Past Grants and Networks

• Past Research Grants
• Past Research Networks
• Collaborating and Twined Institutes

Advanced ERC grant "Gravity, Holography and Standard Model (SM-GRAV)"

 

This Advanced ERC grant was awarder to Elias Kiritsis in order to study how holographic ideas can be used to elucidate the physics beyoind the standard model and gravity. The abstract of the project SM-GRAV is as follows:

The main thrust of this project is to investigate implications of a recently discovered correspondence (string theory/gravity and gauge theory) to the physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) of fundamental interaction and its coupling to gravity. Instead of relying on the string picture of the unification of all interactions with gravity, I propose to look at its dual version: four-dimensional quantum field theories (QFT). Such a different perspective is expected to provide three distinct results:

(a) A QFT view of SM embedding in string theory
(b) Novel phenomena and properties of such embeddings that are hard to see in the string theory picture.
(c) A "dual" view that would be valid in non-stringy regimes (which may be well described by QFT)

The key idea is that gravity, as observed in nature, is emergent: it is the avatar of a (hidden) large-N (near) CFT that is interacting with the SM at high energy (the Planck scale). Such an approach provides an appealing UV completion to the SM+gravity: a UV complete four-dimensional QFT. There are, however, many questions that need to be addressed in order for this setup to be a viable physical theory:

1. Why is the gravitational force four-dimensional (instead of higher dimensional as suggested by standard holography)?
2. Why does the coupling of the gravitational force to the SM satisfy the equivalence principle to such a high accuracy?
3. Why are other gravitons, emerging from couplings to other QFTs, not visible? What are their leading effects if one wishes to look for them?
4. What are other universal interactions with the SM model implied in this picture? What are their phenomenological consequences?
5. How can one construct, precise and controllable models for this setup?
6. How is Cosmology emerging in this picture? How do the important problems associated with it get resolved?

SM-GRAV will address all of the above questions using the tools of QFT, of string theory and the AdS-CFT correspondence. The outcome of the proposed research is expected to be a concrete and quantitative model/scenario for the emergence and coupling of the "generalized gravitational sector fields" to the SM model and the potential novel phenomenological implications for particle physics and cosmology.

The PI of this program is Elias Kiritsis. The work will be done at APC, Universite Diderot, Paris 7 and at CCTP.

More information will be found in the webpage of the project.

ERC5 project "AdS/CMT"

 

The Center is supported by a grant ERC5-AdS/CMT with number MIS 374071, from 6/6/2012 till 30/9/2015. The grant is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund, ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), under the grants schemes "Funding of proposals that have received a positive evaluation in the 3rd and 4th Call of ERC Grant Schemes". It is administered by the (Greek) General Secretariat for Research and Technology.

The main thrust of this program is to support research in novel directions using techniques of the AdS/CFT correspondence to address problems at finite density. Potential applications are expected to high energy physics, cosmology, condensed matter physics, statistical physics and elsewhere. It is an interdisciplinary research adventure in full evolution.

The official coordinator of this program is Elias Kiritsis.

More information can be found in the webpage of the project .

Thales collaborative grant "Beyond the Standard Model: Theoretical Elementary Particle Physics and Cosmology under the light of the LHC" "

 

The Center is supported by a Thales collaborative grant with number MIS 375734 , from 1/2/2012 till 30/9/2015.

The grant is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund, ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), under the grants schemes "Funding of proposals that have received a positive evaluation in the 3rd and 4th Call of ERC Grant Schemes". It is administered by the (Greek) General Secretariat for Research and Technology.

Participating teams:

Node: University of Ioannina
Coordinator: Kiriakos Tamvakis (overall coordinator)
Main Scientists: A. Dedes, P. Kanti, G. Leontaris, L. Perivolaropoulos, I. Rizos


Node: Crete Center For Theoretical Physics
Coordinator: Nikolaos Tsamis
Main Scientists: E. Kiritsis, Th. Tomaras; I. Antoniadis, K. Skenderis


Node: University of Athens and Demokritus Institute.
Coordinator: Athanasios Lahanas
Main Scientists: B. Georgalas, G. Diamantis, C. Papadopoulos, N. Tetradis

Research Topics:

Unified theories including Gravity

Physics beyond the Standard Model

Cosmology

More information can be found in the webpage of the project .

Regional Potential project: Crete Center for Quantum Complexity and Nanotechnology

 

This is REGPOT-2012-2013-1 grant, from September 2013 till August 2016. It federates the condensed matter, material science and quantum field theory related groups of the Physics Department. Its purpose is to provide a boost to the competitiveness of the Center and establish links and research contacts with several prominent European institutions. 

The main thrust of this program is to

 Improve the research team by hiring young researchers, and improve the infrastructure of the Center

  Fund incoming and outgoing visits that will improve the Center's research potential

 Fund the organization of workshops and conferences.

 Provide guidance and evaluation from an  Advisory Committee of senior scientists in the field. The members of the advisory committee are:

Bernard Buchner, Leibniz Institute, Dresden, Germany

Siddharth S. Saxena, Cambridge University, UK

Johannes Zaanen, Leiden University, Netherlands

The list of European Institutions participating is

  Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self Organization,Goettingen, Germany, (Coordinator, Prof. T. Geisel).

  Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW). Dresden, Germany, (Coordinator, Prof. B. Buchner).

  Lorentz Institute, Leiden, the Nederlands, (Coordinator, Prof. Jan Zaanen ).

  University of Cambridge including the Departement of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, (Coordinated by Prof. David Tong), the Cavedish laboratory (Coordinator, Dr. Siddharth Saxena), the Center for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (Coordinator Prof. Arokia Nathan) and selected faculty from other UK institutions.

  Laboratoire de Physique Theorique, Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris, France, (Coordinator, Prof. Costas Bachas).

  Institute of Solid State Physics, , Haifa, Israel, including the I-Core collaboration and Israel scientists related to the focus of the Center (Coordinator, Prof. M. Segev).

  The Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, (Coordinator, Prof. V.H.M. van Loosdrecht).

  Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, (Coordinator, Prof. A. Ustinov).

  Laboratoire d'analyse et d'Architecture des Systemes, Universite de Toulouse, France, (Coordinator, Prof. R. Plana ).

The steering committee is composed of:

Prof. Eleftherios Iliopoulos

Prof. Elias Kiritsis

Prof. Christos Panagopoulos

Prof. George Tsironis (Coordinator)

Prof. Xenophon Zotos.

More information can be found in the webpage of the project .

Excellence Grant 290, "Unification of particle physics, gravity and cosmology" (Aristeia)

 

This grant (9724/8-9-2011) was selected among the first round of application of the call "Excellence" in 2012.

The call Excellence is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund, ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), under the grants schemes "Funding of proposals that have received a positive evaluation in the 3rd and 4th Call of ERC Grant Schemes". It is administered by the (Greek) General Secretariat for Research and Technology.

Funding for this grant was not eventually provided, as an ERC5 grant was given to the center.

The principal investigator for this grant is Prof. Elias Kiritsis.

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