Astrophysical shocks are among the most powerful particle accelerators in the Universe. Generated by violent interactions of supersonic, and often relativistic, plasma flows with the ambient medium, shock waves involve a complex and highly nonlinear interplay between the dynamics of flows, magnetic fields, and accelerated particles through mechanisms not yet fully understood. “What is the origin of cosmic rays?”, “What controls particle injection and the acceleration efficiency in collisionless shocks?”, “How is the physics of relativistic shocks modified by electron-positron pair production?”, “Can these mechanisms be studied in the laboratory?” These are long-standing scientific questions, closely tied to extreme plasma physics processes, and where the interplay between micro-instabilities and the global dynamics is critical. Advances in high-power lasers and particle beams are just now opening unique opportunities to probe the microphysics of shocks and particle acceleration in controlled laboratory experiments for the first time. Together with the fast-paced developments in fully-kinetic plasma simulations, computational power, and astronomical observations, the time is ripe to deploy a research program focused on particle acceleration in shocks that can transform our ability to address these questions. In the ERC grant XPACE, we aim to use first-principles massively parallel simulations and laboratory experiments to study the microphysics of non-relativistic and relativistic shocks, and to use data-driven techniques to develop multi-scale models that bridge the gap between the microphysics and the global dynamics. This project will build comprehensive models of the plasma processes that shape magnetic field amplification, particle acceleration, and radiation emission in shocks, with the goal of solving central questions in extreme plasma phenomena, opening new avenues between theory, computation, laboratory experiments, and astrophysical observations.

Gravity's unique geometric structure is manifest in strong field regions, especially around black holes. The new-born era of gravitational-wave astronomy and of very long baseline interferometry is now providing data from such regions, carrying information about the gravitational interaction in highly dynamical setups. The access to this new and uncharted territory may hold the key to outstanding puzzles, such as the nature of dark matter, or the fate of singularities or horizons within a quantum field theory context. The breakthroughs at the observational and experimental level make strong gravity physics one of this century's most active and exciting fields of research. I propose to explore the discovery potential of black holes, a foundational project which will transform the field into data-driven with solid theoretical foundations. This coordinated program will study and test the strong-field regime of gravity and the matter content of our universe. The project will explore comprehensively the potential of black holes and compact binaries to perform spectroscopy and to strengthen the black hole paradigm. I will ascertain the evidence for black holes, providing new and robust tools to quantify their existence with electromagnetic and gravitational-wave observations. Finally, I will undertake a systematic study of environmental effects, including the ability for new observations to study the host galaxy, and will constrain the existence of new fundamental ultralight fields in our universe to unprecedented levels. The project aims to implement pipelines for its realization in planned and ongoing missions. The proposed program will significantly advance our knowledge of Einstein's field equations and their role in foundational questions, as well as the interplay with high energy, astro and particle physics. This is a multidisciplinary program with an impact on our understanding of gravity at all scales.

The Hop-On NOSEVAC modeling activity (proposed as WP8) aims at developing mathematical and quantitative modeling platforms for nasal vaccines research, to help in the deep understanding, prevention and reduction of nasal colonization and infection by respiratory pathogens. The Hop-On modeling activity brings added value to the NOSEVAC project by combining biological data and theoretical modeling frameworks to deliver a stronger and more robust quantitative analysis of the processes involved both in the mode of action and efficacy of bivalent RNA- and protein-based nasal vaccines against bacterial and viral infection, respectively. Mathematical, bio-statistical and computational modeling will offer a unique opportunity to gather sets of data from pre-clinical and clinical investigations to accelerate the development of the next generation nasal vaccines against nasal colonization/infection by pathogens, and implicitly also aid in preventing and limiting antibiotic resistance. The data and integrative models generated by NOSEVAC and the Hop-On NOSEVAC modeling activity in animal, human and in vitro studies will act synergistically to guide policy makers and funders towards rational decisions on supporting further nasal vaccine development. Modeling tools and frameworks developed for the respiratory pathogens under the focus of NOSEVAC could also be applied to study other pathogens and obtain useful knowledge for other vaccines. By expanding the toolbox of methods, descriptive and predictive models, we will contribute to the global effort in vaccine development and pandemic preparedness.

Carbon Neutral Milk project (CANMILK, grant number 101069491) focuses on methane abatement in dairy production. The aim is to decompose methane in dairy barns by applying non-thermal plasma based technology. The same technology can be applied also in meat production, for example in piggeries. In this proposal, the addition of University of Lisbon to the CANMILK project is applied to strengthen the scientific understanding of the studied phenomenon. The novelty of the on-going project is to combine plasma technology and catalysis to develop an energy efficient method for the abatement of highly dilute methane, i.e. methane that is found in the concentrations significantly below 1 vol% in the indoor air of animal barns. In the on-going project, the topics of catalysis and plasma are individually well-covered with the current work plan. However, the remaining key question is what happens on the direct interface of plasma and catalyst? To study this topic, University of Lisbon proposes to utilize both their modelling and experimental expertise. Significant scientific and techno-economic value is brought by increased understanding of the phenomenon on the plasma-catalyst interface. The activity and lifetime of the plasma-generated radicals on the catalyst surface has direct impact on the feasibility of the developed technology. The catalyst performance can be increased thermally, but any additional heating would deteriorate the energy efficiency of the process. Therefore, the understanding of the radical transfer from plasma to the catalyst would greatly improve the design of the CANMILK technology.

The AntiMatter-OTech project (EIC grant) aims to demonstrate the potential performance of a completely new strategy for non-intrusive nuclear reactor monitoring, exploiting the intrinsic reactors fission antineutrino emanation. This enables a new insight into nuclear facilities with even possible integration into existing installations. Since their discovery using reactors in the 50s, antineutrino detection capabilities have been limited by their signal-to-background ratio despite significant improvement. A groundbreaking potential opens with LiquidOs unique ability to tag the antimatter nature of the antineutrino upon detection. In brief, any strategy capable of boosting the detected light output will directly impact the ultimate performance of its subatomic topological imaging as well as the so far available calorimetry information. After long optimisation with prototypes, the only possible improvements ahead are the optical fibres light collection and todays scintillators light yield per energy deposited. Despite decades of effort, the fundamental light losses remain uncontrolled, historically limiting detection in the MeV range worldwide. The SHINE proposal aims to address this challenge by the definition of a new photonics detection framework to be integrated into the AntiMatter-OTech LiquidO-based detector for a possible technological breakthrough by improving both optical fibres, in tight cooperation with Kuraray (Japan) and a new wave of scintillation technology. This is expected to boost all the original goals with no project re-scoping whatsoever. The project relies on the latest advances in photo-chemistry technology never employed in neutrino detection that may revolutionise the worldwide MeV detection and instrumentation well beyond the AntiMatter-OTech scope, including major opportunities for European industry. SHINE leads to the strengthening of the original consortium by recognised renowned expertise by specialised photo-chemical scientists.