Institute of Theoretical Physics

Webpage: http://ift.fuw.edu.pl/

The Institute of Theoretical Physics is composed of the following:

• Department of Condensed Matter Physics
• Department of Quantum Optics and Atomic Physics
• Department of the Theory of Particles and Fundamental Interactions
• Department of the Theory of Strong and Electroweak Interactions
• Department of the Theory of Relativity and Gravitation
• Department of the Theory of the Structure of Atomic Nuclei
• Laboratory of Computer Physics

and Wojciech Rubinowicz Library.

Research is carried out at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in most of the areas of modern theoretical physics. Under study is the theoretical description of physical systems, from the most elementary to the most complex - that is, the Universe as a whole. One of the directions of research is the structure of space-time, the theory of gravitation and its possible extenstions, and in particular: the formulation of the quantum theory of gravity. The strong and electroweak fundamental interactions, and the corresponding elementary particles, are studied within the framework of the quantum theory of gauge fields. Another direction is the quark theory of hadrons - the strongly interacting particles. The theory of supersymmetry and superstrings, which is an attempt at a unified description of all interactions, is another subject of analysis. A further direction is the study of more complex objects: bound states of many nucleons, i.e. atomic nuclei, and in particular - their exotic states (such as states of high spin, highly deformed and of low binding energy). Atoms and their interaction with electromagnetic fields (in particular, strong electromagnetic fields) are studied within the framework of quantum electrodynamics. Another area of research is the quantum solid state structure - in particular, semimagnetic semiconductors, semiconducting microstructures, and high-temperature superconductors. Statistical physics is a tool to study systems composed of great numbers of microscopic objects. Here, subjects of study include equilibrium phenomena, such as phase transitions and critical phenomena, and non-equilibrium effects, such as transport processes. Finally, research is also conducted in the fields of cosmology and theoretical astrophysics, including their relationship to elementary particle and nuclear physics.

In the past, the Institute was headed by the following Directors: Leopold Infeld (1952 - 1966), Józef Werle (1966 - 1975), Andrzej Trautman (1975 - 1984), Stefan Pokorski (1984 - 1993), Stanisław G. Rohoziński (1993 - 2005), Marek Napiórkowski (2005 - ).