Dark100 will shine a light into an underexplored dark matter particle mass range. Driven by recent theoretical developments, both in tools and motivation, Dark100 will search for dark matter particles between 100 TeV and several tens of PeV. Leveraging novel, cost-effective telescope technology, Dark100 will deploy an array of telescopes capable of probing dark matter annihilation, improving on the sensitivity of currently operating and planned gamma-ray instruments by an order of magnitude with unprecedented energy and angular resolution. Dark100 will build a unique dataset of deep gamma-ray observations of dark-matter-rich astrophysical systems. Dark matter will potentially be detected, or in the event of non-detection, limits on its velocity-weighted annihilation cross section will be set. For a non-detection, dark matter will be ruled out for part of the probed mass range and theoretical models constrained for the full probed mass range. The impact of Dark100 will be felt beyond the dark matter community. By demonstrating a new gamma-ray telescope paradigm, Dark100 will enable a range of possible astrophysical studies with gamma rays above 100 TeV, including searches for Galactic Pevatrons and transient events. Its public data archive will encourage synergy with other gamma-ray instruments. Dark100 takes advantage of a unique moment in theoretical and technological development that enables its pioneering science goals. While the theoretical motivation is fully developed and the technology is well-tested, the deployment of the Dark100 array and collection and interpretation of its observations is an ambitious project that demands the resources of an ERC consolidator grant. The PI's leadership in dark matter searches and gamma-ray analysis and simulation make her ideally suited to direct this program.

In the Eastern Mediterranean, the four decades between 1880 and 1920 were a time of imperialism, globalisation and Ottoman state building, but also of profound social differentiation, fuelled by an unprecedented degree of human mobility and migration. Therefore, in this period we find the roots of many social formations that have remained relevant until the present. My focus is on the individual and collective practices for coping with various challenges and on census-taking as a social process. It will open up new perspectives on social and cultural dynamics in late Ottoman Palestine, in a historical context defined by European imperialism, Ottoman state building and globalisation. The main research question is: which social strategies did late Ottoman Palestinians employ, across ethnic, religious and class divides, to confront challenges on the individual and collective levels? These include fostering social advancement of one’s household or coping with economic stress. My hypothesis is that an accumulation of individual actions led to the constant emergence and re-emergence of social formations. Using the census process and its data I will establish yardsticks that will make it possible to compare social practices across the region and beyond, and thus contribute to ongoing efforts to write a global social and cultural history and it will develop a theoretical framework and methodological standards that will be useful for similar research projects. Specifically, the project aims to set new standards for how to realise the vision of an HGIS for the entire Ottoman Empire. Enabling comparison with other sources it may also offer intriguing new perspectives for the study of colonialism, notably under the British Mandate.

Hydrogen plays a prominent role in all concepts for CO2 mitigation; technologies for generation and for liquefaction of hydrogen need to be scaled up by orders of magnitude. This scale up has to rely on simulations of innovative processes, which are necessarily based on thermodynamic property models. An analysis of the available models indicates that properties of hydrogen are described with one order of magnitude larger uncertainty than properties of well-known fluids. Experience with process-simulation based scale-up shows that these uncertainties will likely result in large additional costs and delays. To improve the description of properties of hydrogen and to enable the application of advanced lique-faction concepts, fundamental breakthroughs are required with regard to the metrology of fluids at cryogenic temperatures and with regard to accurate modelling of these complex systems – ThermoPro-pHy addresses this pioneering scientific work. Experimental equipment will be developed that allows for highly accurate measurements of density and speed of sound at temperatures down to the triple point of hydrogen (14 K), far below current temperature limits. Property models will be developed that yield a highly accurate and consistent description of arbitrary mixtures of ortho- and parahydrogen for the first time, including the effects of the temperature dependent ortho/para-equilibrium. Solid phases of impurities affecting large-scale liquefaction processes will be described by models that are con-sistent to accurate fluid-phase models. Measurements and modelling of mixtures of helium, neon, and argon will establish an accurate basis for the application of mixed fluid cascade (MFC) processes for hydrogen liquefaction. ThermoPropHy will result not only in scientific breakthroughs with regard to the metrology of fluids and to accurate modelling of thermodynamic properties, but also in increased accuracy and credibility of process simulations for hydrogen technologies.

Femtosecond lasers are ubiquitous tools in science and industry, their widespread applications aided by their increasingly wide commercial availability. However, most femtosecond lasers operate at a wavelength of around 1µm, which hinders many potential new uses. In the last years, there is an increased interest in longer wavelengths, in particular the wavelength region between 2-3 µm, however only very few laser systems exist in the laser market at these wavelengths. This wavelength region has large potential for many fields in material processing, laser surgery, gas sensing; as well as in a variety of scientific applications, such as spectroscopy. In this project, we propose to explore the market potential of a femtosecond laser system based on a new laser gain material demonstrated in the context of our ERC St.G Project, that operates in this wavelength region with record high average power and short pulse durations. The unique parameter set this laser offers at this wavelength has the potential to disrupt material processing applications; and this project aims at validating the potential of the laser for this market.