximal super-gravity, from the view points of super-space and algebraic renormalisation.These demonstrate that 1/2 BPSoperators are ruled out as counterterms,but less constrained operators arenot. Stelle also classified dualityorbits for stationary supergravitysolutions, including supersymmetricand nonsupersymmetric black holesolutions with mass, NUT charge andangular momentum. The stratifiedstructure of these orbits into BPS classesresults from the breakdown of theIwasawa decomposition for noncompactdivisor groups relevant to the nonlinearduality-group realisations for stationarysolutions.

Wiseman and a co-worker studiedblack hole thermodynamics bysimulating lattice Yang-Mills theory.They observed ’t Hooft scaling andat low temperatures their results areconsistent with the dual black holeprediction. Motivated in part by thiswork, Wiseman and his student alsoworked on extending holographicrenormalisation to the decouplinglimit of coincident Dp-branes. This isimportant because it is this technologythat allows one to make predictionsfrom supergravity for the connectionbetween deformation by sourcesand the response in expectationsvalues in the field theory which canbe solved for numerically. Theyconstructed the asymptotic gravitonand dilaton deformations and computedcounterterms to give a finite renor-malized bulk action and dual onepoint functions.

H. F. Dowker, J. J. Halliwell, C. J. Isham,D. Bedingham, A. Doering, K. Savvidou,A. Valentini

The problem of quantum gravity, howto find a unified framework for all ofphysics including gravity, is a commonthread throughout the work of thegroup. As well as String Theory, wework on other approaches to quantumgravity which are intertwined with theproblem of the interpretation ofquantum mechanics, a focus in itsown right.

Dowker continued to work on thecausal set approach to quantumgravity, in which spacetime is conjec-tured to be fundamentally discrete.Thus far there is only circumstantialevidence for the existence of “spacetimeatoms” and we need to derive directobservational signatures to test thisidea. Dowker and co-workersdiscovered a phenomenologicalmodel of massless particle propa-gation on a discrete spacetime thatwould have observational conse-quences for light received from verydistant sources. There are two effects:

an energy diffusion and drift andtight bounds on the two parameterswere derived due to the the spectrumof CMB radiation having remainedblackbody for 13 billion years.

Some of the interesting outstandingproblems in quantum theory concernsituations in which time appears in anon-trivial way. Halliwell used thedecoherent histories approach toanalyse the arrival time problem inquantum mechanics. He showed thatin the Zeno limit, in which the stepfunction potential marking the arrivalpoint becomes large, the arrival timedistribution may be obtained in a clearway using a path integral represen-tation of the propagator and the pathdecomposition expansion in whichthe propagator is factored across asurface of constant time. This methodgives the same result for a wideclass of complex potentials.

A long-term interest of Isham is theapplication of topos theory to quantumgravity and the foundations of quantumtheory. The goal of the programmeis to develop a fundamentally newway of building theories of physicsand Isham and Doering madefurther progress resulting in a 200-page article that will be included in aforthcoming Springer Lecture Noteson Physics (ed. Bob Coecke). Thebasic contention is that constructinga theory of physics is equivalent tofinding a representation in a topos ofa certain formal language that isattached to the system. Quantumtheory itself can be reformulated in aneo-realist manner, withoutreference to measurements,observers or other instrumentalistconcepts.

Quantum Gravity and theFoundations of Quantum Mechanics

Figure 9: (i) Onion-like classification of the entanglement of three quantum bits (ii)Stratification. The arrows are non-invertible transformations between classes

Figure 10: Causal relations (greenlines) between the spacetime atoms(red crosses) underlying a 1+1 dimen-sional flat spacetime.

Figure 11: The arrival time problem inquantum mechanics: what is the proba-bility that an incoming wavepacketcrosses the origin during a given timeinterval?

54

Undergraduate Teaching

Director of Undergraduate Studies:Professor A. MacKinnonSenior Tutor: Prof R. Murray Admissions Tutor: Dr R. Forsyth

In October 2008 we welcomed arecord intake of 256 new studentsonto our undergraduate programmes.With an additional 232 in October2009, the total undergraduatepopulation came to nearly 900,making us one of the largest Physicsdepartments in the country.Applications increased by about25% for the two years following theintroduction of top-up fees, despite(possibly because of) the requirementfor students to have achieved atleast 3 As at A level. Numbers havenow levelled off, but the standard ofapplicants remains excellent.

Students are enrolled onto one of sixprogrammes of three or four years’duration leading to an MSci or BScdegree. Now we have gainedindependence from the University ofLondon, students from the 2008 entryonward will receive our own ImperialCollege degrees. The degree structureallows easy transfer between mostof the programmes in the early years.

All three of our MSci degrees arefour-year programmes. The MSci inPhysics is by far the most popular, withmost students registering initially on thisprogramme. The MSci programmesin Physics with a Year in Europe, andPhysics with Theoretical Physicssupply more specialist needs, andattract steady numbers. MSciprogrammes are intended mainly for

those people who intend to follow acareer path within physics, but theyare also suitable for anyone else whowants to have the opportunity tostudy advanced topics in their degree.

We offer two three-year BScprogrammes in Physics and inPhysics with Theoretical Physics.Comparatively few people registerinitially on the ordinary BSc, butnumbers increase through transfers,some voluntary, but most being thosewho do not achieve the requirementfor an average mark of around 60%at the end of the MSci second year.The BSc in Physics with TheoreticalPhysics has relatively few students,but it is invaluable for some overseasstudents who find funding four yearsa problem. BSc programmes aresuitable for students who want totake a specialist MSc course aftergraduating, or who intend to moveout of physics when they havecompleted their degree (for example,in order to pursue careers in financeor IT). The four-year BSc in Physicswith Studies in Musical Performance(administered jointly with the RoyalCollege of Music) is unique, andattracts small numbers of exceptionalcandidates who are well qualified inboth disciplines.

In 2008, the number of UCAS appli-cations for 2008 entry dropped 7%on the previous year, but the rate ofacceptance jumped 5.7%, giving usa record intake of 256. Some of thelogistical considerations of ourrecord intake are discussed below.The acceptance rate of offers to

UCAS applicants has risen some15% over the last six years, andstood at 52% in 2009. All the intakehad achieved 3 grade As at A level,the number achieving 4 or 5 gradeAs rose significantly, and the scoresfor IB candidates were also up,making 2009 the most highlyqualified intake ever.

We are delighted that thepercentage of incoming womenstudents has increased over the lastfour years, up to an all time high of34% in 2009, although at 28%overall it is still well short of wherewe would like it to be. The four yearMSci is by far the most popularprogramme with about 56% of theintake, whilst the MSci with Theory,MSci with Year in Europe and thethree year BSc recruited goodnumbers with about 17%, 15% and9% respectively. Numbers on theMSci with Musical Performanceprogramme are always very low, butwe were pleased that 3 studentsjoined in 2008, another transferredin during the year, and 3 morejoined in 2009. With the 3 from2007, this is by far the largestnumber we have had on this degreeat any one time.

The department is happy to welcomestudents with disabilities, and in 2008we were delighted to be joined byClaire, who has cerebral palsy. Thisvery significantly limits her muscularcontrol in everyday life, including herspeech. However, she whizzesaround in an electric wheelchair,usually in the company of a helper,and has become a familiar figure inthe department. Her presence has

Degree Programmes

Admissions

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/physics/courses/ug

MSci Programmes

BSc Programmes

Undergraduate Teaching staff membersPhoto: Meilin Sancho

55

caused us to reassess many matterssuch as access and emergencyprocedures, and arranging learningsupport for her amongst postgraduateand undergraduate students wasinitially quite a challenge. The realchallenge has been Claire’s, ofcourse, and with her sense of humourand enthusiasm for Physics sheovercomes difficulties on a daily basis.

The basic structure of the degreeprogrammes is two years of corephysics and mathematics, followedby one or two years of advancedoptions in selected areas of physics.Laboratory work forms an integralpart of all programmes in the firsttwo years, even for those on theTheoretical Physics degrees. Allprogrammes include a researchproject (normally in the final year),which may be experimental, compu-tational or theoretical.

Much physics is taught in a non-mathematical way in schools, butadvanced study at University levelrequires a solid foundation in mathe-matics, so a large part of the firstyear is spent learning the mathe-matical tools and techniquesnecessary for a full treatment of thephysics. The first term starts withan induction week, where studentsare shown the departmental andCollege facilities, and introductorytalks are given about different aspectsof the study programme. After this,the main physics and mathematicscourses start in earnest, starting fromthe foundations that have beenlearned at A level. Alongside thelectures, students have tutorials andseminars as well as around 6 hoursof laboratory work each week.

In the second year, there is lessmathematics and more concentrationon classical and quantum physics inthe lectures. There is a choice of aphysics or mathematics option or alanguage course. The third yearcompletes the core of physics andstudents can choose from a widerange of physics options and canalso take a Humanities or BusinessSchool course. Students on the MScidegrees have the opportunity to

take advanced physics options intheir final year, alongside their majorresearch project.

Much of our teaching is based ontraditional lectures, supported byclassworks and by small groupseminars and tutorials. The highstandard of our lecturing is regularlyrecognised in the College’s TeachingAwards. Nominations for theseawards come from the studentsthemselves. In 2008, Dr Fay Dowkerand Prof Dimitri Vvedensky receivedawards, Fay principally for her Level3 Foundations of Quantum Mechanicscourse and her outreach activities,and Dimitri for his longstandingexcellence in a wide range of courses.In 2009, Prof Richard Thompson,who was retiring as Director ofUndergraduate Studies after sixyears, not only received an awardfor excellence in teaching, but wasalso made a College Teaching Fellow.

Changes to our lecture courses aremade regularly in order to ensurethat they remain topical. It was alwayssomewhat anomalous that ourInstrumentation course was purelylecture based, and when Chris Carrtook it over in October 2008, hecompletely reconstructed thecontent to include lab and computingsessions. Now renamed Principlesof Instrumentation, it is establishedas a very successful and popularLevel 3 option. In total there areabout ten physics options in Year 3and 13 advanced options in Year 4.

The department has continued toexpand the use of “clickers” in lecturetheatres. These allow individualstudents to submit solutions tomultiple-choice questions posed bythe lecturer during a lecture. Theresults are seen immediately, so thelecturer has instant feedback andcan discuss the results, and explainany misunderstandings of the material.The students can also see straightaway if they are understanding thelecture. In the Second Year Opticscourse, Richard Thompson usedclickers in every session, and changedthe format of the lectures. Insteadof using the lecture time for direct

teaching of new material, he gave outdetailed course notes in advanceand students were asked to studythem before the lecture. The lecturetime was then used for expandingsome points, and for demonstrationsand worked examples as well as theclicker questions. The aim was tohelp the students to engage moreduring the lectures, rather than justto take notes passively. Althoughpreparation time was significantlyincreased, Richard found it a usefulexercise and the students agreed itwas effective and enjoyable.

Our record intake of 256 in October2008 presented us with with a numberof infrastructure problems. Extraequipment was purchased for theTeaching Lab and Computing Suite,but the problem in our largest lecturetheatre, which only had 230 seats,was not so easily solved. We addedan extra 16 cinema-type seats, themaximum that fire regulations wouldallow, but were still 10 short. Wetherefore had to offer a relay room.The potential for technical disasterwas high, but thanks to John Conway,our invaluable Learning Technologist,a twin-screen system was hardwiredto the nearest Seminar Room, whichfunctioned well from the beginning.The overspill and late arrivals weredirected to the Relay Room, wherea postgraduate student could remotelyzoom in on the six boards or followthe lecturer round the dais, whilst aseparate screen displayed anythingprojected onto the side screen in thetheatre. It was expected that thiswould run for a couple of weeks, butin fact it proved popular with studentsand ran till the penultimate week ofterm, when a combination ofassignment deadlines and earlywinter colds made the numbersunviable.

The top students on four of theDepartment’s lecture courses areawarded special prizes. In 2008,Bilal Rashid, Ren Chong Lin andArchi Campbell won prizes forAtmospheric Physics, ComputationalPhysics and Medical MRI & Ultrasoundrespectively, whilst Sandeep Mavadiawon the prize for Instrumentation.In 2009 the winners were Scott

Structure of the Degree Programmes

Lecture courses

56

Greening, Xu Weiming, RodotheaAmerikanou and Astrid Flinois.

We understand that arriving in aclass of 250 students can be dauntingand impersonal, so alongside thelectures we have other teachingactivities where students meet insmaller groups and are able to getto know each other better. In thefirst year, students meet once aweek for professional skills seminarsin groups of about 20. The aim inthe first term is to develop skills suchas working in small groups, writing aprecis of a scientific article andmaking a short presentation. In thesecond term the seminars focus onthe problem-solving skills which area very important characteristic of agood physicist.

Tutorials are held in groups of 4students throughout the first threeyears of the programmes. In tutorialsit is possible to ask tutors questionsabout the lecture course materialand problem sheets. Tutors alsoencourage discussion about othertopics within physics to help studentssee the wider relevance of whatthey are studying.

In the third year, when studentshave completed their study of thecore of physics and have gained anoverview of the whole subject, theyare able to see how different areasof physics relate to each other.Tutorials in the third year concentrateon preparation for the ComprehensiveExamination Papers, which teststudents’ ability to tackle problemsfrom across the whole spectrum ofphysics. This is a critical skill forpeople working as physicists, andemployers value the ability of goodphysics graduates to tackle unseenproblems from across the subject.Because we consider this to besuch an important skill, the compre-hensive examinations count for alarge part of that year’s marks.

There are Professional Skills elementsin all four years of our degrees.

All students are also assigned a

personal tutor who remains in contactwith them throughout their time atImperial. The personal tutor monitorshow they are getting on with theirdegree programme and gives adviceabout choice of options and careeropportunities as well as discussingquestions that students may haveabout non-academic issues. Notthe least of their value is as areferee for PhD and job applications,sometimes long after the student hasgraduated.

