Research at the Institute for Theoretical Physics
Organization & embedding of the ITFA research
Within the Institute, two major research programs have been set up, Program 1 on Particle Physics, Cosmology, Quantum Gravity and String Theory and Program 2 on Quantum Matter and Complex Systems. They are supplemented by a small but cherished program (Program 3) on the History of Physics. Under these headings, the topics we pursue represent major challenges in modern theoretical physics.
Within the Faculty of Science (FNWI) of the University of Amsterdam, there are many connections with disciplines that are nearest neighbors to theoretical physics. Recent years have seen increasing ties with researchers at the van der Waals-Zeeman Institute (WZI) for experimental (condensed matter) physics. These connections stretch over all research areas covered by the WZI. The ties with the experimental High Energy Physics Insititute (IHEF), located at the Nikhef, and with the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API) have recently been strengthened through the FNWI’s Astroparticle Physics initiative. The String Theory group is a joint effort between ITFA and the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) Institute for Mathematics.
Within greater Amsterdam ITFA benefits from the vicinity of the Vrije Universiteit (VU) and of various FOM and NWO institutes. The Master Program on Theoretical Physics is a joint effort with colleagues at the VU and resorts under the newly founded Amsterdam Graduate School of Science (AGSS).
The Dutch Research School for Theoretical Physics (DRSTP) acts as the (unique) platform for the discipline of theoretical physics in the Netherlands. Its main activities are yearly held two-week PhD schools, a biennial symposium Trends in Theory and a yearly PhD-day.