UCL DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY ANNUAL REVIEW 2008 Contents Introduction 1 Students 2 Careers 5 Highlights and News 8 Astrophysics 17 High Energy Physics 19 Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Position Physics 21 Condensed Matter and Material Physics 25 Grants and Contracts 27 Publications 31 Staff 40 Cover image: Threaded molecular wire This image was produced by Dr Sergio Brovelli and refers to recent results obtained by the group of Professor Franco Cacialli. The molecular wire consists of a semiconducting conjugated polymer supramolecularly encapsulated (i.e. with no covalent bonds) into cyclodextrin macrocycles (in green). This class of organic functional materials gives highly controllable optical properties and higher luminescence efficiency when employed as the active layer in light-emitting diodes. The supramolecular shield prevents potentially detrimental intermolecular interactions and preserves single-molecule photophysics even at high concentration. PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY ANNUAL REVIEW 2008 1 Introduction in trying to help pilot STFC through maintaining a flourishing Department. very choppy waters and as major It is therefore with particular pleasure recipients of their funding support. Our that I note the award of no less than six Astrophysics group were particularly long-term Fellowships to young scientists unfortunate in the timing of the crisis, wishing to start their independent as it arrived just as the majority of the academic careers at UCL, see page 8. groups funding was due to be renewed. These Fellowships are deeply UCL has moved to ensure that years competitive as they attract world wide of research excellence in fundamental attention resulting in success rates of physics are not destroyed by what I hope 5% or less. In this context the award of is a short term funding blip. Besides no less than 4 Royal Society University offering targeted emergency support to Research Fellowship to be held in make sure key projects are not abruptly the Department (or jointly with the terminated, the Provost has generously London Centre of Nanotechnology) is supported the new Institute for Origins, a particularly spectacular result. The see page 15, which seeks to combine Royal Society award just over 40 of these UCL strengths in fundamental physics annually over all disciplines. The old Chinese curse says and astronomy. The major investment “May you live in interesting times” in research computing as represented To end on a personal note: I am now in and 2008 was certainly by Legion, see page 12, also provides my fifth year of a five year term of office an interesting year. key underpinning support to the STFC as Head of Department. I have recently accepted the offer to serve in this role The years end was awaited with science area. for a further five year period. I hope interest by all UK academics for the It was my pleasure a year ago to (and fear) that the next five years will announcement of the results of the final document that UCL had scooped no less be as interesting as the last five. Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). than four of the major awards made by The results arrived using a new scoring the Institute of Physics (IOP) for 2008. system which makes them harder to There is no such announcement this year interpret, or more precisely open to for no other reason than the IOP have a number of differing interpretations. changed their schedules and the 2009 However what is clear in the outcome awards will be announced later in the for Physics at UCL, which includes year. However we have already heard the Department of Space and Climate that Professor David Williams, Emeritus Physics (aka MSSL) and much of Perrin Professor of Astronomy and still the Department of Medical Physics an active member of the Department, and Bioengineering, was a strong has been award the 2009 Gold Medal by endorsement of our excellence in Professor Jonathan Tennyson the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), research. We are now clearly established Head of Department their highest honour, for his work on as one of the four major centres of astrochemistry. In addition, Dr Sarah physics research in the UK. As I write Bridle, newly promoted to Reader in we are awaiting a further announcement Astrophysics, has been awarded the explaining the consequences of this for RAS Fowler Prize for her early career our finances. work in cosmology. A full report on these The year started in less promising prizes will appear in next year’s annual fashion with a major funding crisis in review. the Science and Technology Funding Fostering the career of young and Council (STFC). Many members of the talented scientists is key part of Department were involved in this both 2 PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY ANNUAL REVIEW 2008 Physics and Astronomy Students PhDs AWARDED Student Entry and Pass Figures for 2008 Jennifer C Brookes Undergraduates Postgraduates A microscopic model of signal Entrants: 100 MSc entrants: 11 transduction mechanisms: Olfaction PhD entrants: 28 (Supervisor Prof. Marshall Stoneham) BSc Degrees MSc Degrees Mark Dorman Cross section measurements for 1st 9 2:1 5 2:2 1 3rd 4 Distinction 5 Pass 4 quasi-elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering with the MINOS near MSc Degrees PhD Degrees detector (Supervisor Prof. J Thomas) 1st 20 2:1 21 2:2 10 3rd 1 Pass 22 Natasha Doss Calculated final state probability NB: Numbers specified are head counts distributions for T2 β-decay measurements (Supervisor Prof. Jonathan Tennyson) 2008 PRIZE WINNERS FRANCISCUS PRINS Christina Dunn Additional Sessional Prize for Merit Pseudo-random toolpaths for deterministic surface processing UNDERGRADUATE PRIZES SUNIL RATTU (Supervisor Dr D Walker) Tessella Prize for Software HOLLY ALEXANDER Flemming Ehlers (Best use of software in final year Huggins Prize Modelling of the interaction of Cu Physics/Astronomy projects) (Best performance 2nd year Astronomy) and rare earth metal with Si(001) C.A.R. TAYLER PRIZE DANIEL SHORT (Supervisor Dr D Bowler) (Best 2nd Year Essay) Herschel Prize Hannah Fox SETRAK BALIAN (Best performance 4th year Astronomy) New statistical mechanical simulation Wood Prize SIDNEY TANOTO methods for the calculation of surface (Best performance 2nd year Physics) Additional Sessional Prize for Merit properties (Supervisor Prof. M J Gillan) YUVAL BEN HAIM WEI ZHOU Gabriela Halmova Best Performance 3rd Year Physics R-matrix calculations of electron- Oliver Lodge Prize - & William Bragg Prize (Best performance 1st year Physics) molecule collisions with C2 and C2 (Best overall undergraduate) (Supervisor Prof. Jonathan Tennyson) ALEXANDER DUNNING POSTGRADUATE PRIZES Clare E Jenner Corrigan Prize A new semi-analytical treatment CHRISTOPHER HADLEY (Best performance in experimental work, of the effect of supernovae on 2nd year) Carey Foster Prize ULIRG spectral energy distributions (Postgraduate Research, Physics AMOPP) (Supervisors Prof. M J Barlow, Dr J Yates) DAVID JOHNSON David Ponter Prize TOMMI KOSKINEN Christopher King (Most improved performance in Jon Darius Prize A new approach to stitching optical Department, 2nd year) (Outstanding Postgraduate Research, metrology data (Supervisor Dr D Walker) Astronomy) KALLE KARHUNEN Tommi Koskinen Best Performance 3rd Year Astronomy ARTHUR LOVELL Stability of short-period exoplanets Marshall Stoneham Prize (Supervisor Prof. Alan Aylward) KATARINA MARKOVIC (Postgraduate Research, Physics CMMP) Brian Duff Memorial Prize Ho-Chih Lin (Best 4th Year project in the department) DANIEL NICHOLASS Local approach to quantum Hepp Group entanglement (Prof. Andrew Fisher) KIRITHIKA MOHAN (Postgraduate Research, Physics HEP) Daniel Nicholass Halley Prize The study of D+- and D0 meson (Best performance 1st year Astronomy) ZIRI YOUNSI Harrie Massey Prize production in deep inelastic scattering CALLUM NOBLE (Most Outstanding MSc student) at HERA II with the ZEUS detector Burhop Prize (Supervisor Dr M Wing) (Best performance 4th year Physics) PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY ANNUAL REVIEW 2008 3 Nick Nicolaou Jiayu Tang Single and two-photon fluorescence Investigating future probes studies of linear and nonlinear optical of cosmic acceleration NEWS HIGHLIGHTS chromophores (Supervisor Dr A J Bain) (Supervisor Prof. J Weller) Follow-up Monitoring of Transiting Matthew North Paolo Emilio Trevisanutto Extrasolar Planets from ULO Rapid rotation in Be Stars Theoretical models of (Supervisor Prof. Ian Howarth) photo-induced processes at UCL undergraduates are participating in surfaces of oxide nanoparticles a collaborative observational project to Chiara Piccarreta (Supervisor Prof. Alexander Shluger) study the transits of extrasolar planets. Calculation of resonance effects in Transitting extra solar planets are a low-energy electron-water collisions Troy Vine particular class of planets who, when (Supervisor Prof. Jonathan Tennyson) A Direct measurement viewed from earth, pass directly in front of the W decay width Julia Roberts of their star. These planets are particularly (Supervisor Prof. M Lancaster) The chemical evolution of low mass interesting because they can be studied prestellar cores and young stellar Nicholas J Wright by observing the light from their star. objects (Supervisor Prof. J Rawlings) The structure and chemistry of The scientific aim of the project is to use evolved stars and nebulae Mischa Stocklin UCL’s observatory (ULO) to monitor the (Supervisor Prof. M J Barlow) Quantum chaos with cold transits of known and candidate extrasolar atoms and spin waves planets, with a view to characterizing (Supervisor Prof. T S Monteiro)