Laboratory work forms a veryimportant part of all the Physicsprogrammes, and a revision of thelaboratory work in all years has recentlybeen completed. The first yearlaboratory has added new introductorymaterial, with the aim of easing thetransition from laboratory work inschool to the more independentwork with advanced equipment andtechniques encountered at University.The second year laboratory has newcomputer control of some experiments,and in the third year laboratory wehave introduced a small group of newcore experiments to replace someolder experiments which are no longervery relevant to the current syllabus.

Much of the laboratory area hasbeen refurbished over recent years,and several hundred thousandpounds invested in the laboratoryinfrastructure and in new equipment,including mobile data stations forcomputer control of apparatus andhigh-speed collection and analysisof data from experiments.

Alongside laboratory work, all studentsspend time on computing courses,which concentrate on learning touse the computer language C++ foradvanced calculations and otherapplications. Many students usethese skills when they come on totheir project work later in the degreeprogramme.

Every undergraduate student under-takes a major research project,normally in their final year (Year inEurope students do theirs abroad inYear 3). Many students find that the

project is the most enjoyable part oftheir degree as they are then able topull together many of the skills thatthey have learnt throughout theirdegree and get to grips with a topicthat may be at the frontier of research.They are often able to produce newresults which can sometimes lead toa scientific publication in a researchjournal. Projects often involve workingalongside PhD students and postdoc-toral researchers in a research groupin the department. Students canenjoy their project work so muchthat they decide that they want tocarry on with research, sometimesin the same research group.

The Department awards three prizesfor projects each year. In 2008 theTyndall prize went to Rak KyeongSeong for a theoretical projectentitled Brane Dimers and QuiverGauge Theories, and the TessellaPrize for Software to Robert Shakir,for a microprocessor controlledspectrum analyser. Alex Sparrow

Pho

tos:

Mei

linS

anch

o

Projects

Teaching Laboratories

Tutorials and Seminars,Professional Skills

57

won The Worshipful Company ofScientific Instrument Makers Prize fora project to design and implementhigh speed algorithms to detect jetsin the CMS detector on the LargeHadron Collider. Winners in 2009 wereAeneas Wiener, Stavros Mercouris andAli Mozzafari, whilst Scott Greening,Jack Cutler and Jonathan Skidmoreshared the WCSIM Prize. AeneasWiener’s achievement in overcominga serious visual impairment wasinspiring, and he has gone on to theDTC in Theory & Simulation of Materials.

At the end of the First Year, studentscarry out a short project in smallgroups. The Project Open Days inJune are among the highlights of theyear, when students show their resultsto other members of the department(staff and students) and to visitingsixth-formers considering applying toImperial. A gallery of photographsof the first year projects can be seenon the department’s website.

Assessment is not limited to formalexaminations. In the first and secondyears, assessed problem sheets aregiven out every two or three weeksand students have a week to handin their solutions for marking. InJanuary, students in both years sit aNew Year Test on the first term’scourses. In laboratory, students areassessed on their practical work aswell as on their written lab reports,where they set out the details ofwhat they have done and the resultsthey have obtained. Formal exami-nations on the lecture courses areheld at the end of the year and thesecount for a little over half the totalmark for the first two years.

In the third year the situation is similar,with laboratory work assessedthroughout the year and examina-tions at the end of the year. TheComputational Physics option includestwo major assignments and a finaltest taken in January. In addition,the third year includes the compre-hensive examinations, which covermaterial from all the core courses.

Projects are assessed in a numberof ways, to reflect the differentaspects of project work. Studentsare given an interim assessment mark,and are also assessed on a shortpresentation. The main part of theassessment comes from the finalproject report, which is a substantialdocument setting out the backgroundto the project, the work that thestudent has carried out, the resultsobtained and the conclusions thatcan be drawn. Many project reportsare scholarly documents of whichstudents are rightly proud, and theirproject marks are often very high,reflecting the amount of effort thatthey put into this part of the degree.

The exchange programme continuesto thrive. We have ERASMUSexchange agreements with 13universities in western Europe, althoughthey are not all used every year. In2008, 23 students went out to Europe.French is normally the most popularlanguage, and in 2008-09 there were12 students distributed amongstESPCI (Paris), U Paris-Sud XI (Orsay)and INP Grenoble in France, andEPF Lausanne in Switzerland. Fourstudents went to Hamburg andHeidelberg in Germany, we had twoin Padova and one in Trento (Italy),and three in Spain at Santander andValencia. In 2009 there were 25abroad, with similar distributions.

Year in Europe students spend alarge part of their year abroad workingin a research group on a major project.They often excel in this, gaining veryhigh marks, and sometimes becomingan author on a paper. Students alsotake some lecture courses at thehost university, where they have tocope with problems of language anddifferent lecturing and examination

styles. This can be challenging, butoverall it is a rewarding experienceand students gain enormously fromspending a year in another country.Some return to the host countrylater on to take further studies.

The incoming (Occasional) studentson the exchange programme do muchto enrich the international ethos ofthe department. They are frequentlyvery able indeed, often taking coursesat MSc level, and some stay on withus to do a PhD. We welcome about30-35 incoming exchange studentseach year.

Music has long played an importantpart in the life of the PhysicsDepartment, and many of ourstudents sing in College choirs orplay in the orchestras. This uniquedegree programme, administeredjointly with the neighbouring RoyalCollege of Music, was introduced inthe early 1990s for students withhigh abilities in both Physics andinstrumental playing. Neither collegereduces its entry criteria, so studentshave to be exceptionally able to enterthe programme, and we seldom takemore than two or three students peryear. In 2008, guitarist MartinAthanasiou graduated with FirstClass honours, and was awarded aKen Allen Prize for his achievement.Numbers on this degree inevitablyvary, but in October 2008 we gaineda trombonist, a saxophonist and aviola player, whilst in 2009 weadded two horn players and aviolinist.

BSc in Physics with Studiesin Musical Performance

Assessment

Exchange Programme

Martin Athanasiou receiving the KenAllen Prize

Pho

tos:

Mei

linS

anch

o

58

In March each year, the student PhysicsSociety (PhySoc) organises a highlysuccessful Big Physics Day, whensixth formers and others attendlectures and activities in large numbers.As well as being enjoyable inthemselves, we hope activities likethis will stimulate recruitment, andwe look forward to future statisticswith interest.

Daniel Burrows, a third year Physicsstudent and former DepartmentalRepresentative, organised the thirdRoyal College of Science Union’sScience Challenge 2008. Studentsand schools were invited to submit800 word essays on themes suggestedby the distinguished judges, Dr PhillipCampbell (Editor in Chief, Nature), LordRobert Winston, Pallab Ghosh (BBCScience Editor), and Dr Paul Snaith(Vice-President, Downstream Marketing),

along with the then Rector, Sir RichardSykes. At the Grand Final in the ScienceMuseum in March, the First Prize forstudents went to Erika Cule, an under-graduate in Biochemistry, whilstHassan Al Halwachi from SherborneSchool won the Schools Prize.

The Commemoration Day Receptionlate in October each year is the settingfor our departmental prizegiving. Inaddition to the project and lecturecourse prizes mentioned above, bestin year prizes 2008 were awarded toBartomeu Monserrat Sánchez (Year 1),Stavros Mercouris (Year 2), ThomasHammant (BSc Year 3) and SimonGentle (MSci Year 4). Daniel Burrowsreceived the Royal College of ScienceAssociation Prize for both academicachievement and his contribution tothe College community. In 2009 thefirst three year prizes were won byVincent Chen, Bartomeu MonserratSánchez and Stavros Mercouris. Itwas a particular pleasure to us thatSania Jevtic was awarded the MSciYear 4 prize. We have had some verytalented women students, but Saniawas the first woman to have come topof her year. She is now doing theDTC in Controlled Quantum Dynamics.

Whilst we are on the subject of prizes,the Physics Department has beengreatly enriched by three benefactorsin the last two or three years. KenAllen, an engineer and alumnus ofthe department, has donated five

prizes for academic excellence,Gloucester Research have donated10 awards for non-graduating students,and the Majlis Khuddam ul AhmadiyyaFoundation have set up a generousaward in the name of Abdus Salam,the Physics Department’s last NobelPrizewinner, for the best graduatingMSci student. In 2008 it was presentedby Masroor Ahmad of the Foundationto Simon Gentle, and in 2009 toSania Jevtic.

The Department owes a debt ofgratitude to those students who actas Student Representatives, particu-larly the Departmental Representatives,Ignacio Vazquez in 2008-09 and RajKrishnakumar in 2009-10. Theircontributions to the Staff/StudentCommittee are invaluable for flaggingup causes of student concern at anearly stage. They are often able totake action to resolve difficulties on,for instance, lecture courses, withoutintervention from staff, and frequentlycanvass student opinion on newproposals. Being an active reptakes up time, but can be a greatbenefit to their fellow students.

The largest fraction of our graduatesstay within the physics area, mostlyby continuing to further study atImperial or elsewhere. This may bedirect entry into a PhD researchprogramme, or it may be a specialisttwelve month MSc degree such asthe department’s courses in QuantumFields and Fundamental Forces orOptics and Photics, or the MSc inGeneral Physics, added in October2008. We received funding for threeDoctoral Training Centres starting in2009, which offer a Masters degreein the first year, leading to a PhDafter four years. Subjects tend to becross-disciplinary, and currently includeControlled Quantum Dynamics, PlasticElectronics and Theory & Simulationof Materials. Other graduating studentsuse their physics skills in areas suchas the financial services industry orinformation technology. Since aphysics degree develops skills suchas problem solving and communi-cation as well as technical skills, ourgraduates are in heavy demandfrom a wide range of employers.

Graduate Destinations

Daniel Burrows receiving his RCSA award

Pho

tos:

Mei

linS

anch

o

Student activities

Sania Jevtic

Award winners at the Commemoration Day reception receiving their prizes from Prof.Donal Bradley and Prof. Jo Haigh.

Thomas Hammant Stavros Mercouris

Vincent Chen Bartomeu Monserrat Sánchez Simon Gentle

59

Director of Postgraduate Studies:Prof Lesley Cohen

The Department of Physics at ImperialCollege is one of the largest Physicsdepartments in the UK and 5* ratedin the Research Assessment Exercise.The Department’s research covers acomprehensive range of topics intheoretical and experimental fieldsand has a flourishing postgraduateresearch and taught MSc community.Research fields extend from astronomy,space and plasma physics to highenergy, theoretical and atomic physics,and condensed matter theory. Solidstate physics, plastic electronics,laser physics, applied optics andphotonics are all areas where thereis close collaboration with industry,while fields such as quantum infor-mation theory may lead to excitingnew applications. There are closelinks with the biophysics researchgroup (part of the Department ofBiological Sciences), which is alsohoused in the Blackett Laboratory.There are many examples of inter-national and industrial collaborationinvolving our research groups andwe are also very strongly involved ininterdisciplinary research centresaround the college. We are directlylinked to the Thomas Young Centre,the Shock Institute, the Maths Instituteand the Grantham Institute for Climatechange – all of which are centres ofinterdisciplinary research within theImperial College campus. Many groupsare involved in research using largescale facilities. The Department hasextensive internal facilities and atremendous range of research topicsavailable to postgraduate researchstudents.

Information about the researchbeing undertaken in the particulargroups and centres can be foundunder their sections elsewhere inthis report; further details can beobtained from the individual Headsof Group (see page 11). We take onaverage about 60 PhD students ayear into the department. Seehttp://www3.imperial.ac.uk/physics/admissions/pg/research/

The Graduate School of Engineeringand Physical Sciences(http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/gseps)provides training programmes andworkshops in professional and otherskills, undertakes quality assuranceof graduate programmes, organisesevents, such as guest lectures andsymposia, and promotes careeropportunities for graduate students.The Graduate school has won theTimes Higher Award for post graduatetraining in 2006 and 2008 and thisreflects the quality of the courses onoffer. Very few institutions world-wide are able to provide such a widerange of opportunities in postgraduateprofessional skills training.

Fernando Bradeo – QuantumOptics and Laser Science(Supervisor Prof Martin Plenio)Fernando’s thesis and PhD workfocused on theoretical aspects ofquantum information science. Itconsists of three parts: one on thequantitative theory of entanglement,one dealing with the complexity ofquantum systems (quantum complexityand the complexity of simulatingaspects of quantum systems), andone on simulating quantum dynamicsin other, realistic, quantum systems.Of particular note is Fernando’swork on entanglement theory. Theresults of the research were publishedlast year in Nature Physics, aremarkable achievement for a rathermathematically oriented piece ofwork (the complete proof has over 50pages of dense mathematics).Fernando has also been invited totalk about his results in internationalconferences (including QuantumInformation Processing 2008 and 2008IEEE Information Theory Workshop)and many university colloquia (inmore than 7 research groups).Recently, Fernando has been invitedto give a series of five lecturesabout his work on the workshop“Resource Theories in QuantumMechanics”, organized by Prof.Patrick Hayden of McGill University.

Joe Kwiatkowski – ExperimentalSolid State Physics (Supervisor:Prof. Jenny Nelson)Joe’s PhD thesis concerned modelingcharge transport in molecularelectronic materials. He demonstratedhow charge mobilities in molecularsemiconductors depend on both thechemical structure of the pi-conjugatedmolecules and the way in which themolecules pack together. For thecase of one important molecularmaterial, buckminsterfullerene, heshowed how the mobility in disor-dered thin films could be predictedsolely from knowledge of the chemicalstructure and the attractive potentialbetween two molecules. Joe’s workattracted substantial industrial andacademic interest, including BASF.Joe has published several seminalpapers including an invited reviewpaper, and he has released hissoftware under open source licensefor further use and development. Heis a gifted communicator, and duringhis time at Imperial he was invited tospeak to schools, wrote news articleson solar cells for lay audiences, andtook an active part in the outreachactivities of the UK Energy ResearchCentre. In April 2009 he took up apost doctoral position at StanfordUniversity.

