Intern Projects

Space Telescopes: data analysis and design opportunities

Supervisor: Michele Trenti

This project will offer the opportunity to either analyse astronomical data from a space telescope or to contribute to instrumentation design in the Melbourne Space Laboratory. 

Sharpening tests of cosmic birefringence

Supervisor: Christian Reichardt

The journey of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons over cosmological distances is affected by different physical processes. One of the interesting hypothetical ones is cosmic birefringence; i.e. the in-vacuo rotation of the polarization plane of CMB photons as they travel through cosmos. If such a rotation is detected, we can extract exciting information about the physical conditions of the early universe and the cosmological medium. The project will study the potential impact of method improvements on a search for cosmic birefringence in CMB polarisation  data from the South Pole Telescope and BICEP Array. 

Faster exploration of inflationary gravitational wave models

Supervisor: Christian Reichardt

Estimating parameter constraints for cosmological models can be slow due to the need to run Boltzmann codes hundreds of thousands of time. An alternative to calculating the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra with these computationally expensive Boltzmann codes is to use a machine-learning emulator for the CMB power spectra. This project is aimed at training a machine learning emulator for the gravitational wave contributions to the CMB power spectra for extended inflationary models. 

Orientation of quasars

Supervisor: Rachel Webster and  Sruthi Suresh
Suggested skills: Laboratory skills, electromagnetism

Models of quasars suggest that they have an axi-symmetric structure, so that the angle-of-viewing affects what we actually observe.  Unless we can measure the angle-of-viewing, we may develop a biased understanding of the emission regions of these sources.  In this project you will apply a new technique to a sample of local quasars to determine their angle of viewing.  This will allow a deeper understanding of the physics of quasars.

Quantitative imaging of three-dimensional genome architecture in a living cell

Supervisor: Elizabeth Hinde

Live cell nucleus architecture has emerged as a key player in DNA target search and maintenance of genome integrity. In recent work we have developed a series of fluorescence microscopy methods to track the movement of molecules around the complex DNA networks within the nuclei of live cells. Based on fluorescence lifetime and fluctuation spectroscopy, this technology has the spatial and temporal resolution to map the impact genome organisation has on nuclear traffic.

From using these methods, we have discovered that DNA networks rearrange to genome structures that facilitate DNA repair and transcription factor recruitment to target DNA sites. The aim of this biophysical project is to investigate how genome organisation serves as 'road map' for DNA-binding proteins to navigate the nucleus and maintain genome function.

Vortex Dynamics in Dipolar Quantum Superfluids

Supervisor: Andy Martin

The great red spot of Jupiter is an inspiring island of order amidst chaos! The relative structure of this red whirlpool contrasts starkly with the turbulent background of irregularly seething gas in which the red spot is embedded. A similar phenomena occurs in quantum superfluids. Specifically, previous theoretical and experimental work has shown that the relaxation dynamics of a random distribution of quantum vortices, in a quasi-two-dimensional superfluid Bose-Einstein condensate, can self-organise into two macroscopic coherent ‘Onsager vortex’ clusters. These theoretical studies and experimental observations have focused on systems where it is appropriate to model the individual vortices as point-like objects with circular symmetry. However, experimentally it is possible to study systems (quasi-two-dimensional dipolar superfluid Bose-Einstein condensates) where this assumption breaks down. For such systems the vortices have an elliptic structure. In this project the fundamental question we will address is can Onsager vortex structures emerge from the relaxation dynamics of a random distribution of elliptic quantum vortices, in a quasi-two-dimensional dipolar superfluid Bose-Einstein condensate?

