The UNESCOS project explores new frontiers for condensed matter physics: the interplay between new states of matter and superconductivity in strongly correlated electron systems. Unlocking this fundamental issue will provide materials scientists with new insights on how to design and produce new superconductors operating at higher temperature. This line of research will ultimately lead to technological breakthrough, new and more efficient avenues to produce, store and transmit electricity. Dealing with the enigmatic “pseudogap” state out of which high temperature superconductivity emerges in the phase diagram of cuprate superconductors, UNESCOS focuses on the study of unconventional charge density instabilities and aim to develop the concept of unconventional superconductivity driven by quantum criticality. The UNESCOS project is a jointed research program involving physicists from LNCMI, LLB and IPhT, whose works have received an important visibility in the last few years, bringing new concepts to this field: (i) Fermi surface reconstruction and stabilization of a charge density wave order under magnetic field, (ii) observation of an intra-unit-cell magnetic order in the pseudogap state using polarized neutron scattering technique, (iii) condensations of new phases, potentially responsible for the pseudogap state, induced by antiferromagnetic quantum fluctuations. Taken separately these works may seem to promote different and apparently conflicting physical pictures. The UNESCOS project takes up the challenge to bridge together phenomena, previously supposed unrelated and promote the emergence of a unified theoretical picture within the framework of a new theory for the pseudogap state implying a multicomponent order parameter mixing a quadrupolar density wave order and d-wave superconductivity. This new, controlled and predictive theory will be developed and specific calculations will be performed to predict and explain new experimental observations that will be carried out within the project. Indeed the theoretical work will be performed in synergy with thermodynamic (sound velocity), diffraction and spectroscopy (neutron and X-ray) measurements providing key information on the microscopic nature and symmetry of the anomalous electronic phenomena. These experiments will require technologies that are available only in large facilities (Neutron source, Synchrotron, High-Magnetic-Field laboratory).

Direct reactions are a cornerstone of our understanding of nuclear structure, providing experimental information on the single-particle and collective properties of nuclear states. While neutron transfer reactions revealed a plethora of new information on nuclear structure, the proton transfer reactions are practically stopped, mostly due to the difficulties in implementing 3He targets. Surprisingly, the question of whether the proton shell closures remain stable far from stability or collapse remains open whereas the disappearance of neutron shell closures and the emergence of new sub-shell closures are extensively studied. Also, key reactions for the understanding of the light curve of Type I X-ray bursts could be tackled via (3He,d) measurements. Finally, the long standing question of the role of neutron-proton pairing along the N=Z line could be addressed with (3He,p) neutron-proton transfer. This proposal aims at implementing 3He targets tailored to such measurements. We focus on two types of targets, active and cryogenic, that will increase the thickness of the available implanted 3He targets by at least two orders of magnitude. First, a new cryogenic target cooled down by a pulse tube cryocooler will be designed to be coupled with new generation of Silicon and Germanium arrays. New window material will be investigated and an efficient de-icing protocol will be developed. Second, the active target ACTAR will be converted for using 3He gas and tested under beam conditions. The experimental capaign is foreseen at GANIL in 2026.

We propose the development of a new generation of an integrated ion source system for the production of very pure radioactive ion beams at low energy, including isomeric beams. This ion source is also, in its own right, an experimental tool for laser spectroscopy. The Rare Elements in-Gas Laser Ion Source and Spectroscopy device will be installed at the S3 spectrometer, currently under construction as part of the SPIRAL-2 facility at the GANIL laboratory in Caen. Thus, REGLIS3 will be a source for the production of new and pure radioactive ion beams at low energy as well as a spectroscopic tool to measure nuclear hyperfine interactions, giving access to charge radii, electromagnetic moments and nuclear spins of exotic nuclei so far not studied. It consists of a gas cell in which the heavy-ion beam coming from S3 will stopped and neutralized, coupled to a laser system that assures a selective re-ionisation of the atoms of interest. Ionization can be performed in the gas cell or in the gas jet streaming out of the cell. A radiofrequency quadrupole is added to capture the photo-ions and to guide them to the low-pressure zone thereby achieving good emittance of the produced low-energy beam that will be sent to a standard measurement station. Owing to the unique combination of such a device with the radioactive heavy ion beams from S3, a new realm of unknown isotopes at unusual isospin (N/Z ratio, refered to as exotic isotopes) will become accessible. The scientific goals focus on the study of ground-state properties of the N=Z nuclei up to the doubly-magic 100Sn and those of the very heavy and superheavy elements even beyond fermium. Once routine operation is achieved the beams will be used by a new users community as e.g. decay studies and mass measurements. The goal of the proposal is to develop this new, efficient, and universal source for pure, even isomeric, beams and for pioneering high-resolution laser spectroscopy that will overcome the present experimental constraints to study very exotic nuclei.