Will Reece - High Energy Physics(Supervisor Dr Ulrik Egede)Will Reece’s thesis has involvedtrying to find out what lies behindthe Standard Model by studyingwhat are known as “penguin decays”of the B meson. The focus of hiswork has been to devise observablesin the decay of Bd -> K*0 mu+ mu-whilst keeping both the theoreticaland the experimental errors small atthe same time. This has led to aseries of new proposed observablesand even to the complete rejectionof previous observables proposed inthe literature. The achievement wasrecognised by an invitation to speakat the "Physics at LHC" conferencein Split in Spring 2008. The workwas subsequently published inJHEP which is the major journal forphenomenology work in Particle

Postgraduate Studies http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/physics/admissions/pg/research/

Examples of some highlights fromPhD Research work in the

Department

60

Physics. The foundation has alsobeen laid for further work in thisarea through Will’s development of acomputing model to simulate thesedecays in arbitrary extension to theStandard Model.

Isla Simpson – Space andAtmospheric Physics (SupervisorProf. Joanna Haigh)Isla’s thesis project involves under-standing why the atmosphereresponds to variations in solaractivity with particular geographicpatterns. Isla has investigated theimpact of thermal perturbations ofthe stratosphere and has developeda new theory to explain the observedeffects. Her mechanism involves afeedback between changes in thewave refraction properties of thetroposphere and tropopause regionand the propagation of wave activityassociated with mid-latitude weathersystems (storms), which determineshow the storms force the largerscale atmospheric flow. Theseprocesses are important for under-standing the tropospheric responseto all types of climate forcingaffecting the stratosphere, includingthe 11-year solar cycle, explosivevolcanism, polar ozone loss andincreasing greenhouse gases. Theimportance of her work has beenrecognised by an invitation to speakat a large international conference inMontreal in the summer of 2009.

In addition to research training, theDepartment offers postgraduatetaught courses leading to anImperial College MSc degree orMRes degree. In 2008 theDepartment offered three MSccourses: MSc in Physics, Msc inOptics and Photonics and an MSc inQuantum Fields & FundamentalForces. Brief details of these MSccourses are given below and furtherdetails can be found athttp://www3.imperial.ac.uk/physics/admissions/pg/msc/. From Oct 2009the Department will be offering afurther four new master levelcourses associated with the newDoctoral training Centres – seefurther details below.

The MSc course in Optics andPhotonics has been running in itspresent form since October 2001and draws on the skills of staffactively involved in optics research.The title reflects the fact that thecourse covers both the traditionalareas of optics, which are of keyimportance to the application ofoptical techniques, and theimportant areas of photonics,notably optical communications andlaser physics. The course aims toprovide the professional skills inoptics that are in demand byindustry and academia.

There are a large number ofemployment opportunities in opticsand photonics throughout the UKand the rest of Europe, not only inoptical communications but also inmany other areas of appliedphotonics.

The main components of the 12-month MSc Optics and Photonicscourse are lectures, laboratoryexperiments and a four–monthproject. The project lasts from mid-May to mid-September, and manyprojects can be carried out inindustry.

Case Study - Louise Hirst. Louisechose to work at the NationalPhysical Laboratory (NPL) inTeddington for her Optics andPhotonics MSc project, aftercompleting an undergraduatedegree at Imperial College. Louise’sproject was to design and build anacousto-optic modulator that wouldenable much faster switching oflaser pulses, enabling better coolingand spectrographic investigation of88Sr+ ions. The new systemconstructed by Louise is aninvaluable addition to the NPLexperimental resources andcontinues to be used for theirresearch. Louise is now engaged ina PhD project in the ExperimentalSolid State Group within theDepartment.

The Theoretical Physics Group runsthis very successful MSc course,attracting around 20 studentsannually. It is normally a one-yearcourse but can also be taken part-time over two years. A series oflecture courses occupies the yearup to May and students spend thesummer on a project leading to thewriting of a dissertation. The courseis intended to bridge the gapbetween undergraduate-level workand the research frontier intheoretical physics. Many successfulstudents have gone on to do a PhDeither at Imperial College London orat another major university.Unfortunately, no financial support isavailable for students attending thecourse.

MSc students are also encouragedto attend the regular weeklyseminars at which visiting speakerspresent recent research results, aswell as internal seminars byresearch students. These aresupplemented by an inter-Collegiateprogramme of weekly seminars onstring theory and related subjects.

From October 2008 the Departmentoffered a new 12 month MSc inPhysics. Tailored to very able BScstudents who wish to broaden theirknowledge of Physics, the courseprepares students for PhD levelresearch or a career in an industrialor national research laboratoryenvironment. The MSc builds uponthe existing Masters programmesand 4th year lecture courses, withnew advanced teaching and projectelements designed specifically tofurther develop research skills. The 12-month full-time programmeconsists of lecture courses andproject work, with a major project inthe summer. Up to 6 full lengthlecture courses, plus compulsorycourses in advanced classicalphysics and mathematicaltechniques will be offered. The “selfstudy” project, allows students toinvestigate a topic in physics of theirchoice and the personal devel-

MSc in Physics

MSc in Quantum Fields andFundamental Forces

MSc in Optics and Photonics

Master Level Courses

61

J. Aird “Evolution of the X-ray luminosityfunction of AGN”Supervisor: Prof K Nandra

J. Davey “Probing the Epoch ofReionization: Searches for ExtremelyHigh Redshift Galaxies”Supervisor: Prof S J Warren

E. Hopewell “Investigations of MassiveStars in the Disk of the Milky Way with theUK Schmidt H-alpha Survey”Supervisors: Prof J E Drew & Dr Y Unruh

M. Skelly “Doppler Imaging, DifferentialRotation and H¿ Emission of Pre-MainSequence Stars”Supervisor: Dr Y Unruh

M. Trichas “Multi-Wavelength Surveysof SWIRE Populations”Supervisor: Prof M Rowan-Robinson

L. Wang “Large-scale structures frominfrared surveys”Supervisor: Prof M Rowan-Robinson

J. A. Zuntz “Cosmic Microwave Back-ground Power Spectra Estimation andPrediction with Curious Methods andTheories”Supervisor: Prof A H Jaffe

A. G. Bailey “Computational PolymerDynamic”Supervisor: Prof A P Sutton

T. Duric “Ultra-Cold Quantum Gases inOptical Lattices”Supervisor: Dr D K K Lee

O. Garcia Cantu Ros “TunellingTransport in Quantum Hall Bilayer Systems”Supervisor: Dr D K K Lee

N. D. M. Hine “New Applications ofQuantum Monte Carlo”Supervisor: Prof W M C Foulkes

M. Kurdian “Pure (001) Twist GrainBoundaries In BCC Iron”Supervisor: Prof A P Sutton

J. T. Le Page “The Transfer of EnergyBetween Electrons and Ions in Solids”Supervisor: Prof W M C Foulkes

A. Sorouri Khorashad “Investigation ofthe Exchange Energy Density Functional”Supervisor: Prof W M C Foulkes

H. Amrania “Ultrafast Mid InfraredSpectroscopic Imaging for BiomedicalApplications”Supervisor: Prof C C Phillips

S. J. Barker “Characterisation of MBE-Grown GA(IN)NAS HeterostructuresSupervisors: Prof G Parry / Dr P NStavrinou / Prof T Jones (Chemistry)

S. Y. Chiam “Yttrium Based Thin Filmson Si (001): Study of Film Growth andInterfacial Properties”Supervisor: Prof J Zhang

D. Farrell “Characterising the perfor-mance of Luminescent SolarConcentrators.”Supervisors: Prof K W J Barnham / ProfG Parry

T. Ferenczi “A study of the relationshipbetween microstructure and photo-physics in organic semiconductor blendsfor solar cell applications”Supervisor: Prof D D C Bradley

J. T. Gambari “Nonlinear Effects inQuantum Cascade Lasers”Supervisor: Prof C C Phillips

E. Harbord “Spin and carrier dynamics inInAs/GaAs self assembled quantum dots”Supervisor: Prof R Murray

M. J. Harding “Injection and Transportin Conjugated Polymers”Supervisor: Prof A Campbell

R. Hubbard “Solid-state Single-photonSources: Quantum Dots and theNitrogen-Vacancy Centre in Diamond”Supervisor: Prof R Murray

T. W. S. Ishwara “Optimisation of HybridOrganic/ Inorganic Solar Cells”Supervisor: Prof J Nelson

A-V. Jausovec “Using Shape to Controlthe Magnetization Reversal inFerromagnetic Nanostructures”Supervisor: Prof R P Cowburn

R. Jin “Investigating the OperatingMechanisms of Polymer Light EmittingDiodes.”Supervisors: Dr J C De Mello(Chemistry) /Prof D D C Bradley

D. Johnson “Photon Recycling Effectsin Strain-balanced Quantum Well SolarCells.”Supervisor: Prof K W J Barnham

J. J. Kwiatkowski “From molecules tomobilities: modelling charge transport inorganic semiconductors.”Supervisor: Prof J Nelson

P. Levermore “A Study of Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and RelatedOrganic Light Emitting DeviceApplications”Supervisor: Prof D D C Bradley

M. Lumb “Quantum Dot SaturableAbsorber Mirrors”Supervisor: Prof R Murray

Astrophysics

PhD Degrees awarded in the Department in 2008/9

Experimental Solid State Physics

Condensed Matter Theory

opment courses will strengthenstudent’s research and professionalcareer skills. These activities arefollowed by a four month supervisedproject in a specialist area, drawnfrom the wide range of researchactivity carried out within thePhysics Department at ImperialCollege or at the National PhysicalLaboratory (NPL), the UK’s world-leading National MeasurementInstitute, in Teddington, London. NPL are providing sponsorships forselected students to carry out theirresearch project on the NPL site.The sponsorship will cover the UKand EU fee element of the courseand provide the opportunity to workin a national laboratory environment.

In 2008 the Department of Physicswon three EPSRC awards to hostDoctoral Training Centres (DTCs):• DTC in Plastic Electronics

• DTC in Theory and Simulation ofMaterials

• DTC in Controlled QuantumDynamics

Seehttp://www3.imperial.ac.uk/physics/admissions/pg/dtc for more details.

The Doctoral Training Centres

62

M. C. Lynch “Modelling andOptimisation of Single Junction StrainBalanced Quantum Well Solar Cells”Supervisor: Prof K W J Barnham

F. Magnus “Electrical transport in hybridspintronic structures”Supervisor: Prof L F Cohen

M. Matthews “SSpectroscopy andPhotoconductivity Studies ofIntersubband Mid-Infrared Detectors”Supervisor: Prof C C Phillips

A. J. A. McGlashon “Conjugatedreactive liquid crystal materials fororganic electronics”Supervisors: Prof A Campbell & Prof DD C Bradley

G. McPhee “Surface-bound Plasmonicand Leaky Electromagnetic Modes ofMetal-Dielectric Structures.”Supervisors: Dr P N Stavrinou / Prof DD C Bradley

P. D. Spencer “Quantum Dot BilayerLaser Devices”Supervisor: Prof R Murray

R. J. Steed “Saturation of IntersubbandTransitions in P-type and N-type III-VQuantum Wells”Supervisor: Prof C C Phillips

S. G. Turner “Strain relaxation mecha-nisms and stress balancing of SiGeheterostructures”Supervisor: Prof J Zhang

P. Woebkenberg “Thin-Film Transistorsfor Large Area Opto/Electronics”Supervisors: Dr T D A Anthopolos / ProfD D C Bradley

B. K. Yap “Study of the underlyingProcesses that impact on ConjugatedPolymer Device Stability and Efficiency”Supervisor: Prof D D C Bradley

T. Blake “Ring Imaging CherenkovDetectors and the Rare Decay Bd ->K*0u+u- at LHCb”Supervisor: Prof D M Websdale

T. Christoudias “NSearch for theStandard Model Higgs boson in theMissing Energy Topology with DZero.”Supervisor: Dr G J Davies

K. Petridis “NSelection andReconstruction and of Z-->tau tau-->e+tau jet decays at the Compact MuonSolenoid experiment.”Supervisor: Dr D J Colling

S. L. Robinson “NeutralSupersymmetric Higgs Boson Searchesat D0.”Supervisors: Dr G J Davies & Dr PerJonsson

C. Rogers “Beam Dynamics in aIonisation Cooling Channel”Supervisors: Prof K R Long

C-J. Tang “Detecting CosmicGravitational-Wave Background withLISA”Supervisors: Prof T J Sumner

I. Taylor “Development of T2K 280Mnear detector software for muon andphoton reconstruction”Supervisor: Prof D L Wark

C. Thorne “Characterisation andCalibration of ZEPLIN III - A Dark MatterDetector”Supervisors: Prof T J Sumner

C. Timlin “Early Physics at the LHCusing the CMS ElectromagneticCalorimeter”Supervisor: Prof G Hall

M. Wingham “Commissioning of theCMS tracker and preparing for earlyphysics at the LHC”Supervisor: Prof G Hall

E. Auksorius “Super-resolution andmultidimensional fluorescence imagingexploiting supercontinuum and ultrafastlaser technology”Supervisors:Prof P M W French / Prof MA A Neil

P. A. De Beule “Development of Multi-Dimensional FluorescenceInstrumentation for BiomedicalApplications”Supervisors: Prof P M W French & Dr MA A Neil

A. Gogornas “Rigorous ElectromagneticCalculations in Radiometry”Supervisors: Dr P Török & Dr M WMcCall

G-H. Ho “Multiplexed Optical DataStorage - Writing Methods”Supervisor: Dr P Török

V. Poher “Microscopic imaging andphoto-stimulation using micro-structuredLight Emitting Diodes”Supervisor: Dr M A A Neil & Prof P M WFrench

A. Rulkov “All-Fibre Lasers ForNonlinear Wavelength Conversion”Supervisor: Prof JR Taylor

D. Sauder “High Power Diode-PumpedSolid-State Laser Operation in theBounce Amplifier Geometry”Supervisor: Prof M J Damzen

G. R. Smith “Solid-state adaptive lasersand amplified spontaneous emissionsources”Supervisor: Prof M J Damzen

J. C. Travers “Controlling NonlinearOptics with Dispersion in PhotonicCrystal Fibres”Supervisor: Prof J R Taylor

H. Ashworth “Towards an improvedmeasurement of the electron electricdipole”Supervisor: Dr B Sauer

P. K. Bates “Optical Parametric ChirpedPulse Amplification in the few-cycleregime”Supervisor: Dr R A Smith & Dr I N Ross(Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)

