OpportunityTitle: Fundamental Research in Atomic, Molecular and Quantum Physics
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION    A. All responsible sources from academia and industry may submit proposals under this BAA. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Institutions (MIs) are encouraged to submit proposals and join others in submitting proposals.  However, no portion of this BAA will be set aside for HBCU and MI participation, due to the impracticality of reserving discrete or severable items of this research for exclusive competition among such entities.    B. Federally Funded Research &amp; Development Centers (FFRDCs), including Department of Energy National Laboratories, are not eligible to receive awards under this BAA.  However, teaming arrangements between FFRDCs and eligible principal Offerors are allowed so long as such arrangements are permitted under the sponsoring agreement between the Government and the specific FFRDC.    C. Navy laboratories and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this BAA and should not directly submit either white papers or full proposals in response to this BAA.  If any such organization is interested in one or more of the programs described herein, the organization should contact an appropriate ONR Technical POC to discuss its area of interest.  The various scientific divisions of ONR are identified at http://www.onr.navy.mil/.  As with FFRDCs, these types of federal organizations may team with other responsible sources from academia and industry that are submitting proposals under this BAA.    D. University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) are eligible to submit proposals under this BAA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contract.  E. Teams are also encouraged and may submit proposals in any and all areas.  However, Offerors must be willing to cooperate and exchange software, data and other information in an integrated program with other contractors, as well as with system integrators, selected by ONR.    F. Offerors should be aware of recent changes in export control laws.  Offerors are responsible for ensuring compliance with all International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR)(22 CFR &#167;120 et. seq.) requirements, as applicable. In some cases, developmental items funded by the Department of Defense are now included on the United States Munition List (USML) and are therefore subject to ITAR jurisdiction.  Offerors should address in their proposals whether ITAR restrictions apply or do not apply, such as in the case when research products would have both civil and military application, to the work they are proposing to perform for ONR.  The USML is available online at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?node=pt22.1.121.  Additional information regarding the President&apos;s Export Control Reform Initiative can be found at http://export.gov/ecr/index.asp.    G. Cost sharing is not expected and will not be used as a factor during the merit review of any proposal hereunder.  However, the Government may consider voluntary cost sharing if proposed.
Description: The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Atomic, Molecular and Quantum (AMQ) Physics Program seeks proposals with the aim of advancing fundamental science and technology for future naval applications in the areas of navigation, timekeeping and sensing. ONR has a long history of investing in atomic physics. Atomic clocks, found in large number in DOD and commercial systems today, have fundamental underpinnings that can be traced back to investments made by ONR over 60 years ago. Fundamental work in laser cooling and trapping made over the past 30 years along with subsequent, applied research investments contributed to the first DOD application of laser cooled atomic systems. The rubidium fountain clocks at United States Naval Observatory (USNO) enable the DOD master clock to meet the most stringent Navy and DOD timing requirements. The core motivation for the AMQ program stems from the fact that atomic and molecular systems make exceptional sensors and the belief that further developments in these areas will yield future technological benefits in sensing and other areas. The toolbox provided by laser cooling and trapping allows control of internal and external degrees of freedom down to the single atom level. This control will provide useful classical and quantum states that reduce noise, add robustness to environmental effects, and give insight into various complex physical phenomena. ONR expects that new developments in atomic, molecular and quantum physics will make contributions to future naval applications that include inertial sensing, earth and material science, low-noise and high resolution electromagnetic field sensing, and future high-performance, set-and-forget atomic clocks. The fundamental research ONR seeks to support under this BAA will continue to push the boundaries of science and technology in the area of atomic, molecular, and quantum physics. We encourage innovative proposals, both theoretical and experimental, addressing the following areas: I. Cooling and Trapping Techniques &#8226; Techniques for cooling and trapping that enable compact and robust systems with the potential for low size, weight and power in future deployable systems. &#8226; Development of techniques that allow for the exploration of new phenomena such as the manipulation of new cold atom or molecular systems or through improved diagnostic capability and access. &#8226; Techniques leading to improved, useful atomic flux in sensor-relevant geometries. &#8226; Techniques aimed at achieving the temperatures needed to access useful regimes for quantum simulation and other applications. II. Fundamental Developments in Atomic Clocks and Inertial Sensors &#8226; Improved local oscillators for optical clocks, either in terms of potential portability/robustness or in terms of absolute performance. &#8226; Development of new octave spanning frequency comb sources focused on achieving low SWaP-C such as compact fiber-based and whispering-gallery mode-based devices. &#8226; New, resource-minimizing approaches to optical clocks. &#8226; New ideas with the potential to provide practical atomic inertial sensors. III. Metrologically Relevant Quantum States &#8226; Identification and quantification of useful systems, states, and applications of quantum effects in atoms or molecules or hybrid atomic systems (e.g. atomic/mechanical systems). &#8226; Robust, metrologically-useful quantum state preparation in sensor-relevant configurations. &#8226; Demonstrations of quantum enhanced measurements using atoms, molecules or other atom-like systems (e.g. defects in solids). ******************************************************************************************************************************The FULL ANNOUNCEMENT is available on the Grants.gov website by scrolling to the top of the synopsis page and clicking on the &quot;FULL ANNOUNCEMENT&quot; box surrounded by the dotted line at the top of the page.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Grants.gov Questions
GrantorContactText: Angela Morin &lt;br/&gt;Contract Specialist &lt;br/&gt;Phone 7036965356
CloseDateExplanation: Refer to the BAA or application instructions for white paper due dates.