Objective
BEACON aims at performing an ambitious multi-disciplinary (optical, radio astronomy and theoretical physics) study to enable a fundamentally improved understanding of gravitation and space-time. For almost a century Einstein's general relativity has been the last word on gravity. However, superstring theory predicts new gravitational phenomena beyond relativity. In this proposal I will attempt to detect these new phenomena, with a sensitivity 20 times better than state-of-the-art attempts. A successful detection would take physics beyond its current understanding of the Universe.
These new gravitational phenomena are emission of dipolar gravitational waves and the violation of the strong equivalence principle (SEP). I plan to look for them by timing newly discovered binary pulsars. I will improve upon the best current limits on dipolar gravitational wave emission by a factor of 20 within the time of this proposal. I also plan to develop a test of the Strong Equivalence Principle using a new pulsar/main-sequence star binary. The precision of this test is likely to surpass the current best limits within the time frame of this proposal and then keep improving indefinitely with time. This happens because this is the cleanest gravitational experiment ever carried out.
In order to further these goals, I plan to build the ultimate pulsar observing system. By taking advantage of recent technological advances in microwave engineering (particularly sensitive ultra-wide band receivers) digital electronics (fast analogue-to-digital converters and digital spectrometers) and computing, my team and me will be able to greatly improve the sensitivity and precision for pulsar timing experiments and exploit the capabilities of modern radio telescopes to their limits.
Pulsars are the beacons that will guide me in these new, uncharted seas.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy space exploration
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy observational astronomy gravitational waves
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy observational astronomy radio astronomy
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering digital electronics
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2011-StG_20101014
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.