F. G. S. L. Brandao “Entanglementtheory and the quantum simulation ofmany-body physics”Supervisor: Prof M B Plenio

M. J. Brownnutt “88Sr+ Ion TrappingTechniques and Technologies forQuantum Information Processing”Supervisor: Prof R C Thompson

L. E. Chipperfield “High HarmonicGeneration with Few-Cycle Pulses”Supervisors: Prof P L Knight & Prof J PMarangos

D. Crick “Manipulation of Ca+ ions inPenning Traps”Supervisor: Dr D M Segal

O. C. O. Dahlsten “TypicalEntanglement: From the Abstract to thePhysical”Supervisors: Prof M B Plenio

R. Darnley “Electrodynamic Guidingand Deceleration of Polar DiatomicMolecules”Supervisor: Prof E A Hinds

A. F. Feito Boirac “Tools and Methodsfor the Distillation of Entanglement inContinuous Variable Quantum Optics”Supervisor: Prof M B Plenio

R. Fermani “Atomic relaxationprocesses near conducting and super-conducting surfaces”Supervisors: Prof P L Knight & Dr SScheel

D. Gross “Computational power ofquantum many-body states and someresults on discrete phase spaces”Supervisor: Dr J Eisert

N. A. M. Harrigan “Ontological Modelsand Reference Frames in QuantumMechanics”Supervisors: Dr T J Rudoph & Prof M BPlenio

M. Hohenberger “The Dynamics ofStrong Laser-Driven Shocks in ClusterMedia”Supervisor: Prof R A Smith

High Energy Physics

Optics - Photonics

Optics - Quantum Optics and Laser Science

63

J. Joo “Atomic and Optical Realizationsof Cluster Quantum Computation”Supervisors: Prof P L Knight & Prof M BPlenio

K. Kieling “Linear optics quantumcomputing - construction of smallnetworks and asymptotic scaling ofresources”Supervisor: Dr J Eisert

I. Llorente Garcia “Advances in thedesign and operation of atom chips”Supervisor: Prof E A Hinds

H. Ohadi “Single Ca+ Ions in a PeninngTrap for Applications in QuantumInformation Processing”Supervisor: Dr D M Segal

S. Pugla “Ultrastable High-FinesseCavities for Laser Frequency Stabilization”Supervisor: Dr D M Segal

S. B. P. Radnor “The Ultra-WidebandPulse”Supervisor: Prof G H C New

F. Ramirez Martinez “Integration ofOptical Components and Magnetic FieldSources in Atom Chips”Supervisor: Prof E A Hinds

M. E. Reuter “Entanglement Propertiesof Strongly Correlated Spin Systems”Supervisor: Prof M B Plenio

R. Sewell “Matter Wave Interference onan Atom Chip”Supervisor: Prof E A Hinds

S. Tokunaga “Production and Starkdeceleration of cold lithium hydridemolecules”Supervisors: Dr MR Tarbut t/ Prof EA Hinds

M. Trupke “Microcavities for atom chips”Supervisor: Prof E A Hinds

M. Bacharis “Theoretical Study of Dustin RF Discharges and Tokamak PlasmasSupervisor: Dr M Coppins

J. S. Bellei “Measurements of OpticalRadiation from High-Intensity Laser-Plasma Interactions”Supervisor: Dr Z Najmudin

C. Chapman “Modelling the stability ofthe n=1 internal kink mode in tokamakplasmas”Supervisor: Dr M Coppins

J. S. Green “Studies of fast electronenergy transport in high intensity laser-plasma interactions”Supervisors: Dr Z Najmudin & Prof K MKrushelnick

W. A. Hornsby “Kinetic Simulation ofPlasma Transport in MagneticTurbulence”Supervisor: Dr R J Kingham

C. Kamperidis “Investigation of electronlaser wakefield acceleration in novelplasma structures”Supervisors: Dr Z Najmudin & Prof K MKrushelnick

M. Lilley “Resonant interaction of fastparticles with Alfvén waves in sphericaltokamaks”Supervisor: Dr M Coppins

A. Marocchino “MagnetohydrodynamicModelling of Supersonic Jets andColliding Blast Waves for LaboratoryAstrophysics Investigation.”Supervisor: Dr J P Chittenden

A. Meakins “A Study of the L-HTransition in Tokamak FusionExperiments”Supervisor: Dr M Coppins

S. Nagel “Studies of ElectronAcceleration Mechanisms in RelativisticLaser-Plasma Interactions”Supervisors: Dr Z Najmudin /Prof KMKrushelnick

J. B. A. Palmer “Experimental Study ofPrecursor Plasma Interaction withCylindrical Foam Targets on the Axis ofWire Array Z-pinches”Supervisors: Prof S V Lebedev & Dr J PChittenden

C. P. Ridgers “Magnetic Fields andNon-Local Transport in Laser-Plasmas”Supervisor: Dr R J Kingham

F. Suzuki Vidal “Experimental Study ofRadiatively Cooled Magnetically DrivenPlasma Jets”Supervisor: Prof S V Lebedev

S. Tallents “TInvestigations of theMAST SOL using the reciprocatingprobe system”Supervisor: Dr M Coppins

L. Billingham “Upstream Transients atPlanetary Bow Shocks”Supervisor: Prof S J Schwartz

D. Blackie “Sulphur Dioxide: Highresolution UV photoabsorption crosssections at 198 K”Supervisor: Dr J C Pickering

C. H. Heaviside “Coupling of oceanic andatmospheric heat transport in the tropics”Supervisor: Dr A C Czaja

A. Masters “On the Outer Boundaries ofSaturn’s Magnetosphere”Supervisor: Prof M K Dougherty / Dr NAchilleos

K. Osman “Multi-Spacecraft measurementof turbulence in the solar wind”Supervisors: Dr T S Horbury & Prof P JCargill

I. R. Simpson “Solar influence onstratosphere-troposphere dynamicalcoupling”Supervisor: Prof J D Haigh

D. G. Smilie “Fourier Transform andGrating Spectroscopy of Doubly IonisedTransition Group Elements andAstrophysical Applications”Supervisor: Dr J C Pickering

S. M. Smith “New techniques for atmos-pheric observation using a ground-based thermal infrared camera”Supervisor: Prof R Toumi

M. J. West “Energy Budget andDynamics of Coronal Reconnection”Supervisor: Prof P J Cargill

Y. Ghazi-Tabataba “Quantum MeasureTheory: A New Interpretation”Supervisor: Dr H F Dowker

A. Gustavsson “Entanglement, nonlin-earity and constrained quantumdynamics”Supervisors: Dr D C Brody/Prof J JHalliwell

A. Haupt “M-theory Calabi-YauQuantum Mechanics”Supervisor: Prof K Stelle

G. Nicholson “Reconstructing andModelling the Primordial PowerSpectrum”Supervisor: Dr C R Contaldi

P. Pires Pacheco “G-Structures andDuality”Supervisor: Prof D J Waldram

J. O. Vicary “Results on categoricalquantum mechanic”Supervisor: Prof C J Isham

S. Zohren “A Causal Perspective onRandom Geometry”Supervisor: Dr H F Dowker

P. Charitos “On the Circumstellar Originof the HI Line Emission in the Spectrumof MWC 349A”Supervisor: Prof J E Drew

E. S. Cunningham “Comparison ofSolar Forcing in the Upper Atmospheresof Earth and Titan”Supervisors: Dr M F Galand & Prof M KDougherty

Space and Atmospheric Physics

Theoretical Physics

Astrophysics

MPhil Degree awarded in theDepartment in 2008

DIC Degree awarded in theDepartment in 2008

Space and Atmospheric PhysicsPlasma Physics

The following grants were initiatedduring 2008/9. Only PI Names aregiven

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf A Jaffe Post launch support ofPlanck project at Imperial College London

£831,882

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf A Jaffe Extragalactic Astrophysicsand Cosmology at Imperial College London

£1,693,787

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf K Nandra IC Astrophysics PATTLinked Grant £34,898

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf K Nandra XEUS bridging funds

£40,997

Commission of the EuropeanCommunitiesProf Sir J Pendry, FRS PhotonicMetamaterials £204,153

European Office and AerospaceResearch and DevelopmentProf Sir J Pendry, FRS Metamaterialsand Transformation Optics £25,586

The Royal SocietyProf Sir J Pendry, FRS NewtonInternational Fellowship for Dr YonatanSivan £99,000

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf A P Sutton, FRS A centre fordoctoral training on the theory andsimulation of materials £6,405,979

UCLAProf D Vvedensky Development of arenormalization group approach to multi-scale plasma physics computation(Phase II) £61,881

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr T Anthopoulos Development ofLight-Sensing Organic Transistors forOptoelectronic and Image Sensor ArrayApplication £562,042

Solvay SADr T Anthopoulos Development ofOrganic Field-Effect Transistors forOpto-Electronic Applications £125,000

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr T Anthopoulos PhD Plus grant forPaul Wobkenberg £95,000

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf D Bradley, FRS Hybrid organicsemiconductor/gallium nitride/CMOSplanar light-wave circuits £909,765

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch Council CareerAcceleration FellowshipDr W Branford Defects in FrustratedSystems £833,984

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf A D Caplin 6 months support forVisting Fellow: Prof Yeshrun. Manipulationand Control of Flux Dynamics in HighTemperature Superconduictors and theirUtilisation in Fluxonic Devices £39,782

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf L Cohen ExtraordinaryMagnetoresistance Nano Sensorsfundamental issues and applications

£509,010

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf L Cohen NanostructuredFunctional Materials for Energy EfficientRefrigeration, Energy Harvesting andProduction of Hydrogen from Water.

£1,000,655

The Leverhulme TrustProf L Cohen Defects in 2DFrustrated Prototypen Spin Ice Systems

£187,689

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf L Cohen Inhomogeneousmagnetism and Superconductivity

£98,622

EU CommissionProf L Cohen Solid Stae EnergyEfficient Cooling £225,800

The Toyota Motor CorporationDr N J Ekins-Daukes Analysis ofAdvanced Concepts for High EfficiencySolar Cells Using QuantumNanostructures £189,872

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr J Kim Structure-Property-PerformanceRelationship for Organic BulkHeterojunction Solar Cells £360,866

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr J Kim SUPERGEN Core plussupps 3 £285,510

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr J-S Kim Heterojunction Solar Cells

£288,685

Kaust UK LtdDr R Maher Kaust Fellowship £45,231

Kaust UK LtdDr R Maher Kaust Fellowship £49,895

The Leverhulme TrustProf S Maier Better than silver: alow-loss metal for 21st centuryphotonics and computing £137,366

European Office of AerospaceProf S Maier Far-field super-resolution mapping of localised surfaceplasmons and nanoantennas £30,711

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf S Maier Silicon emissiontechnologies based on nanocrystals

£442,341

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf S Maier Interfacing CarbonNanotubes with Nanoantennas forSimultaneous MultifunctionalSpectroscopy and ElectricalNanocharacterisation £236,718

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf S Maier Uravelling energytransport in Plasmon waveguides usingdual-probe near-field optical microscopy:A feasibility study £125,210

EPSRC via Queen's University,BelfastProf S Maier Active Plasmonics:Electronic and All-optical Control ofPhotonic Signals on Sub-wavelengthScales £451,217

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf S Maier Aerogels in Fibre-Optics

£120,943

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf R Murray Strain engineeredInAs/GaAs quantum dots for longwavelength emission £500,228

EUProf R Murray Hybrid organic-inorganic anostructures for photonics andoptoelectronics £296,345

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf R Murray Spin Ping-Pong - Towardsa Quantum Dot Bit. £1,101,073

64

Astrophysics

Condensed Matter Theory

Experimental Solid State Physics

Research Grants

65

EU CommissionProf R Murray Hybrid-Organic-Inorganic nanostrucgtures for Photonicsand Optoelectronics: Icarus £296,346

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J Nelson High-efficiency BlockCopolymer Solar Cells: A scaleablePrototype for Low Cost Energy Generation

£481,617

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J Nelson High stability andhigh efficiency organic printable photo-voltaics (OPV) for large-scale energyprod £1,075,468

The Carbon TrustProf J Nelson Optimisation of organicbulk heterojunction solar cells £54,400

The Royal SocietyProf J Nelson Wolfson Research MeritAward £85,000

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J Nelson Doctoral TrainingCentre in Science and Application ofPlastic Electronic Materials £7,282,903

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J Nelson SUPERGEN Coreplus supps 3 £136,184

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf C. Phillips Active plasmonicsand perfect lenses with quantum materials

£1,340,314

The Royal SocietyDr C Sandeman Royal SocietyFellowship for Dr Karl Sandeman £86,005

CECDr C Sandeman Solid State EnergyEfficient Cooling £230,345

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr D Colling Modelling of AdvancedFunctional Materials using TerascaleComputing £50,000

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr D Colling Grid PP2 extension andGrid PP3 £263,100

EU CommissionDr D Colling EGEE III £168,246

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf P Dauncey STFC FellowshipforMagnan: Development and testing ofPrototype Sensors for a NovelElectromagnetic Calorimeter for theInternational Linear Collider £239,511

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf G J Davies Higgs DZero £218,498

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr U Egede Use of rare decay modes toprobe for physics beyond the StandardModel - Fellowship for Dr Mitesh Patel.

