With the arrival of the LHC on the Particle Physics arena, theoretical particle physics finds itself at a critical juncture. On the one hand, the last missing element of the Standard Model, the Higgs boson, needs to be found, and on the other, the LHC experiments may find new particles and processes that go beyond the standard model. At the same time, in the theoretical physics community there are a number of outstanding problems that will benefit from the information that we expect to arrive from the LHC. This project will investigate two key problems in modern theoretical physics. Firstly, we will investigate strongly coupled gauge theories using the so-called gauge/string correspondence. Much remains to be learnt about strongly coupled gauge theories. In recent years, there have been significant breakthroughs in understanding certain gauge theories using the gauge/string correspondence. In particular, the mathematical tools known as integrability have provided an incredibly precise analytic handle on certain supersymmetric strongly interacting gauge theories. These tools have been shown to extend to certain settings with relatively little supersymmetry. Low-supersymmetry gauge theories have also been shown, through the so-called dimer models to have intimate links to the mathematics of algebraic geometry and algebraic number theory. In this project we will significantly build on these results to develop new mathematical tools and methods to understand the strong-coupling dynamics of less supersymmetric gauge theories and their gauge/string dualities. Secondly, we will explore beyond-the-Standard-Model physics that can be obtained as a consistent low-energy theory from string theory. String theory has provided a framework for unifying gauge and gravity interactions into a single consistent quantum theory. One of the key challenges has been to identify particular examples of string theory compactifications which will lead to realistic low-energy physics. Our group will systematically search through the very large number of consistent string vacua, for those models which are consistent with the Standard Model and any new physics found by the LHC. Our past experience suggests that stringy geometries which could give the Standard Model are very rare. This in turn hints at the uniqueness, rather than the huge degeneracy, of string vacua, and we aim to extensively test this hypothesis.

This project aims to contribute to a multi-disciplinary understanding of shadow banking and banks’ interactions with it, which includes accounting, banking and macroeconomics, with the purpose to assess their response to monetary policy changes. The financial crisis revealed how the banking system is both intertwined with, and exposed to, (systemic) risks in the shadow banking system. This latter is generally defined as “credit intermediation involving entities and activities outside the regulated banking system”, or non-bank credit intermediation. The complexity of the issue, the heterogeneous legal forms and accounting practice assumed has so far limited empirical research on these “de facto” banks and their activities outside the scope of the regulatory framework. Based on extensive rating agencies’ data, we examine how global shadow banking in the form of asset-backed commercial paper (ABCPs) – where the 2007- crisis started - are affected by monetary policy and can become a potential source of financial and banking instability because of their market-based funding. This research is innovative as it takes a global view of the shadow banking system by: i) focusing on the (lending)-activities of shadow banks, regardless of their legal forms and their reporting practices; ii) including US, but also EU and UK banks as major global players; iii) using micro data at ABCPs-portfolio level. After the crisis, this issue remains relevant in the current global uncertain economic environment and in the Euro Area as early-stage regulatory initiatives (FSB, BCBS) are aiming to transform shadow banking into a resilient market-based financing as an alternative to bank funding to support the recovery of real economy. The project addresses one of the focus areas in the agenda of Horizon 2020 in line with Europe’s main challenge to overcome the economic crisis: i) understanding the evolution of the crisis and ii) understanding the impact of global trends on the EU’s economy. ---

The unprecedented increase in the amount, variety and value of data has been significantly transforming the way that scientific research is carried out and businesses operate. As data sources become increasingly diverse and complex, analysis approaches where the human and the computer operate in collaboration have proven to be an effective approach to derive actionable observations. This is achieved through an iterative human-computer dialogue where the knowledge and the creativity of the human meets the power of computation. In such human-in-the-loop data analysis approaches, interactive visualisation methods are core facilitators of this dialogue. However, these methods still rely on conventional, not often intuitive interaction mechanisms that can introduce unnecessary complexities into the process. There is an urgent need to rethink the ways how analysts interact with visualisations in data-intensive analysis situations. The recent advances in natural language based interaction methodologies offer promising avenues to address that. This project aims to develop a fundamental understanding of how analysts can use natural language elements to perform visualisation empowered data analysis and use that understanding to develop a framework where natural language and visualisation based interactions operate in harmony. The project then aims to demonstrate how such a multi-modal interaction scheme can radically transform the analysts' experience with the goal of achieving significant improvements in the value and the volume of actionable observations generated. Within the project, we will initially identify and develop a taxonomy of natural language interaction elements for describing visualisations and for carrying out a visual data analysis process. Here, we will inform our investigation with findings from data collected through crowd-based survey methodologies. We will then design a conceptual framework that facilitates an iterative data analysis process through interactions with both natural language and visualisation elements. We will make use of the data analysis and visualisation related language taxonomy from the earlier stage to define the scope and the capabilities of the interaction elements. The project will then move on to realising its vision through a prototype where the conceptual framework will operate through the help of an established conversational interface mechanism. The prototype will involve a combination of natural language and visual interaction capabilities and will also incorporate underlying computational capacities. We will then evaluate our approaches through a series of carefully designed use-cases that encompass common visual analysis scenarios. Our success criteria will be to achieve enhanced engagement and improved productivity during the visual analysis of complex data-intensive problems. Potential beneficiaries of the outputs of this project ranges widely from academic researchers, professional data analysts, data analysis industry, and the general public. For visualisation and visual analytics researchers, findings will benefit researchers who are working on understanding user-intent and mechanisms of sense-making in interactive visual analysis processes. For businesses that offer visualisation-empowered solutions to their customers (according to some reports, the visualisation market size is expected to reach a $2.8 Billion by 2020), the framework developed will provide the basis for new forms of products that are easier to learn and engage with. For professional data analysts, the novel interaction capability will offer a more fluid and natural experience, improving their efficiency and positively impacting the quality of observations. For the general public, natural interaction mechanisms will provide an enhanced experience when using data-intensive products that are becoming to be widely adopted.

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

Heavy metal (HM) pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems undermining global sustainability. Presence of HM in water further contaminates soil, enters food cycle, and finally accumulates in brains, kidneys, livers, and stomach, undermining human health. There is a market gap in low-cost on-line HM sensor, and this is needed to measure HM in-situ on-demand to reduce, mitigate or control environment contamination. Hence, an innovative solution is required to exploit the advantages of optical fibre sensors (OFS), in developing a compact, cost effective, fast, robust, and portable sensor for the accurate detection of several HM ions, simultaneously. In this project, besides the key focus of training the Researcher, the innovative potential of multiplexing OFS will be additionally combined with an enhanced light-matter interaction in tapered nano optical fibre (NOF) to increase its sensitivity and thus create a new generation of OFS to detect multiple HM ions simultaneously. Subsequently, wavelength selective grating will be inscribed on the NFBG along with Au film coated to enhance sensitivity. Additionally, graphene oxide (GO), and ion imprinted polymer-chitosan (IIP-CS) will be coated, which will not only improve the selectivity, but the added polymer will also strengthen the NFBG. In this project, the Researcher will numerically optimize the structural parameters and study the effect of fabrication tolerances of the OFS by using the finite element method. Subsequently, optimised OFS will be fabricated by a using laser induced grating fabrication technique and the Au/GO/(Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cr2+)/IP-CS will be coated on 3 concatenated sections of the NFBG surface by using dip coating method for simultaneous detection of Pb, Cu and Cr. The project aims to exploit multiplexing capability of OFS, which will use only a single interrogator and thus produce a cost-effective, sensitive, fast and on-line HM ions to provide safe water and safer environment.