Am I expected to be excellent in my chosen area (solid-state physics) going straight into a PhD?

I'm motivated and willing to put in the work. What academic expectations do supervisors have taking on students?

Cheers!

Research is an entirely different ball-game (or at least it is from where I'm standing!) to the kind of skills used as an undergrad. Therefore, I think as long as you're not a dimwit, the expectations that a supervisor might have are more to do with your maturity level, ability to work alone etc. I think it's perfectly normal to be doubting yourself at the beginning, but if you *were* unsuited to that particular PhD project, it's unlikely that you would have been chosen for it. Hope this is helpful!

I found my supervisor did not know, what I should know. I ended up in a weird requirement being mature, yet british kindergarten.