£614,690

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr U Egede Ganga Maintenance,Development and Support £114,655

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf G Hall Minimising R&D inpreparation for an upgrade of CMS forthe Super-LHC. £1,393,797

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf K R Long UKNF/MICE-UKProgrammes £1,056,342

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncil Postdoctoral FellowshipDr A Magnan Development andtesting of prototype sensors for a novelelectromagnetic calorimeter for the inter-national linear collider £301,796

Commission of the EuropeanCommunitiesProf J Nash Preparatory Phase of theLarge Hadron Collider Upgrade £173,110

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf J Nash The study of elementaryparticles and their interactions £3,020,119

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf J Nash Extension of Jordan Nash'sBuyout (re PPAN Chair) 1 year from 1Jul 09. £33,391

Commission of the EuropeanCommunitiesDr J Pozimski A High Intensity NeutrinoOscillation Facility in Europe £613,598

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr J Sedgbeer SuperNEMO demon-strator module construction £325,515

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf T J Sumner SubsystemDevelopment for the LISA Formulationand Definition Phases £718,939

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf D Wark T2K spokesperson £219,342

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncil Advanced FellowshipDr M Wascko Minimising SystematicUncertainties in the Determination ofTheta_13 at T2K £603,840

Commission of the EuropeanCommunitiesDr C Dunsby Multimodal Skin Inspectionwith Hybrid Acoustic & OpticalSpectroscopic Imaging £1,423,896

The Royal SocietyDr C Dunsby Demonstration ofoblique plane microscopy for live cellimaging processes within microfluidicdevices. £7,500

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf P French Endoscopic FLIM forlabel-free tissue contrast £1,762,512

The Leverhulme Trust Prof P French Visiting grant for Prof.Laura Marcu £19,900

BBSRCProf P French Development of asuper-resolving STED FLIM microscopefor biological applications £148,282

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch Council Prof P French Endoscopic FLIM forlabel-free tissue contrast £776,963

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr M McCall Covariant Techniques inElectromagnetism £11,159

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf M McCall Covariant Techniquesin Electromagnetism £6,404

Commission of the EuropeanCommunitiesDr M Neil Network of Excellence forBiophotonics £181,958

Wellcome TrustDr C Paterson Complete polarisation-sensitive confocal scanning laserophthalmoscope £217,680

The Royal SocietyProf J R Taylor Brian MercerFeasibility Award £30,000

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J R Taylor Visiting Fellowship forProf. E.P. Ippen £33,583

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf P Török Quantum limits ofsuper-resolution in high-numerical-aperture imaging tbc

EU CommissionProf P Török Super-ResolutionPhotonics for Advanced StorageSystems: SURPASS £339,340

High Energy Physics

Optics - Photonics

Physics British CouncilDr S Bland Development of a PortableX-ray Laser for Probing High EnergyDensity Physics Experiments £30,412

AWE PLCDr J Chittenden Fast ions and alphaparticles in inertial confinement. (ShaunTaylor PhD Studentship) £159,658

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr M Coppins Theory and simulation ofdust transport in Tokamaks £452,066

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf R Evans Multi-scale simulation ofintense laser plasma interactions £382,284

AWE PLCProf R Evans Centre for Inertial FusionScience £485,857

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf S Lebedev Re-creating physics ofastrophysical jets in laboratory experi-ments £2,221,148

EUProf S Lebedev Re-creating the physicsof astrophysical jets in laboratory experi-ments £36,000

AWE PLCProf S Lebedev Use of multi-megaampere currents to drive matter intoextreme states - J Skidmore studentship

£140,120

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf S Lebedev Re-creating thephysics of astrophysical jets inlaboratory experiments £1,901,807

AWE PLCProf S Lebedev Studentship for GuyBurdiak - Study of pulsed power drivenjets as a kinetic driver for strong shockexperiments£135,472

University of RochesterProf S Lebedev Resolving the Issue:The dynamics of magnetized astro-physical jets through pulsed powerHEDP laboratory studies £153,656

The Royal SocietyDr S Mangles High-Repetion-RateRelativistic Electron Beams and Soft X-rays from an Ultrashort Low EnergyLaser System. £50,000

AWE PLCDr W Proud ISP PhD studentship for WillNeal £50,000

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf S Rose Collaboration Agreement forHiPER (Technical Work) £116,844

AWE PLCProf S RosePostdoctoral Fellowship in short-pulselaser-matter interaction theory andmodelling £339,687

AWE PLCProf S RoseInstitute of Shock Physics - Governing theenhancement of the UKs HydrodynamicScience Capability £5,080,241

AWE PLCProf S Rose ISP - Cranfield subcontract

£8,333,237

AWE PLCProf S Rose PhD studentship 1 forCranfield sub-contract to the Institute ofShock Physics £80,003

AWE PLCProf S Rose In situ study of phonons andmelting in metals under extreme high-P, Tconditions £123,935

AWE PLCProf S Rose Fast Ab initio theoreticalstudy of phonons in metals and alloys underextreme high P,T conditions. £30,043

AWE PLCProf S Rose AWE postdoc fellowshipin short-pulse laser-matter interactiontheory and modelling

£286,780

AWE PLCProf S Rose Institute of Shock Physics- 4 year funding: Cranfield sub project

£833,237

AWE PLCProf S Rose Institutute of ShockPhysics UCL Sub-contract £780,499

AWE PLCProf S Rose Inertial Fusion ScienceCentre (CIFS) £485,857

AWE PLCProf S Rose Cranfield studentship -Shock Propagation in ComplexLaminate Systems £80,003

AWE PLCProf S Rose AWE PhD studentship -Fast ions and alpha particles in InertialConfinement Fusion plasmas

£159,658

AWE PLCProf S Rose PhD Studentship:Development of Diagnostics to study theMechanisms and Kinetics of ShockInduced Phase Transformations in KCland other Dielectric Materials leading toimproved Diagnostic Capability in ShockTemperature Measurements £93,094

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr A Schekochihin “Turbulence,plasma instabilities, transport andmagnetogenesis in clusters of galaxies”

£400,844

The Royal SocietyDr S Barrett Royal Society Fellowshipfor Dr Sean Barrett £595,118

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch Council PostdoctoralFellowshipDr F Brandao Thermodynamicalformulation of entanglement theory andquantum simulations of many-bodysystems £304,705

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch Council PostdoctoralFellowshipDr D Burgarth Thermalisation &Controllability of Quantum Systems

£313,017

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf L Frasinski Dynamic Imaging ofMatter at the Attosecond and AngstromScales £98,337

Commission of the EuropeanCommunitiesProf E Hinds, FRS Nano-Optics forMolecules on Chip £369,109

The Royal SocietyProf E Hinds, FRS Trapping moleculeson a chip: Towards fundamentalmeasurements £12,000

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf E. Hinds, FRS Heavy molProduction of Cold, Heavy Molecules atRest. £555,840

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf Sir P. L. Knight, FRS DevelopingCoherent States as a resource inQuantum technology £223,209

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf Sir P. L. Knight, FRS Chair ofScience Board £20,700

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf Sir P. L. Knight, FRS KnowledgeTransfer Secondments 1 £1,129,493

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J Marangos Theory of electronicprocesses in molecules subject tointense X.Ray radiation: Towards single-molecule X-ray diffraction spectroscopy -Fellowship for Dr Vitali Averbukh

£871,934

EU CommissionProf J Marangos Ultrafast control ofquantum systems by strong laser fields

£292,178

66

Optics - Quantum Optics and Laser Science

Plasma Physics

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J Marangos IR-FEL/XUV HHGHybrid Experiments for MolecularScience £131,309

AXA SA- AXA Research FundProf M Plenio Studentship from theAXA Foundation for Javier Cerillo

£99,231

Commission of the EuropeanCommunitiesProf M Plenio Correlated Noise Effects inQuantum Information Processing

£175,493

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf M Plenio Controlled QuantumDynamics - The CQD-DTC £6,715,420

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf M Plenio Developing nanopho-tonics for quantum coherence and control(fellowship for Dr Mark Tame). £301,939

AXA SAProf M Plenio AXA Studentship -Quantum Information £99,231

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf M. Plenio ThermodynamicalFormulation of Entanglement Theoryand Qauntum Simulations of Many-BodySystems: Postdoctoral Fellowship - FBrandao £239,607

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf M. Plenio Fellowship: Thermalisation& Controllability of Quantum Systems:Fellowship for D Burgarth £246,992

EU CommissionProf M. Plenio Hybrid InformationProcessing £233,948

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr T Rudolph Foundations ofQuantum Information Processing

£434,667

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr T Rudolph Foundations ofQuantum Information Processing

£443,284

National Physical LaboratoryDr B Sauer Studentship £81,224

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr S Scheel Macroscopic bodies - anovel ingredient in the quantumengineering box £346,093Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf R Smith Transient high energydensity plasmas driven by few cycle laserpulses £177,870

The Royal SocietyDr M Tarbutt University ResearchFellowship Scheme £375,446

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr M Tarbutt PhD Plus grant forSean Tokunaga £97,700

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr M. Tarbutt Cooling and TrappingPolar Molecules £307,517

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf J. Tisch Next generationattosecond technology (Translation Grant)

£996,356

European Space AgencyDr H Brindley SIT: Sensitivity study ofthe influence of a target spectralsignature in the unfiltering process forbroadband radiometers. £42,222

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr H Brindley Appraising the directimpacts of aerosol on climate (ADIENT)

£65,994

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilMr C Carr Post-Launch Support for theVenus Express Magnetometer Instrument

£43,085

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilMr C Carr Rosetta Post LaunchSupport £250,649

Natural Environment ResearchCouncilDr A Czaja RAPID - RAPIT £90,332

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf M Dougherty Short Term Funding

£18,349

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf M. Dougherty Europa Ganymede

£35,322

Natural Environment ResearchCouncilProf J Haigh Impact of the represen-tation of ozone on tropospheric weatherforecasts £330,572

Natural Environment ResearchCouncilProf J Harries Preliminary Feasibilityand Sensitivity Studies for CLARREO

£59,584CCLRCProf J Harries / Dr S Kellock Anaccurate in-flight calibration of theGERB instrument £191,596

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf J. Harries National Centre forEarth Observation £254,889

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr T Horbury Magnetic Reconnectionas a Universal Plasma Process:Investigating Onset, Energy Releaseand Particle Acceleration - Fellowshipfor Dr Jonathan Eastwood. £581,040

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr T Horbury Solar orbiter magne-tometer - thermal and management

£66,193

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr T. Horbury Magnetic Reconnectionas a Universal Plasma Process:Investigating Onset, Energy Release andParticle Acceleration - Fellowship for DrJonathan Eastwood £464,832

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilMr S. Kellock GERB Calibration(extension) £191,596

European Space AgencyDr E Lucek Extension - TechnicalAssistance for FGM Instrument inSupport of the CLUSTER mission

£98,435

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr E Lucek Post-launch support forCluster FGM £232,811

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr E Lucek Cluster FGMOperations and Calibration £110,262

Thales Alenia Space ItaliaDr I Mueller-Wodarg Radio scienceexperiments with on-board receivers

£18,526

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr I Mueller-Wodarg Titan's upperatmosphere and its coupling to Saturn'smagnetosphere £4,000

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr J Pickering New atomic andmolecular data for astrophysics applica-tions £236,822

The Leverhulme TrustDr J Pickering Laboratoryspectroscopy with applications toancient Earth-atmosphere studies

£94,090

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf S Schwartz Cluster ScienceCentre Extended Mission £131,224

67

Space and Atmospheric Physics

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf S Schwartz Cross-Scale BridgingSupport for UK Study Activities £4,847

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf S Schwartz ExoMars Magnetometrysupport for PDR phase £36,166

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf S Schwartz MAG and DATAAssessment studies £17,708

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf S Schwartz MAG and DATAAssessment studies £35,414

AXA SA- AXA Research FundProf R Toumi Studentship from theAXA Foundation for Rebecca White

£99,231

Natural Environment ResearchCouncilProf R Toumi Aerosols in LondonExperiment on Radiative Transfer(ALERT) £475,863

AXA SA- AXA Research FundProf R Toumi Extreme Rainfall -AXA Studentship £99,231

NERC via AEA Technology plclProf R Toumi Knowledge ExchangeFellowship £37,263

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf M Duff “Black Holes and theAdS/CFT Correspondence - Fellowship forLinda Uruchurtu-Gomez.”

£295,018The Royal SocietyDr A Hanany “Wolfson Merit Award”

£125,000

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilProf C Hull “M-Theory, Cosmology andQuantum Field Theory”

£3,391,081Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf C Isham Topos QuantumTheory and Gravity £318,801

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf C Isham Topos QuantumTheory and Gravity £315,418

Science and Technology FacilitiesCouncilDr A Rej Integrability and AdS/CFTcorrespondence £292,197

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch Council PostdoctoralFellowshipDr R Ricci Wilson Loops in Gauge andString Theories £303,208

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch Council PostdoctoralFellowshipDr J Sonner Geometric Phases inString Theory £300,024

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilProf A Tseytlin Supergravity and fieldtheory solutions in AdS/CFT correspon-dence (Fellowship for Dr AristomenisDonos). £307,191

Foundational questions InstituteDr A Valentini Hidden Variables inthe Early Universe £56,924

Engineering & Physical SciencesResearch CouncilDr T Wiseman Black holes in higherdimensions - fellowship for Dr JamesLucietti £558,728

68

Theoretical Physics

69

Technical Development, Intellectual Property and Commercial Interactions

The past twelve months has beenextremely active and the Departmenthas developed a further range ofcommercial interactions. One of theFaculty “Proof of Principle” (PoP)projects funded in 2004 has rapidlymoved towards commercializationwith the formation of the companyMidaz Lasers Ltd (see Photonics).We are looking forward to the Facultymaintaining this source of funding asa major stimulator for new inventorsto come forward and make a start oncommercializing their innovation.Overall the interactions in theDepartment are extremely healthyand existing spin out companies arebuoyant. We collaborate with thecommercial sector at all levels andof course PhD students within theDepartment benefit from directindustrial sponsorship and EPSRCCASE awards.

Our technology developments andcommercial activities include thefollowing:

AstrophysicsBoth the Herschel and Planck teamscontinue the development of datareduction and analysis software forthese two missions. For Planck ourwork is aimed at the determinationof beam shapes and focal planegeometry from actual survey datausing either scans across individualbright sources or through combinationof data on large numbers of faintersources. This work is crucial to thescience goals of the Planck mission.For Herschel we are coordinating thedevelopment of data reduction andanalysis software for the whole of theSPIRE instrument and have specialresponsibility for mapmaking codesthrough a contract from the EuropeanSpace Agency which will be used forboth the SPIRE and PACS instruments.

