Departamento de Física Teórica

"Theoretical Physics" refers to a wide range of disciplines in the field of Fundamental Physics. It seeks an elementary understanding of the structure of matter as well as a profound understanding of the origin and evolution of the Universe. Among other disciplines, Theoretical Physics encompasses: Quantum Field Theory, Theoretical and Experimental Physics of Fundamental Particles, Cosmology, Nuclear Physics, Theory of Gravity, Astrophysics, Astroparticle Physics, Condensed Matter Theory, Computational Physics, Quantum Mechanics and others. Those - as well as more specialized disciplines - form the basis of the research areas in which the participating professors are currently pursuing their work and which are also the fundamental elements inspiring this program.

The main objective of the PhD program in Theoretical Physics is the training in scientific research and the writing of a doctoral thesis.

The program originates from the previous Official Doctoral Program in Theoretical Physics obtained a positive verification in 2010 (Official Gazette of February 10, 2010). The program has been awarded with the “Mención de Calidad” since the first academic year 2003-2004 (references MCD2003 MCD2006-00374 and -00221) and has received the “Mención Hacia la Excelencia” by the Ministry of Education and Science (BOE of 20 October 2011, reference MEE2011-0264) with an international weighted score of 95/100.

Over the past five academic years (2008/09 to 2013/14) a total of 59 doctoral theses in the Doctoral Program in Theoretical Physics at the Autonomous University of Madrid have been read.

 “Theoretical Physics attracts a lot of media attention due to its public interest. There is and always has been international news coverage for discoveries related to the origin of the Universe, the Higgs boson, etc.” Some of the most pressing questions asked by mankind correspond to the research areas in which the student will start to study and in which the professors of UAM/IFT actively perform their research. And research is not only limited to UAM: there is a close relationship between some of our research teams with the European laboratory CERN, on a theoretical as well as on an experimental level. In particular, it should be pointed out, that one of our research teams has contributed to the construction of the ATLAS and CMS detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and has participated in the data analysis leading to the discovery of the Higgs boson. There is also a research team working within the field of cosmology and in advancing the understanding of dark matter and dark energy.

The profile of professionalism that is expected to be gained by the students that have completed this program, is on one hand of a distinctive investigator character and therefore of interest for public and private companies within the scientific area, and on the other hand of a more general nature and versatile character and therefore of interest for other work areas. In the past, a certain number of Doctors in Theoretical Physics successfully incorporated themselves outside academia, and in very different disciplines such as economy, applied computing, communication technologies, medicine, finance and more. In fact, some of the students who completed their doctoral thesis in theoretical physics are now executive managers in elite companies.