EXC 2056:  CUI: Advanced Imaging of Matter

• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas ; Basic Research in Biology and Medicine ; Condensed Matter Physics ; Physical Chemistry
• Term: since 2019
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390715994

“More is different”. This famous statement by Nobel laureate P.W. Anderson directly leads to one of the greatest and most exciting challenges of contemporary science: to understand how collective behaviour and functionality emerge from the interaction of many interacting building blocks. It is the central objective of this proposal not only to understand emergent phenomena of matter but to dynamically create new functionalities. One of our visions is to stabilise transient room-temperature superconductors using light. An equally far-reaching vision is to study the strongly correlated motions of electrons and nuclei and to control their "Dance" underlying the miracle of chemistry. Further, can we image proteins in action during their work within the machinery of life and ultimately steer their function by light? What unifies all these examples is the non-equilibrium nature of the emergence of key phenomena: Nature is not static!Non-equilibrium emergence – its understanding and control – is the overarching theme of the proposed cluster. Central to its success is the imaging of the dynamics of complex physical and chemical systems in real time, on the atomic scale.We will explore the dynamics of complex systems, bridging concepts and methodologies for the study of 'small' well controlled quantum systems to ever greater length scales and complexity, from large molecules to solid state systems and nano systems. The key enabling features of the proposed cluster are both the critical mass of excellent scientists in Hamburg in the fields of photon and nanoscience, and our new methodological capabilities, developed during the last decade, to scrutinise matter at the scales of angstroms and femtoseconds. All members of the proposed cluster are committed to the promotion of young scientists, gender equality and improved compatibility of scientific work and family as a central guiding theme. We will strategically invest more than 80 % of the funding applied for to employ and to train our PhD students, postdocs and early career scientists to become the next generation of multidisciplinary scientists in our newly created field of research. They will operate in Hamburg’s unique scientific environment with access to its exceptional infrastructure, including an unparalleled suite of light sources and instruments to manipulate and image matter on the atomic scale. They will be supported by a tightly coordinated team of senior scientists from Universität Hamburg, the Helmholtz Centre DESY, the Max Planck Society and the European XFEL, working in close collaboration. All in all, Hamburg will be in an excellent position for exploring the small and fast in order to understand and control the large and complex.

• DFG Programme: Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
• Applicant Institution: Universität Hamburg
• Participating Institution: Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY); European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility (XFEL) GmbH; Max-Planck-Institut für Struktur und Dynamik der Materie (MPSD)
• Spokespersons: Professor Henry N. Chapman, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Klaus Sengstock; Professor Dr. Horst Weller
• Participating Researchers: Dr. Sasa Bajt; Professor Dr. Gabriel Bester; Professor Dr. Christian Betzel; Professor Dr. Christian Bressler; Professorin Dr. Francesca Calegari; Professor Dr. Andrea Cavalleri; Professor Dr. Markus Drescher; Professor Dr. Gerhard Grübel; Professorin Dr. Carmen Herrmann; Professor Dr.-Ing. Franz Xaver Kärtner; Professor Dr. Jochen Küpper; Professor Dr. Alexander Lichtenstein; Professor Dr. R.J. Dwayne Miller; Professor Dr. Wolfgang Parak; Professorin Dr. Arwen Pearson; Professorin Dr. Nina Rohringer; Professor Dr. Angel Rubio; Professor Dr. Robin Santra; Professor Dr. Peter Schmelcher; Professor Dr. Roman Schnabel; Professor Dr. Roland Wiesendanger; Professor Dr. Wilfried Wurth (†)