Condensed Matter TheoryThe group has a wide-ranging researchportfolio with a strategic focus onmaterials for structural, electronicand photonic applications, providingtheoretical and computational expertise.Many projects have direct relevance

to the next generation of technologies.These include the theoretical devel-opment of metamaterials to createperfect lenses to beat the diffractionlimit and to make objects invisible,simulating radiation damage inmaterials for fusion and fission reactors,modelling surfaces and grain bound-aries in perovskites for functionaldevices, devising coarse grainedmethods of simulating polymers atthe molecular level to simulate theirbulk mechanical properties andthose of polymer nanocomposites,and the fundamental description ofthe growth of thin films and quantumdots for optoelectronic applications.

The Group enjoys close workingrelationships with the UK Atomic EnergyAuthority, Accelrys, BAE, NumerEX(Ithaca NY), Pilkington Glass, Astronand Antenova and holds severalpatents.

Experimental Solid State PhysicsThe Experimental Solid State PhysicsGroup develops technologies acrossa broad range of areas which haveimpact on the information andcommunications technologies sector,the solar energy sector, and thehealth care and security sectors.Details of the innovations aredescribed in the appropriate pagesof this Review but they dependbroadly on advances in the followingtechnologies: molecular electronicmaterials and devices, inorganicsemiconductor materials and devices,nano-magnetism and spintronicsdevices, and superconducting materialsand devices. Much of the work inthe group proceeds through collabo-rative research programmes frequentlyinvolving industrial partners.Industrial partners may contribute tothe research programmes directly, orprovide specialised materials orprocessing facilities, or supportstudents or postdoctoral researchers.Leading international companies thathave supported our work include BPSolar, Merck, DuPont Teijin Films,Sumitomo Chemical Co., PhilipsResearch Labs., Konarka, SolenneB.V.,Toyota, Plextronics and Qinetiq.

The group also benefits from collab-orations with the NPL at Teddington.

The group also has strong record ofprotecting intellectual property andexploiting through spinout companies.The spinout companies bring researchincome back into the group bysponsoring staff, PhD students andresearch activities.

Spin out companies include:Ingenia Technology, which is activein the area of brand protection andindustrial track-and-trace and hasrecently licensed its Laser SurfaceAuthentication technology to a majorinternational fast-moving-consumer-goods company. Molecular Vision Ltd., which isdeveloping microanalysis systemsfor medical diagnostics based onmolecular electronic materials group.Further developments in the molecularelectronics field are anticipatedthrough the C-Change partnership. Durham Magneto Optics Ltd., whoproduce diagnostic equipment formagnetic characterisation. QuantaSol Ltd., who are exploitingquantum well nano-structures toenhance solar energy efficienciesabove 35% for concentrator applica-tions for concentrator applications.QuantaSol was highlighted as oneof the Guardian Cleantech Top 100companies for 2008 and is currentlysupporting a lecturer and apostgraduate student in the.

In the area of magnetic cooling,industrial partnership has beenstrengthened over the last year, bythe partnership with large materialproducer Vacuumshmelze and anend use manufacturer Clivet. Theyare partners in a FP7 project todevelop a magnetically-driven airconditioner. Secondly, that projectalso involves Camfridge Ltd., aCambridge-based spin out that islinked to EXSS and IC through thesame project as well as throughCamfridge's past use of the CarbonTrust Incubator within ImperialInnovations.

70

High Energy PhysicsThe dark matter experimental part ofthe High Energy Physics group isdedicated to the development ofadvanced particle detectors for 1-100 keV energies and associatedtechnology (high precision ultra-highvacuum technology in copper, part-per-billion level gas purification,charge/light readout technologies,cryogenics). A joint developmentprogramme has being undertakenwith UK-based ET Enterprises Ltd(formerly Electron Tubes Ltd) todevelop a photomultiplier tube withultra-low radioactive background.This work is in its final stages andpromises to deliver the world’s mostradio-pure phototube, which will findworld-wide application in largeexperiments for neutrino detection,dark matter searches, and neutrino-less double-beta decay. The under-ground laboratory at Boulby is nowin its 17th year as a symbioticrelationship between industry (CPLmine) and university research. Thegravitational-wave project drivescharge control systems andassociated technology (UV lightsources, particle guns, satelliteinstrumentation). For this work thegroup collaborates with EADS(Astrium UK, Astrium Germany),Carlo Gavazzi Space (Italy), ETL,the European Space Agency, SciSysand SEA.

Plasma PhysicsThe Group is engaged in work involvingthe development of the technologyof high-voltage pulsed power andhigh-power lasers. Our work usinghigh-power lasers has led to devel-opments in the field of 'compact'plasma-based particle acceleratorswith many potential technological(including medical) applications. Wealso investigate dusty plasmas, anunderstanding of which is important,for example, in integrated circuitmanufacture.We collaborate with many companiesand organisations that provide supportfor our activities. These includeUKAEA Culham, the RutherfordAppleton Laboratory, AWE Aldermastonplc, Sandia National Laboratory, theLaboratory for Laser Energetics(University of Rochester), the Institute

of Laser Engineering (University ofOsaka), the US Naval ResearchLaboratory and the LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory.

Laser ConsortiumOur technology is associated withdeveloping high intensity and ultrashort laser pulses. Theoreticaldescriptions of the effect of theseintense fields have led to technologythat can be used to produce micro-scopic optical structures by laserinduced modification (through multi-photon ionisation) of media. Theattosecond basic technologyprogramme promises to open up newfields of ultra high time resolutionmeasurement in surface science etc.Technology recently developed aspart of this project has been spun outand a second custom system forhollow fibre pulse compression togenerate 10 fs pulses has beendelivered to RAL under contract. Abroadband phase shaper for highintensity laser pulses is also in theprocess of being patented.Plasmas produced by interaction ofshort pulse lasers with subwavelength clusters and micron-scale objects are a promising sourcefor x-ray generation at lithographi-cally important wave-lengths. Theyalso produce high energy densityplasmas of interest for the testing ofnumerical codes. Blast waves inextended cluster media can be usedto model astrophysical and otherstrongly driven systems and producehigh quality data useful in thebenchmarking of complex radiationhydrocodes. We have an activecollaboration with AWE includingfunding, personnel exchange andequipment loan.

Quantum Optics and LaserScienceThe Group applies cutting edge lasertechnology and detailed numericalmodeling to a broad range of measure-ment and control problems in basicphysics research. The Centre for ColdMatter has an ongoing collaboration withthe K. J. Lesker company investigatingtransparent conductive films forpolymers. There are also links withPG Technology (Precision machiningcompany) on design of molecular

decelerators, and with ShimadzuResearch Laboratories (Europe) onthe development of novel THz detectorswhich has recently resulted in a jointpatent.

There are ongoing collaborations withthe National Physical Laboratory(NPL) on ion trapping and the devel-opment of ultra-stable lasers. Thisincludes supervision of students fundedby the NPL who carry out most oftheir experimental work there, but whoare registered as students at ImperialCollege. The Quantum InformationTheory sub group has close links witha number of companies including HP.All optical quantum informationprotocols have been developed andwork is on-going with the UltraFastGroup at the Clarendon in Oxford onthe realization of demonstrators ofthese protocols.

PhotonicsIn the Photonics group, most of ourprojects are interdisciplinary and wework closely with industry. Directsupport for research into highthroughput and multidimensionalfluorescence imaging, particularlyfluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM)has come from Perkin Elmer Lifeand Analytical Sciences (UK) Ltdand GE Healthcare. ‘In kind’ supporthas come from AstraZeneca UK Ltd,GlaxoSmithKline R&D, KentechInstruments Ltd, Leica Microsystems(UK) Ltd, Olympus Optical Co UKLtd. We also have a foundinginterest in Aurox Ltd, a spin-out fromOxford University manufacturingoptical microscopy equipment. Ourfibre laser programme addresseswavelength and pulse lengthversatile, all-fibre configurationsprimarily deploying MOPFA (MasterOscillator Power Fibre Amplifier)technology including development ofversatile compact seed sources, togenerate high average power,spectrally bright single modesources. The Group has long-standing collaboration and supportfrom the IPG Group of CompaniesDirect support in the area of highpower lasers and nonlinear opticshas come from the Electro-MagneticRemote Sensing (EMRS) DefenceTechnology Centre, established by

71

the UK Ministry of Defence and runby an industrial consortium ofSELEX Sensors and AirborneSystems, Thales Defence, RokeManor Research and Filtronic. Thisinvolves novel adaptive sensors andlaser sources for enhancing signaland information retrieval in complexremote sensing scenarios. PilkingtonOptronics (now Thales) havesupported CASE awards and ‘inkind’ support has come from ShellResearch Labs, Spectra-Physicsand Spectron Laser Systems.

A spin-out company, Midaz LasersLtd., was formed in 2006 based onbreakthrough laser technology. Thecompany has capabilities to producea wide class of innovative lasersolutions based on platformtechnology with offerings to a widerange of market sectors. Laserproducts are particularly suited toenabling superior and fastermanufacturing in large-scale hightech industrial applications based onhigh power laser products. Thetechnology also has excellentpotential for massive price reductionover existing laser technology thatwill allow entry into markets withhigh value that were previouslyunavailable to laser technology.Technology patents are in place anda strong management team hasbeen assembled.

Space and Atmospheric PhysicsThe group has a long history ofleading magnetometer instrumentsfor space research. Our continuedcollaboration with Ultra ElectronicsLtd has resulted in a new fluxgatedesign which at 100g is half themass of any sensor we have previ-ously flow in space. We completed acollaboration with EADS Astrium,MSSL (UCL) and SciSys Ltd tovalidate new data-handling architec-tures for future small satelliteswhere processing power andresources will need to be sharedamongst many users. We have alsocompleted a first stage of testingnew, commercially available, solid-state Magnetoresistive sensors, withpromising results.

As part of an EU Marie Curie

Research Training NetworkGLADNET we are also studying thecharacteristics of Glow Discharges,used as an analytical method inindustrial applications for example inquality testing of thin coatings.

Theoretical PhysicsThe dominant part of the Group'sactivities lie in constructing theoriesof the fundamental nature of theuniverse. However, subsidiary activ-ities of the group may lead to novelapplications of superconductingdevices (through the continuation ofwork begun under the ESF COSLABProgramme) or have implications forthe modelling of innovation andindustrial activity (through workbegun under the EU ISCOMNetwork). In a different contextstudents in the group havedeveloped various databasealgorithms and have formed acompany to exploit these ideas,aided latterly by a staff member.

The dominant part of the Group'sactivities lie in constructing theoriesof the fundamental nature of theuniverse. However, subsidiary activ-ities of the group may lead to novelapplications of superconductingdevices (through the continuation ofwork begun under the ESF COSLABProgramme) or have implications forthe modelling of innovation andindustrial activity (through workbegun under the EU ISCOMNetwork). In a different contextstudents in the group havedeveloped various databasealgorithms and have formed acompany to exploit these ideas,aided latterly by a staff member.

Prof. Donal Bradley, BSc, PhD, ARCS,FRSA, CPhys, FInstP, FRS

(Lee-Lucas Professor of) ExperimentalPhysics

Prof Kim Christensen, PhD

Theoretical Physics

Prof Lesley Cohen, BSc, PhD

Solid State Physics

Prof. Russell Cowburn, MA, PhD

Nanotechnology

Prof. Steven Cowley, BA, MA, PhD

Plasma Physics

Prof. Christopher Dainty, PhD

Applied Optics

Prof. Michael Damzen, PhD

Experimental Laser Physics

Prof. Paul Dauncey, BA, DPhil

Particle Physics

Prof. Peter Dornan, BA, PhD, FRS

Experimental Particle Physics

Prof. Michele Dougherty, BSc, PhD

Space Physics

Prof. Michael Duff, BSc, PhD, DIC, FInstP

Theoretical Physics

Prof. Roger Evans, BSc, PhD, FInstP

Physics

Prof. Michael Finnis, BSc, PhD

Materials Theory and Simulation

Prof. Matthew Foulkes, PhD

Physics

Prof. Leszek Frasinski, MSc, PhD, FInstP

Atomic and Molecular Physics

Prof. Paul French, PhD

Physics

Prof. Jerome Gauntlett, BSc, PhD,FInstP

Physics

Prof. Andrey Golutvin, PhD,

Physics

Prof. Joanna Haigh, MA, MSc, DPhil,

FInstP, FRMets

Atmospheric Physics

Prof. Geoffrey Hall, BSc, PhD, DIC, ARCS

Physics

Prof. Jonathan Halliwell, BSc, PhD,

Physics

Prof. John Harries, BSc, PhD, CPhys,

FInstP, FRMets

Earth Observation

Prof. Edward Hinds, BA, DPhil, FRS

Quantum Optics

Prof. Christopher Hull, BA, PhD, FInstP

Physics

Prof. Misha Ivanov, MSc, PhD

Physics

Prof. Andrew Jaffe, BS, MS, PhD, MInstP,

FRAS

Astrophysics and Cosmology

Prof. Sir Peter Knight, BSc, DPhil, FRS

Quantum Optics

Prof. Sergey Lebedev, MS, PhD, FInstP,

F.APS

Plasma Physics

Prof. Kenneth Long, BSc, DPhil

Experimental Particle Physics

Prof. Angus Mackinnon, PhD

Physics

Prof. Joao Magueijo, BA, PhD

Physics

Prof. Stefan Maier, PhD

Nanophotonics

Prof. Jonathan Marangos, PhD, ARCS,

DIC (Lockyer Chair)

Laser Physics

Prof. Martin McCall, PhD

Theoretical Optics

Prof. Raymond Murray, BSc, PhD

Solid State Physics

Prof. Kirpal Nandra, BA, PhD, FRAS

Astrophysics

Prof. Jordan Nash, BSc, PhD

Physics

Prof Mark Neil, BA, MA, PhD

Physics

Prof. Jenny Nelson, BA, PhD

Physics

Prof. Geoffrey New, MA, DPhil

Nonlinear Optics

Prof. Sir John Pendry, MA, PhD, FRS

Theoretical Solid State Physics

Prof. Christopher Phillips, MA, PhD,

DIC, CSci, CPhys, FInstP

Physics

Prof. Martin Plenio, PhD (Dr. rer. nat)