Spectroscopy and Modelling of Photoswitchable Thin Films

Supervisor : Ann Roberts and Dr Yang Xu

Suggested skills: Laboratory skills, electromagnetism

Photoswitchable molecules exhibit reversible changes in their optical properties, such as absorption and refractive index, upon irradiation with light. These dynamic responses provide a platform for developing tunable optical devices. This project will involve the preparation of thin films of photoswitchable molecules and measuring their optical spectra and observing their colour under different illumination conditions. The student will investigate how molecular switching influences optical responses in thin films and  in hybrid systems incorporating plasmonic structures such as silver nanoparticles. In addition, the project will include simulation of the optical behaviour of these multilayer systems using numerical tools, allowing comparison between experimental results and theoretical predictions. The student will gain experience in optical spectroscopy, thin-film preparation, and data analysis, as well as exposure to modelling techniques relevant to modern photonic materials..

The search for Radiative Auger decay, tests of QED and Axions

Supervisor: Chris Chantler

Topics that are not covered on the undergraduate syllabus but are fully accessible in Masters (and Ph D) offer great opportunities in experimental and theoretical physics. Undergraduates get taught the photoelectric effect (absorption to the continuum) and time-independent quantum mechanics, but we know that the world requires time-dependent quantum mechanics (for any event in space-time).

A step beyond this, maybe with Wikipedia or a good third year textbook, and you can explain the origin of Auger decay and QED – though always better as a proper course in Masters [yes we have three – QM, QFT and QAO]. Perhaps surprising is that there is no explicit theory for the radiative Auger effect, and even more surprising that we can work on it theoretically and experimentally in an internship and in Masters (and of course in a Ph D).

To perform a direct test of QED is at least a Ph D, but to learn new insights on the current experimental unexplained anomalies can be an internship or a MSc – even to the point of productive new contributions to the literature (with two past interns making enough progress to become co-authors on a research paper).

The Mysterious Axions are one of the most ephemeral hypotheses currently on the table – but we can investigate them experimentally or perhaps more honestly analytically in an internship or MSc. Perhaps even more surprising is how this new understanding can be used to strengthen Australian Industry and the development of Australian companies searching for Rare Earth metals.

Project supervisor: Josh Combes  

Directly Measuring Quantum Amplitudes: Can We Measure the Unmeasurable? "

In quantum mechanics, we can only measure probabilities, not the underlying amplitudes of quantum states. That is, when we measure a quantum state, e.g. |ψ⟩ = c₀|0⟩ + c₁|1⟩, we observe the probabilities |cₖ|², not the complex numbers cₖ themselves.

Recently, researchers have suggested it might be possible to directly access these complex amplitudes using clever measurement schemes.

In this project, we will explore what would happen if we could directly measure a quantum amplitude. What physical laws would break? We may find that such measurements would allow faster-than-light communication and are therefore likely impossible within our current understanding of physics."

What’s Quantum About a Single Photon?"

A single photon is one of the simplest quantum systems, but it already shows many strange effects. It can appear to travel through two paths at once, interfere with itself, and produce measurement outcomes that seem impossible to explain classically.

In this project, we will ask whether these effects really require quantum mechanics. We will build a hidden-variable model for a single photon, where the photon has some underlying classical state that we do not fully know. The goal is to see which single-photon effects can be explained using ordinary classical rules plus incomplete information.

This approach helps separate effects that only look quantum from those that are genuinely quantum. Effects reproduced by the hidden-variable model can be viewed as less mysterious, while effects it cannot reproduce point to what is deeply quantum about a single photon."

Time Machines and Computers: Classical and Quantum Computation with Closed Time-like Curves "

Time machines seem to create logical paradoxes. For example, what happens if a computer sends a message to its own past telling itself not to send that message? Such paradoxes suggest that closed timelike curves may be impossible, or that the laws of physics must somehow enforce consistency.

In this project, we will examine a self-consistent model of classical computation in the presence of a closed timelike curve. The key idea is that the computer’s state must agree with both its past and future. This rule avoids paradoxes, but it may also give computers strange new powers.

We will study simple circuits involving bits, logic gates, and feedback loops through time. The goal is to understand which computations become possible, which paradoxes are avoided, and how much extra power a classical computer could gain from access to a time machine. If time permits, we will also explore what happens when a quantum computer has access to a closed timelike curve."

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