Wissenschaft in Australien

Wissenschaftler von der Curtin Universität haben seit 1920 nach einer Lösung gesucht

Curtin scientists solve problem that has baffled since the 1920s

Curtin University of Technology researchers have solved a quantum mechanics problem that has baffled scientists for more than 80 years. They showed, for the first time, how scattering of charged particles could be correctly formulated in a general way suitable for computation. By cracking the problem, scientists can now use the formula in a range of applications including atomic, molecular and nuclear physics. This relates to theories affecting power generation and lighting.

The team responsible for the breakthrough - Doctor Alisher Kadyrov, Professors Igor Bray and Andris Stelbovics from Curtin and Professor Akram Mukhamedzhanov from Texas A&M University - have just had their research published in the prestigious journal, Annals of Physics.

Curtin's Professor Igor Bray, an Australian Research Council Professorial Fellow, said their breakthrough research showed how an investment in the right people and equipment, as well as international linkages, could lead to significant discoveries. "When I was a student, we were told that this problem was too hard to even formulate," he said. "We used powerful, state-of-the-art computers, including those at iVEC in Technology Park in Bentley. "It was a process of trial and error. We started on a hunch, using an educated guess to feed information into the computer. Ultimately, our hunch proved to be correct and has resulted in a major breakthrough to a long-standing scientific question."

Curtin's Pro-Vice Chancellor for Science and Engineering, Professor Andris Stelbovics, said the research demonstrated that Curtin was at the leading edge of the most competitive fields of international science. "This is a problem that scientists have worked on since the birth of quantum mechanics in the 1920s," he said. "It was a Curtin-based team that came up with the solution and it is something we are extremely proud of." The most important aspect of this success for Professor Bray is that it demonstrates that nothing is impossible.