Physics

Prof. Steven Rose, BA, DPhil, CPhys, FInstP

Plasma Physics

Prof. Michael Rowan-Robinson, BA,

PhD, FInstP, FRAS

Astrophysics

Prof. Steven Schwartz, BSc, PhD

Space and Atmospheric Physics

Prof. Robin Smith, MA, PhD, DIC

Physics

Prof. Roland Smith, BSc, PhD

Laser Physics

Prof. Kellogg Stelle, AB, PhD, FInstP

Theoretical Physics

Prof. Timothy Sumner, BSc, DPhil,

CPhys, FInstP, FRAS

Experimental Astrophysics

Prof. Adrian Sutton, BA, MSc, PhD, FRS

Nanotechnology

Prof. Roy Taylor, BSc, PhD

Ultrafast Physics and Technology

Prof. Richard Thompson, MA, DPhil

Physics

Prof. John Tisch, BSc, PhD

Laser Physics

Prof. Peter Török, DPhil, DSc

Optical Physics

Prof. Ralf Toumi, BSc, PhD, ARCS

Atmospheric Physics

Prof. Arkady Tseytlin, MS, PhD

Physics

Prof. Tejinder Virdee, PhD

Physics

Prof. Dimitri Vvedensky, PhD

Theoretical Solid State Physics

Prof. Daniel Waldram, BA, MA, PhD

Theoretical Physics

Prof. David Wark, BSc, MS, PhD, FRS

Physics

Prof. Stephen Warren, MA, PhD

Astrophysics

Prof. Jing Zhang, BSc, PhD, DIC, ARCS

Physics

Dr Carlo Contaldi, MSci, PhD

Dr Jeremy Chittenden, BSc, PhD, DIC,

CPhys, MInstP

Dr Gavin Davies, BSc, PhD, DIC, FRAS

Dr Fay Dowker, BA, MA, PhD, FInstP

Dr Ulrik Egede, BSc, PhD

Dr Robert Forsyth, BSc, PhD

Academic Staff Professors

Readers

72

73

Dr Arnaud Czaja, PhD

Dr Constantinos Foudas, MA, MPhil, PhD

Dr Amihay Hanany, BA, PhD

Dr John Hassard, BSc, PhD

Dr Peter Haynes, BA, PhD

Dr Timothy Horbury, BSc, PhD

Dr Ingo Mueller-Wodarg, MSc, PhD

Dr Zulfikar Najmudin, BA, PhD

Dr Carl Paterson, BA, PhD

Dr Juliet Pickering, BA, MA, PhD, DIC

Dr Sergei Popov, MSc, PhD

Dr William Proud, BSc, PhD, FlnstP, CPhys,

CChem

Dr Arttu Rajantie, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Terence Rudolph, PhD, BSc

Dr Benjamin Sauer, BA, PhD

Dr Daniel Segal, BSc, PhD

Dr Roy Burns, PhD

Dr Alasdair Campbell, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Michael Coppins, BSc, PhD

Dr Timothy Evans, BA, PhD

Dr Derek Lee, BA, PhD

Dr Julia Sedgbeer, PhD, DIC

Dr Paul Stavrinou, BEng, PhD

Dr Yvonne Unruh, MSc, PhD

Dr Kenneth Weir, BSc, PhD

Mr Christopher Carr, BSc

Dr Thomas Anthopoulos, BEng, PhD

Dr Henrique Araujo, PhD

Dr Simon Bland, MSci, PhD

Dr Oliver Buchmueller, PhD

Dr Amanda Chatten, BSc, PhD

Dr David Clements, BSc, PhD, DIC

Dr David Colling, BSC, BA, PhD

Dr Christopher Dunsby, MSci, PhD

Dr Ned Ekins-Daukes, MSci, MSc, PhD

Dr Marina Galand, PhD

Dr Richard Jesik, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Ji-Seon Kim, PhD

Dr Robert Kingham, BSc, PhD

Dr Elizabeth Lucek, BSc, PhD

Dr Subhanjoy Mohanty, PhD

Dr Arash Mostofi, BA, MA, PhD

Dr Jaroslaw Pasternak, PhD

Dr Jürgen Pozimski, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Karl Sandeman, PhD

Dr Stefan Scheel, PhD (Dr. rer. nat.), Dipl.-Phys

Dr Paul Tangney, BSc, PhD

Dr Roberto Trotta, PhD

Dr Yoshiyuki Uchida, BA, PhD

Dr Toby Wiseman, PhD

Dr Christopher Seez, PhD

Dr David Mark Raymond, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Mike Wiltshire, PhD

Dr Raymond Beuselinck, BSc, PhD

Dr Jonathan Murray, PhD

Dr Gary Perkins, PhD

Dr Jacqueline Russell, BSc, PhD

Dr Diana Shaul, BSc, PhD

Dr Gabriela Slavcheva-Koleva, PhD

Dr Monika Voigt, Diplom, PhD

Dr Xuhua Wang, PhD

Dr Sean Barrett, PhD

Dr James Bedford, MA, PhD

Dr Stephen Bradshaw, MPhys, PhD

Dr Fernando Brandao, PhD

Dr Will Branford, MSc, PhD

Dr Helen Brindley, BSc, PhD

Dr Daniel Burgarth, PhD

Dr Artistomenis Dono, PhD

Dr David Futyan, BSc, PhD

Dr Edward Grace, Msci, PhD, DIC

Dr Jonathan Hays, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Andrew Ho, BA, PhD

Dr Jonathan Hudson, MPhys, DPhil

Dr Sugata Kaviraji, PhD

Dr James Kirkpatrick, MSci, PhD

Dr James Lucietti, PhD

Dr Anne-Marie Magnan, PhD

Dr Stuart Mangles, MSci, PhD

Dr Adam Rej, PhD

Dr Riccardo Ricci, PhD

Dr Julian Sonner, PhD

Dr Michael Tarbutt, MPhys, DPhil

Dr Rim Turkmani, BSc, MSc, PhD

Dr Linda Uruchurtu-Gomez, PhD

Dr Morgan Wascko, BA, MS, PhD

Academic Leavers in 2008/9

Dr Cesar BertucciDr Stephen BradshawDr William CameronDr James ConnollyDr Jens EisertDr Ravin GinigeDr Patrick Koppenburg

Dr Oisin Mac ConamhnaDr Dario MartelliProf Gareth ParryDr Alex RetzkerDr Konstantina SawidouDr Alexander SchekochihinDr Stuart SolinDr Bogdan StefanskiDr Wenyi Zhong

Emeritus Prof. Andre Balogh, MSc, DIC

Emeritus Prof. Keith Barnham, PhD

Emeritus Prof. David Caplin, MA, MSc, PhD

Emeritus Prof Peter Cargill, BSc, PhD

Dr Jack Connor, BSc, PhD

Dr Aboubaker Dangor, BSc, DSc

Dr Michel Della Negra, BSc, PhD

Dr John Gallop, BA, DPhil

Prof. Malcolm Haines, PhD, ARCS, FRCO,ARCM, FInstP

Emeritus Prof. Christopher Isham,BSc, ARCS, PhD, FInstP

Dr Hugh Jones, BA, PhD

Emeritus Prof. Bruce Joyce, DSc, FRS

Prof. Thomas Kibble, MA, PhD, FRS

Prof. Elliot Leader, BSc, MS, PhD

Emeritus Prof Raymond Rivers, BA,MA, PhD, FInstP

Dr Peter Sharp, BSc, PhD

Dr John Thompson, MA, PhD,

Dr Trevor Bacon, BSc, PhD

Emeritus Prof. David Binnie, BSc, PhD

Emeritus Prof. Ian Butterworth, BSc,

PhD CBE, FRS

Emeritus Prof Jean Patrick Connerade,PhD, ARCS, DIC

Emeritus Prof. Gareth Jones, BSc, PhD

Emeritus Prof. Gareth Parry, BSc, PhD,DIC, FREng

Emeritus Prof Peter Meikle, PhD, FRAS

Emeritus Prof. John Quenby, BSc,

PhD, DIC, ARCS

Lady Anne Thorne, MA, DPhil

Emeritus Prof. David Websdale, PhD,ARCS

Mr David Price, MA, DIC

Dr Geoffrey Rochester, BSc, PhD

Dr Khadija Tahir,BSc, MSc, PhD

Mrs Prudence Wormell, BSc

Dr Wenyi Zhong, MSc, PhD

Senior Lecturers

Lecturers

Research Fellows

Honorary Research Fellows

Principal Research Fellows

Honorary Associations

Distinguished Research Fellows

Senior Research Lecturer

Advanced and Postdoctoral Fellows

Senior Research Investigators

Dr Almut Beige, BSc, PhD

Dr Ken Bignell, BSc, PhD, ARCS

Dr Witold Chalupczak, MSc, PhD

Dr Anne Curtis, PhD

Dr Gianluca Gregori, PhD

Dr Paul Hazell, BEng

Mr Edward Judd, HNC

Dr Alex Robinson, BA, MSc, PhD

Dr Sherif Sherif, BSc, MS, PhD

Honorary Technical AdvisorMr Gilbert Satterthwaite,Honorary Schools Liaison AssistantMr Robert Airey, BSc

Honorary Association Leavers in2008/9Prof David CotterDr Alan EdmondsDr Marco GhisoniDr Ioannis Raptis

Prof. John Allen, MA, PhD, DSc

Prof. Michael Barnett, BSc, BA, PhD

Prof. Farhat Beg, PhD, MPhil, MSc, BSc

Prof Anthony Bell, MA, PhD, MInstP,CPhys, FRAS

Prof. Alain Blondel, DEA, PhD

Dr Jeremy Burroughes, BSc, PhD

Dr Rip Collins, BS, PhD

Dr William Dorland, BS, PhD,

Prof. Sergei Dudarev, BS, PhD

Dr Malcolm Dunlop, BSc, PhD

Dr. Anthony Dunne, BSc, PhD, DIC, ARCS

Prof. John Ellis, BA, PhD

Dr Lyn Evans, BSc, PhD

Prof. Vladimir Fortov, MSc, PhD

Prof. Patrick Gill, BSc, DPhil

Prof. Richard Harrison, PhD

Mr Robert Hastie, BSc, MSc, FInstP, F.APS

Prof. Timothy Hender, BSc, PhD

Prof. Henry Hutchinson, BSc, PhD

Prof. Gannady Kanel, PhD

Prof. Karl Krushelnick, BSc, MA, PhD

Prof. Michael Lockwood, PhD

Prof. Leon Lucy, BSc, PhD

Dr. Louis Lyons, BSc, DPhil

Dr Massimo Mazzer, PhD

Prof. Vladimir Milyavskiy, MSc, PhD

Dr Peter Norreys, BSc, MSc, PhD

Prof. Bob Palmer, BSc, PhD

Prof. Chris Rapley, BA, MSc, PhD

Prof. Sergey Razorenov, PhD

Prof. Sir Martin Rees, MA, PhD, FRS

Dr Peter Roberts, BSc, PhD

Prof. David Smith, PhD, ARCS

Prof. Nigel Smith, BSc, PhD

Prof. David Southwood, BA, PhD, DIC

Dr Michael Tatarakis, BSc, MSc, PhD

Prof Michael Thompson, MA, PhD

Dr Roger Timmis, MSc, PhD

Dr Adrian Tuck, BSc, PhD

Prof. Ronald Winter, FInstP, PhD

Dr Myungshik Kim, BS, MSc, PhD

Dr Benedict Murdin, MSc, PhD

Dr Georges Adamopoulos Dr Tiziano AgostinelliDr Hemmel AmraniaDr Marco ApolloniDr Elsa Arcaute Dr Morteza AslaninejadDr Alexandre AubryDr Egidijus AuksoriusDr Minas BacharisDr Robert BainbridgeDr Sarah BakerDr Sean BarrettDr Daniela BauerDr James BedfordDr Claudio BelottiDr Colin BeltonDr George BendoDr Sergio BenvenutiDr Thomas BlakeDr Matteo BocchiMr Fernando BrandaoDr Evgeny BuchbinderDr Stefan BuhmannDr Daniel BurgarthDr Antoine ChamballuDr Luke ChipperfieldDr Edmund ClarkeDr Joseph CotterDr Jun CuiDr Animesh DattaDr Aristomenis DonosDr Suresh DoravariDr Daniel FarrellDr Antonio Fernandez-DominguezDr Jonathan FulcherDr Edward GraceDr Paul David GreenDr Gareth Neville HallDr Ullrich HannemannDr Richard James HendricksDr Matthias HohenbergerDr Oliver Markus HornDr Jaesuk HwangDr Caitroina Jackman

Dr Ana-Vanessa JausovecDr Leo JennerDr Simon JollyDr Per JonssonDr Georgia KarapostoliDr Sugata KavirajiDr Panagiotis KeivanidisDr Gordon KennedyDr Paul KinslerDr James Kirkpatrick Dr Ajit KurupDr Sam LadakDr Elise LairdDr Renaud LambiotteDr Laurent LamyDr David Lara-SaucedoDr Isabel Llorente-GarciaDr James LuciettiDr Karl LyonsDr Barry MacEvoyDr Roderick MackenzieDr Anne-Marie MagnanDr Robert Maher Dr Matthew MalekDr Stuart Peter D ManglesDr Anca MargineanuDr Janusz MartyniakDr Daniel MasonDr James McGintyDr Jarlath McKennaDr Jeremy MitchellDr James MooreDr Angela MortiesDr Daniel MortlockDr David MulryneDr Sabrina NagelDr Alexander NikitenkoDr Dimitri NovikovDr Robert NymanDr Daniel O’DeaDr Brian O’HalloranDr Stuart PatersonDr Dorothee PetitDr Plamen G PetrovDr Michele PioppiDr Duncan RandDr Adrian RatnapalaDr Daniel ReadDr Adam RejDr Riccardo RicciDr Christopher RidgersDr Jesus Rogel-SalazarDr Tyler RoschukDr Matthew RuffoniDr James RufusDr Matthew Ryan Dr Tim ScanlonDr Markus SchulteDr Mark SherlockDr Yuri ShitovDr Andrew SingletonDr Yannick SonnefraudDr Julian Sonner