The present project is put into the context of the international projects ITER and DEMO aiming at managing nuclear fusion to produce energy. In tokamaks (nuclear fusion reactors), a hot plasma composed of deuterium and tritium nuclei is magnetically confined to achieve fusion. The heating of the plasma is mainly obtained by the injection of high-energy deuterium neutral beams, coming from the neutralization of high-intensity D- negative-ion beams. D- negative-ions are produced in a low-pressure plasma source and subsequently extracted and accelerated. The standard and most efficient solution to produce high negative-ion current uses cesium (Cs) injection and deposition inside the source to enhance negative-ion surface-production mechanisms. However, ITER and DEMO requirements in terms of extracted current push this technology to its limits. The already identified drawbacks of cesium injection are becoming real technological and scientific bottlenecks, and alternative solutions to produce negative-ions would be highly valuable. The first objective of the present project is to find an alternative solution to produce high yields of H-/D- negative-ions on surfaces in Cs-free H2/D2 plasmas. The proposed study is based on a physical effect discovered at PIIM in collaboration with LSPM, namely the enhancement of negative-ion yield on boron-doped-diamond at high temperature. The yield increase observed places diamond material as the most up to date relevant alternative solution for the generation of negative-ions in Cs-free plasmas. The project aims at fully characterizing and evaluating the relevance and the capabilities of diamond films (intrinsic and doped polycrystalline, single crystal as well as nanodiamond films…) as negative-ion enhancers in a negative-ion source. The second objective is to investigate diamond erosion under hydrogen (deuterium) plasma irradiation, with two main motivations. First, material erosion could be a limitation of the use of diamond as a negative-ion enhancer in a negative-ion source and must be evaluated. Second, the inner-parts of the tokamaks receiving the highest flux of particles and power are supposed to be made of tungsten, but its self-sputtering and its melting under high thermal loads are still major issues limiting its use. It has been shown in the past by one of the partners that diamond is a serious candidate as an efficient alternative-material for fusion reactors. Therefore, diamond erosion in hydrogen plasmas will also be investigated from this perspective. At the moment when all the efforts are put on tungsten, maintaining a scientific watch on backup solutions for tokamak materials is crucial. The project associates partners with complementary expertise in the field of plasma-surface interactions on the one hand, and diamond deposition and characterization on the other hand. Furthermore, in order to span the gap between fundamental science and real-life applications, negative-ion surface-production and diamond erosion will be studied in laboratory plasmas (PIIM in collaboration with LSPM ) as well as in real devices (Cybele negative-ion source at IRFM and Magnum-PSI experiment at DIFFER ). PIIM: Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moléculaires, Université Aix-Marseille, CNRS LSPM: Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux, CNRS, Université de Paris 13 IRFM: Institut de Recherche sur la Fusion Magnétique, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, Cadarache DIFFER: Dutch Institute For Fundamental Energy Research, The Netherlands

The discovery of the Higgs boson during the LHC Run 1 completes the experimental validation of the Standard Model (SM) of high-energy particle physics. Its particle spectrum is fully established, and definite predictions are available for all interactions. At the quantum level, the SM relates the masses of the heaviest particles the W and Z gauge bosons, the Higgs boson, and the top quark. The Z boson mass is precisely known since LEP1, and the measurement precision of the top quark mass has vastly improved at the TeVatron and LHC. In 2014, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations produced a precise measurement of the Higgs boson mass, based on the full 7 and 8 TeV datasets; in 2016, ATLAS completed a first measurement of mW, using 7 TeV data only, that matches the precision of the best previous results. The present proposal aims at further improvement in the measurements of mW, mZ and the weak mixing angle with ATLAS, exploiting all data available at 8 and 13 TeV. Leptonic final states play a particular role, and improving the measurement of electrons and muons is our main focus on the experimental side. A set of dedicated measurements is foreseen to bring our understanding of strong interaction effects to the required level. Finally, a global analysis of the electroweak parameters is proposed, accounting for correlations of QCD uncertainties across the different measurements, extending traditional electroweak fits. The involved scientists and institutes have recognized expertise and achievements in the fields spanned by this project. The present call provides a unique opportunity to strengthen our collaboration over a timescale matching the needs of our ambition.