Students

Available projects at UQ (PhD, masters, honours, and undergraduate)

Current PhD Students

Ashlee Caddell (PhD student, UQ)

Ashlee works on developing methods for searching for dark matter and exotic physics using atomic phenomena.

Publications during PhD

  • Ultralight Dark Matter Search with Space-Time Separated Atomic Clocks and Cavities, M. Filzinger, A. R. Caddell, D. Jani, M. Steinel, L. Giani, N. Huntemann, and B. M. Roberts, [arXiv:2312.13723].
  • The neutrino fog for dark matter-electron scattering experiments, B. Carew, A. R. Caddell, T. N. Maity, C. A. J. O’Hare, [arXiv:2312.04303].
  • Accurate electron-recoil ionization factors for dark matter direct detection in xenon, krypton, and argon, A. R. Caddell, V. V. Flambaum, and B. M. Roberts, Phys. Rev. D 108, 083030 (2023), [arXiv:2305.05125].

Conferences/Worskhops during PhD

  • AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Summer Meeting (talk), ANU, 2023
  • 9th Symposium on Frequency Standards and Metrology (poster), Kingsclif NSW, 2023
  • ASA (Astronomical Society of Australia) ASM (poster), 2023
  • Canberra International Physics Summer School, 2023
  • AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Congress (talk), Adelaide, 2022
  • Dark Side of the Universe (talk), UNSW, 2022
  • ASA (Astronomical Society of Australia) ASM (talk), 2022
  • ACAMAR (Australia-China Consortium for Astrophysical Research) Meeting on Astroparticle Physics (talk), 2022
  • DAMOP (poster, virtual), 2022
  • AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Summer Meeting (poster), QUT, 2021

Carter Fairhall (PhD student, UQ)

Carter works on extending methods for high-precission atomic structure calculations for fundamental physics studies, particularly the high-accuracy inclusion of radiative QED effects into many-body atomic structure calculations. Primary supervisor: Dr. Jacinda Ginges.

Publications during PhD

Conferences/Worskhops during PhD

  • AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Summer Meeting (talk), ANU, 2023
  • 9th Symposium on Frequency Standards and Metrology (poster), Kingsclif NSW, 2023
  • AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Congress (poster), Adelaide, 2022
  • DAMOP (poster, virtual), 2022

Jayden Hasted (PhD student, UQ)

Jayden works on high-precission atomic structure calculations for fundamental physics studies, in particular, high-precision calculations of atomic polarisabilities and hyperfine structure. Primary supervisor: Dr. Jacinda Ginges.

Giriraj Hiranandani (PhD student, UQ)

Giri works on tests of the standard model and nuclear physics using exotic atoms, and field theory approaches for the developement of new methods for the inclusion of all-orders correlation effects into atomic structure calculations. Primary supervisor: Dr. Jacinda Ginges.

Current Honours/Masters Students

Cameron West (Honours student, UQ)

Project: New short-range forces, and their impact on atomic spectroscopy, including isotope shift





Andoni Skoufris (Honours student, UQ)

Project: Inclusion of Breit and other relativistic effects into all-orders atomic structure calculations





Narise Williams (Honours student, UQ)

Project: Direct detection of dark photon dark matter





Robin Cserveny (Masters student, UQ and University of Vienna, Austria)

Project: Theoretical study of atomic systems for the development of atomic clocks

Conferences/Worskhops during masters

  • AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Summer Meeting (talk), ANU, 2023

Previous Students

Jack Easton (Honours student, UQ)

Thesis: Theoretical calculation of Stark-induced polarisabilities in heavy alkali atoms for low energy tests of the Standard Model





Dhruv Jani (Honours student, UQ)

Thesis: Detection of Gravitational Waves and Dark Matter using terrestrial based Optical Atomic Clocks

Publications during honours

  • Ultralight Dark Matter Search with Space-Time Separated Atomic Clocks and Cavities, M. Filzinger, A. R. Caddell, D. Jani, M. Steinel, L. Giani, N. Huntemann, and B. M. Roberts, [arXiv:2312.13723].

Pengrui Jiao (Honours student, UQ)

Thesis: Dynamic Breit Correction to Atomic Energy Levels

Graduated: June 2023

Pengrui went on to do a PhD at PSL, in Paris, France.



Victoria Inselmann (Honours student, UQ and the University of Copenhagen)

Graduated: December 2022

Co-Supervised with Prof. Tamara Davis

Thesis: Black hole entropy with varying constants of nature



Flynn Linton (Honours student, UQ)

Graduated: June 2022

Thesis: Extending correlation methods for high-accuracy calculations of atomic wavefunctions

Conferences during honours

  • ACUR student conference 2022 (talk)
  • AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Summer Meeting (poster), QUT, 2021

Flynn went on to a Masters position at ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Ben Carew (Honours student, UQ)

Graduated: June 2022

Thesis: Atomic Ionisation with Electron Interactions of Dark Matter

Conferences/Presentations during honours

  • ACUR student conference 2022 (talk)
  • AIP summer meeting 2021 (poster)
  • Outreach talk at 2021 Pint of Science event, Brisbane: From atoms to galaxies

After graduating Ben was awarded a summer scholarship at University of Sydney (Dark Matter Centre of Excellence).

Ben was then accepted into the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Advanced Methods in Particle Physics program

Publications resulting from honours work

  • The neutrino fog for dark matter-electron scattering experiments, B. Carew, A. R. Caddell, T. N. Maity, C. A. J. O’Hare, [arXiv:2312.04303].

Website: bencarew.com

Conner Dailey (Honors student, University of Nevada, Reno)

Graduated: May 2017

Thesis: Initial Search Results for Dark Matter Using the GPS.DM Observatory

Primary supervisor: Dr. Andrei Derevianko

Publications during honors

Conner went on to a PhD position at University of Waterloo and the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics

Website: taketwicedailey.com