74

Visiting Professors

Visiting Readers

Research Associates

Honorary Lecturers

75

Dr Sarah SparrowDr Peter SpencerDr Markus StoyeDr Suren SukiasyanDr Francisco Suzuki-VidalDr Clifford TalbotDr Alex TapperDr Sean TokunagaDr Ricardo Torres-La-PorteDr Stephane TourneurDr John TraversDr Markos TrichasDr Michael TrupkeDr Wing TsoiMr Sachetan TuladharDr Rim TurkmaniDr Linda Uruchurtu-GomezDr Antonin VacheretDr Antony ValentiniDr Monica Vazquez AcostaDr Manuel VogelDr Stuart WakefieldDr Richard WalkerDr Xiangjun WangDr Krzysztof WarganDr Simon WaschkeDr Michael WilliamsMr Paul WobkenbergDr Ruidong XiaDr Man XuDr Karen YatesDr Amelle ZairDr Gercsi Zsolt

Research Associate Leavers 2008/9Dr Mohab Abou ZeidDr Hemmel AmraniaDr Eduard AntonyanDr Simon ArmitageDr Onuora AwunorDr James BabingtonDr Amy BallantyneDr Ian BallardDr Deborah BardDr Sean BarrettDr Nicole BenedekDr Cesar BertucciDr Neil BevisDr Richard Blackwell-WhiteheadDr Stephen BradshawDr Etienne BrionDr Robert CarleyDr Filippo CarusoDr Pierre ChanialDr Claudine ChenDr Alvin ChuaDr Steven ClowesDr Caroline CoxMr Marcus CramerDr Benoit DarquieDr Adolfo Del CampoDr Patrick DineenDr Jos Dingjan

Dr Andreas DoeringDr Andres DoeringDr Andrzej DraganDr Paul EasthamDr Daniel ElsonDr Rachele FermaniDr David Garcia-AlvarezDr Antonios GeorgakakisDr Alexandros GeorgiadisDr Jonathan GloagDr Jonathan GoldwinDr Dipti GuptaDr Michael HartmannDr George HeliotisMr Nicholas HineDr Jalani KanemDr Seok KimDr Athanasios LaliotisDr Robert LambertDr Peter LaniganDr James LeaverDr Vadim LebedenkoDr Dong LeemDr Bertrand LefebvreDr Andrey LyalinDr Karl LyonsDr Oisin Mac ConamhnaDr Carolyn MacTavishDr Olga MalandrakiDr Takashi MatsushitaDr Ewan McGheeDr Ara MinassianDr Gidon MoontDr Peter MunroDr Valerie NadeauDr Miguel NavascuesDr Massaki OwariDr Mathew OwensDr Richard PlackettDr Adam ReesDr Alexander RetzkerDr Davide RizzoDr Joseph RobinsonDr Tamas SashalmiDr Robert SewellDr Christopher SinclairDr Florea StoicaDr Khadija TahirDr Maiko TakahashiDr Laura ThevenardDr Alexander ThomasDr Anders TjulinDr Antony ValentiniDr Arthur Van de NesDr Kenneth WalaronDr Martin WolfDr Ben WoodDr Tarek Yousef

Ms Alice BrownMr Lionel ChaudetMiss Cora CheungMs Cecilia FloriMr Omair GhafurMr Adam GilbertsonMr Alexander HauptMs Susannah HeckMrs Thilini IshwaraMr David JenningsMr Simon KingMr Stefan KneipMiss Sunil KumarMr Carlos Macias-RomeroMiss Claire McConnellMr Sohail MushtaqMr Malte OppermannMr Mark PersaresiMr Andrew RoseMr Joao SampaioMr Robert Wicks

Mr Tobias Witting

Research Assistant Leavers 2008/9Ms Nadine AframMr James AirdMr Philip BatesMr Claudio BelleiMr Laurence BillinghamMr Daniel CrickMr Justin DaneMiss Hajar Ebrahim NajafabadiMr Alvaro Feito-BoiracMr Jaewoo JooMr James LazarusMr Peter LevermoreMr Matthew LilleyMr Alberto MarocchinoMr Adam MastersMr Christopher McNeilMs Anastasia NiarchouMr Kareem OsmanMr Mitesh PatelMr Konstantinos PetridisMr Fernando Ramirez-MartinezDr Mauro TeseiMs Louise WillingaleMr Matthew WinghamMr Harald WunderlichMiss Boon Kar Yap

Astrophysics

John Tovey,Computer Manager

Experimental Solid State

Dr James Buchanan, MSci, PhD

Senior Applications Engineer

Dr Simon Buehlmann, PhD

Senior Applications Engineer

Research Support Staff

Research Assistants

Dr Chee Lim, MSci, PhD

Senior Applications Engineer

Dr Fiona Turner, BSc, PhD, Cphys, MInstP

Senior Applications Engineer

High Energy Physics

Dr Mona Aggarwal, BSc, MSc

Support/Research Officer in Grid Computing

Dr Saad AlsariElectrical Engineer

Geoffrey BarberResearch Officer

Simon FayerSupport/Administrator in Grid Computing

Kostas Georgious, MSc, PhD

Deputy Systems Manager

Dr Gregory Iles, BSc, PhD

Electronics Engineer

Ashok JamdagniResearch Officer

James LeaverSoftware Engineer

Peter Savage, BEng, MSc

Mechanical Engineer

Trevor Savidge,BSc

Project Engineer

Osman Zorba, BSc

Electronics Engineer

Photonics Group

Ian Munro, BSc

Software and IT Development Manager

Space & Atmospheric Physics

Dr Leah-Nani Alconcel, BS, MS, PhD

Archiving Scientist

Patrick Brown, BA, MSc

Senior Research Officer

Stephen Kellock, BSc, MSc

Senior Research Officer

Helen O'Brien, MA, MEng

Research Officer

Tim Oddy, BSc, GradInstP

Spacecraft Operations Engineer

Alban RochelSoftware Development Officer

Dr Peter Slootweg, BSc, MSc, PhD

Research Officer

Research Support Leavers in 2008/9Charlotte DunfordDr Paul FrenchJuliet KempDr Matthew NoyTimothy Seears

Head of Department's Office

Linda JonesOperations Manager for Physics

Kalvinder ChanaSenior Administrator

Louise HaywardPA to HoD

Research Groups

Astrophysics Group

Dilly OsbahrGroup Administrator

Condensed Matter Theory &Experimental Solid State PhysicsGroups

Carolyn DaleSenior Group Administrator

Bhavna PatelAdministrator

Rebecca SmithAdministrative Assistant

Julie KitePA to Prof Russell Cowburn

Claudia HarriottPA to the Faculty Deputy Principal Prof Donal Bradley

High Energy Physics Group

Paula BrownGroup Administrator

Ghyslaine BanzigouTechnical Administrator

Carol BarlowExperiments Manager

Piera BrambillaTechnical Administrator

Plasma Physics Group

Sarah DodmanGroup Administrator

Optics (Photonics & QuantumOptics Groups)

Judith BaylisSenior Group Administrator

Sanja MaricicPA to the Centre for Cold Matter Prof EdHinds FRS

Space & Atmospheric PhysicsGroup

Dee LongGroup Administrator

Theoretical Physics Group

Graziela De Nadai-SowreyGroup Administrator

Student Administration

Postgraduate Office

Dr Andrew WilliamsonPostgraduate Development Officer

Loli Sanchez ReyPostgraduate Administrator

Undergraduate Office

Mery FajardoAdmissions Administrator

Andrew KnightUndergraduate Teaching Administrator

Derryck StewartAssistant UG Teaching Administrator

Sara ReimersUndergraduate Secretary

Philip ShanahanExaminations Officer

Facilities

Paul BrownMechanical Instrumentation WorkshopManager

Vivienne FraterDepartmental Facilities Manager

Malcolm HudsonDepartmental Buildings Manager

Harry VineDepartmental Services Manager

Simon GrahamMaintenance

Doug HudsonRefurbishment Programme ManagementAssistant

Alice PowellCommon Room Assistant

Neal PowellReprographics

Meilin SanchoReprographics

Zana VuckovicCommon Room Assistant

Teaching Laboratory Technicians

Harish Dawda1st Year Laboratory

Robert Whisker1st Year Laboratory

Graham Axtell2nd & 3rd Year Laboratory

Paul Beaumont2nd Year Laboratory

76

Administrative and Support Staff

77

Geoffrey Green3rd Year Laboratory

Lee Parker3rd Year Laboratory

Mechanical InstrumentationWorkshop and Groups Technicians

Stephen Annett

Trevor Beek (SPAT)

David Bowler

Stephen Cussell (EXSS)

Jonathan Dyne (QOLS)

Alan Finch (PLAS)

Andrew Gregory (QOLS)

Simon Johnson (PHOT / QOLS)

Alan Last (SPAT)

Stephen Maine

Steven Nelson

Alan Raper

Bandula Ratnasekara (QOLS)

Andrew Rochester

Peter Ruthven (QOLS)

James Stone (PHOT / QOLS)

David Williams

Brian Willey (QOLS)

Electronics Workshop Technicians

Shahid Hanif

Susan Parker

High Energy Physics GroupMechanical Workshop

David Clark

Ian Clark

Roger Hare

High Energy Physics GroupElectronics Workshop

Sarah Greenwood

Vera Kasey

Maria Khaleeq

Optical Mechanical Workshop

Martin Kehoe

Leavers in 2008/9

Ryan BurrowsElectronics Workshop Technician

Keith ClarkAudio Visual, Keys, Room Bookings

Martin DowmanOptical Mechanical Workshop

Robert Finnis Electronics Technician

Deborah Greek Undergraduate Secretary

John IpeAdministration Assistant

Nicola Joiner Undergraduate Secretary

Manharlal Joshi Technician

Karen LewisAdministrator

Russell NashBuildings Manager's Assistant

Celia PerryAdministration Assistant

Darren WrightStores Technician

78

More than 200 staff and guests attended theofficial opening on 15 May of the newMechanical Instrumentation Workshop inthe Department of Physics. Theworkshop is used by a team of techni-cians to design, develop and produceengineering equipment and componentsfor the department’s academic staff,researchers and students. Over the lasttwo years the workshop has undergonea massive £3.2 million refurbishmentprogramme which culminated in anopening ceremony last month when thenew workshop was unveiled to theCollege. The new facilities includecomputer numerically controlledmachine tools, (pictured above) allowingtechnicians to conduct several operationsat the same time, as well as a three-dimensional rapid prototype printer whichquickly assembles accurate andfunctional threedimensional prototypes.Alongside this cutting edge equipment,the workshop also invested in newversions of conventional tools includinglathes, presses, and cutting and millingmachines. The refurbishment has trans-formed the workshop from a poorly litunder-resourced area to a modern high-tech environment which will cater forincreasingly complex research needswithin the Department of Physics andother parts of the College.

The teamLeading the refurbishment programme wasWorkshop Manager Paul Brown, whojoined Imperial 18 years ago as atechnician following an apprenticeship inmechanical engineering. He says: “Thepast 18 months have been very heavygoing, trying to maintain technical supportwith the refurbishment in progress. Ourteam of 13 technicians has played amajor role in the specification andselection of the new equipment and I cansee their enthusiasm for the improvedworking environment.” Recent projectsinclude producing an X-ray spectrometerwhich uses light to measure very hotplasma for the Plasma Physics researchgroup, and a decelerator to slow downthe movement of molecules for theirstudy by researchers in the Centre forCold Matter.

The impactThe workshop technicians believe thatthe refurbishment has made a hugedifference to what they can offer. JonDyne, technician for the Centre for ColdMatter, comments: “We’d reached aresearch plateau using mainly manualmachines. What’s been so good is thattechnicians were involved from the start.We looked at the space available and

how we’d like it to be laid out. We thensplit into teams to research equipmentwe’d like installed, such as an EDM wireeroder [which uses electrical discharge tocut conductive materials]. We’ve alsobeen on lots of training courses in-houseand with the machine manufacturers tohelp us move from what was in somecases 1920s equipment to twenty-firstcentury technology.” Mr Dyne, who hasbeen with Imperial for seven yearsfollowing an apprenticeship in the aircraftindustry, adds: “On a personal level, it’smade my job even more exciting.”

The machinesAndrew Rochester, technician in chargeof the new computer-aided design(CAD) area of the workshop, agrees thatthe refurbishment has already had a bigimpact. Mr Rochester, who joined Imperialas a mechanical engineering apprenticeand has been with the College for 29years, says there has been demand fromall over for the new facilities. He explainsthat the workshop’s rapid prototypingmachine, which uses computer data andresins to ‘print’ three-dimensional modelsof almost any shape, has already beenused by teams in engineering depart-ments and the Imperial Incubator, aswell as in Physics. David Bowler,technician for the Experimental SolidState research group, also thinks thatthe workshop is paying dividends. MrBowler completed a mechanicalengineering apprenticeship at Imperial in1996 and joined Physics a year ago. Hesays: “I arrived during phase two of therefurbishment programme and it wasexciting to see the project comingtogether. We are already seeing thebenefits of being able to use the newtechnology to manufacture a wider varietyof components—for example, ‘substratemasks’ [templates for evaporating metalsonto glass slides] which used to be sentout to specialist companies are beingproduced in-house using our EDM wiremachine.” He adds: “A lot of the successis down to the guys who work here.They’ve all been involved in the refur-bishment. I’ve worked in variousworkshops across the College and Ithink this will be a benchmark for futuredevelopments.”

The openingThe workshop opening was attended bythe Head of Physics, Professor DonalBradley, and Associate Head, Dr KennyWeir. The Principal of the Faculty ofNatural Sciences, Professor Sir PeterKnight, who recognised the need for therefurbishment and helped secure fundingvia the College’s Strategic Research

Investment Fund, and the Rector, SirRichard Sykes, were also among theguests at an evening reception. PaulBrown says: “We’re all really proud ofour new workshop. It was a mammothtask, but by working together as a groupwe have produced a fantastic outcomewhich gives us and the whole Collegeenormous potential for the future.”—Wendy Raeside, Communications

The Above article is included with kindpermission of IC Reporterwww.imperial.ac.uk/reporter

• To find out more about the workshopand its facilities,contact Paul Brownon 020 7594 7876.

The new Mechanical Instrumentation Workshop