Project group A will continue to study electronic and vibrational dissipation channels using a variety of primary excitations, i.e. mechanical, optical, electrical, atomic collisions and heat. Two key scientific questions underlie the joint research program.
The central questions are:
- Which kind of microscopic degrees of freedom dominate the path to equilibrium?
- How far can dissipation be controlled by tuning phonon and electron states or by active intervention?

The B projects will continue studying the conversion of optically induced excitations in systems with tunable correlations and will focus in the second CRC period on two material systems: (i) perovskite oxides and (ii) molecular metal complexes.
The central questions are:
- What is the nature of optical excitations in systems with strong electron-vibrational and magnetic correlations?
- Can photon energy conversion be controlled by tuning excitations and electron-phonon, electron-electron, electron-spin interactions in correlated systems?

Project group C jointly studies atomic scale mechanisms of energy storage in chemical bonds via multistep reactions using real time and atomic scale studies.
The central questions are:
- What is the exact nature and lifetime of the active states during electron and photon driven reactions?
- What is the role of correlations in multi-step charge transfer reactions?
- Can such reactions be controlled via tuning correlations and by active intervention?