DrLaura Manenti

Project Opportunities

Postdoc opening:
https://usyd.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/USYD_EXTERNAL_CAREER_SITE/job/Postdoctoral-Research-Associate-in-Physics_0147244-1

Project title: Mitigating Ionising Radiation Errors in Superconducting Quantum Computers
Project summary: This project aims to protect superconducting quantum computers from ionising radiation errors that limit their performance. The research will measure radiation's effects on qubits, compare quantum computer operation above and underground, and develop protective measures, including shielding and error correction systems.

Currently, I'm working on the following projects:

• Helping quantum computers deal with cosmic rays: I'm developing a cryogenic particle detector designed to work alongside a superconducting qubit array and measure cosmic ray interference with the chip. Cosmic rays are known to disrupt superconducting qubits, causing correlated errors. I aim to study these errors and develop a quantum correction protocol that responds in real time to cosmic ray events detected by our particle detector. This is a collaboration with Rigetti Computing and the quantum group at USYD, and it could help overcome a significant obstacle to large-scale quantum computing.
  Awarded a ~A$800k grant by the Australian Research Council: DP260101028

• Mapping Sydney's radioactivity: This is about understanding natural background radiation in Sydney to inform urban planning and public health. Natural radiation comes mainly from Th-232, U-238, and K-40 in rocks and soil, with an average worldwide exposure of about 2.4 mSv per year. Metropolitan Sydney has never been comprehensively mapped for radiation. Existing airborne surveys of Australia are too coarse for urban use and leave gaps for Sydney. We have created a terrestrial radiation dose map using a portable gamma-ray detector (Radiacode) across the city centre, alongside soil sampling measured with a High-Purity Germanium detector (the soil analysis is done in collaboration with ARPANSA). These maps will reveal how geology influences radiation patterns and could support future citizen science projects for high-resolution urban radiation mapping.
  Link to published paper.
  
  

• Hunting for dark matter in exotic ways: I’m exploring “blazar-boosted dark matter,” where relativistic jets from distant galaxies accelerate light dark matter particles, potentially allowing us to detect them on Earth. The idea is promising, though I remain healthily sceptical about whether it works as well as we hope. Dark matter particles from galactic haloes around supermassive black holes can be accelerated by these powerful jets and reach Earth with much higher energies than typical local dark matter. This could enable liquid xenon detectors to detect much lighter particles that would normally be invisible. We are developing methods to search for these boosted particles and studying how to reinterpret existing detector results for this type of signal.
  Link to published paper.
  
  

• IR PMT for LXe: Liquid xenon (LXe) detectors are currently the most sensitive for direct dark matter detection. Scintillation from ionising radiation is measured using photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) that detect UV light peaking at 178 nm. LXe also produces IR light, but so far this has been little studied due to technological limitations. We have just begun exploring IR scintillation in LXe using a novel PMT from Hamamatsu.
  
  

• DIY cloud chamber: In my lab, we are building a low-cost DIY cloud chamber for outreach purposes, along with software for track recognition. This is a fun project that gives students hands-on experience in hardware, data analysis, and software development.
  
  

• Having fun: I enjoy projects beyond my main research field. I listen to my students’ ideas and encourage their creativity. For example, a first-year student is working on levitating water drops in air using an ultrasonic transducer and a reflector. These create standing acoustic waves that trap the drop at pressure nodes—essentially invisible pockets where the drop floats mid-air. 
  
  

  International Collaborations:

  INRIM – Italy’s National Metrology Institute, specializing in precision measurements and the development of advanced metrological standards.
  Rigetti Computing – A NASDAQ-listed company (RGTI) , recognized for its innovative approach in quantum computing, including the development of superconducting quantum processors and cloud-based quantum computing services .
  NYU Abu Dhabi – A global campus of New York University, fostering interdisciplinary research and collaboration across various scientific disciplines.

   

  National Collaborations:

  ARPANSA – The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, responsible for regulating and monitoring radiation exposure to protect public health and safety.
  SUPL – Sydney University Physics Lab, supporting experimental physics research and providing infrastructure for scientific investigations.