Postgraduate Prospectus 2013 - Swansea University

Physics
Research opportunities
MPhil, PhD, MSc by Research
RAE2008 50% of research rated
world-leading (4*) or internationally
excellent (3*)
Professors
G Aarts
C R Alton
A Armoni
M Charlton
D C Dunbar
S J Hands
T J Hollywood
B Lucini
C Nunez
G M Shore
H H Telle
Academic and research staff 27
Postgraduates 29
Entry requirements:
Usually at least a first-class BSc or 2.1
MPhys degree (experiment), or a first-class
MPhys degree (theory) in Physics or a
related subject is required
English Language requirement:
IELTS 6.5 (with a minimum of 5.5 in each
component) or Swansea University
recognised equivalent.
Scholarships and Bursaries
A range of postgraduate scholarships and
bursaries is available. For details, please
visit www.swansea.ac.uk/scholarships/
Postgraduate
Support for research students is available
through other sources, including the EPSRC
and STFC, the European Union, and
industry.
The Theoretical Particle Physics Group has
three STFC-funded PhD studentships
available each year. The Experimental
Groups have EPSRC and Leverhulme
studentships available.
How can I find out more?
Visit our website:
www.swansea.ac.uk/physics
Contact the Postgraduate
Recruitment Officer:
Email: p.a.jarman@swansea.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1792 295142
Experimental Group:
Email: p.r.dunstan@swansea.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1792 513052
Theoretical Group:
Email: m.piai@swansea.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1792 602315
Visit the University:
see page 174 for details
Applications can be made online
at: www.swansea.ac.uk/applyonline
– see pages 176 – 177 for further
information
“The funding opportunities that the
Physics Department offered, through
the Science and Technology Facilities
Council (STFC), was a major factor in
applying to study here. The research
and teaching in the Department
provides a good arena for
postgraduate work, with seminars
from visiting physicists in different
fields almost every week.
”
Sam Alston,
PhD Theoretical Physics
Research Degrees – Physics
134
By recreating conditions that existed
billionths of a second after time began, or
understanding how fundamental
constituents of matter such as quarks and
leptons interact, physicists seek to answer
the big questions. How did the Universe
begin? How can we create, trap, and
harness antimatter? And can we
understand what space and time are
made of?
Physics at Swansea University enjoys close
collaborative research partnerships with
a range of organisations, including the
European Centre for Nuclear Research
(CERN) in Geneva, the Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory in Didcot, the Karlsruhe Institute
of Technology, as well as many universities
and institutes in Europe and the United
States.
The Department welcomes proposals for
postgraduate research projects that
complement staff research interests.
Research degrees in Physics will:
• provide you with new and specialised
research skills
• prepare you for a career in academic
research and teaching
• equip you with skills relevant for a
rewarding career in a range of diverse
fields
Research Strengths
The Department supports a broad range of
closely connected research groups in three
main research areas: atomic, molecular
and laser physics; condensed matter and
nanoscale physics; and theoretical particle
physics.
Atomic, Molecular and Laser Physics
Spanning small scale lab research to large
scale experiments:
• Antihydrogen Physics. Swansea Physics
lecturers are founding members of the
successful ALPHA collaboration. Last year
ALPHA’s trapping of antihydrogen was
voted “Physics World 2010 Breakthrough
of the Year”. The research is mainly done
at CERN, although theoretical studies are
carried out locally and in collaboration
with Stockholm University
• Low-energy positron physics. At
Swansea, a unique low energy positron
beamline capable of producing bursts of
about 100,000 positrons at a rate of 10
Hz has been constructed. This will be
used to investigate positronium energy
levels and electron-position mixing
• Neutrino mass. It has been discovered
that neutrinos have nonzero mass.
Swansea is part of a large multinational
collaboration called KATRIN (Karlsruhe
TRItium Neutrino experiment) which aims
to make an absolute mass determination
by making a precise measurement of the
betadecay spectrum of tritium near its
endpoint. Postgraduate students involved
with this project will spend part of their
time in Karlsruhe
• Ultra-fast atomic and molecular physics.
In collaboration with groups from UCL
and QUB, ultra-fast effects in atoms and
molecules are studied using femtosecond
lasers. Most of this work is done at the
Astra Laser Facility at the Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory in Didcot.
Postgraduate students will share their
time between Didcot and Swansea
• Ultracold atoms and degenerate quantum
gases. In collaboration with Imperial
College, Swansea has worked on
confining and manipulating cold atoms
and Bose Einstein Condensates in
microtraps on atom chips. The group is
developing a sensitive atom chip
interferometer which can be used to
measure weak forces. A new research
programme which aims to detect
quantum degenerate gases using
nanoscale optics has started in Swansea
• Research is also underway on the
design and implementation of multi-color
laser fields for cooling, sensitive
detection, and coherent manipulation
of neutral atoms
Condensed Matter and Nanoscale
Physics
This group is interested in the fundamental
understanding of the electronic, structural,
chemical and optical properties of
materials on the nanoscale. There is a
strong focus on techniques which
overcome the diffraction limit and using
light on the nanoscale. The group has
experience of incorporating nanoparticles
into soft matter systems. Recently, a new
collaboration has begun with the School of
Medicine to research the possibility of
early pathogen detection using Raman
Spectroscopy. The group is part of the
Multidisciplinary Nanotechnology Centre
and the University’s new Centre for
Nanohealth thus postgraduate students will
have the opportunity to perform research of
an interdisciplinary nature and apply
techniques across different disciplines.
Theoretical Particle Physics
Swansea University is home to one of the
largest theoretical particle physics groups
in the UK and Europe. Its work is aimed
at understanding the fundamental particles
of nature and their interactions.
The work focuses on quantum field
theories and their manifestation in particle
physics and cosmology. This entails not
only some of the most sophisticated areas
of modern mathematics but also numerical
simulations using powerful, specialpurpose
computers. Core research
interests include:
• Gauge theories (supersymmetric and
non-supersymmetric), especially in the
areas of non-perturbative methods and
electromagnetic duality
• String Theory methods to gain
understanding on topics such as Black
Holes dynamics
• The Ads/CFT correspondence and
large-N gauge theories
• The use of string inspired methods to
compute processes of fundamental
importance in collider physics, and to
gain new valuable information on the
high energy structure of quantum field
theories of gravity
• Lattice gauge theories to study Quantum
Chromo Dynamics (the theory of quarks
and gluons), particularly under extreme
conditions of temperature and baryon
density
• New developments regarding the study
of the Quark Gluon-Plasma thought to
exist at high temperature
• Considerations on well-known
symmetries and their possible breaking,
obtaining new insights into the structure
of physics laws at high energies
• The study of the Physics proposed to be
found ‘Beyond the Standard Model’,
mostly in the area of the Supersymmetric
Standard Model and different dynamical
scenarios of electroweak symmetry
breaking, such as technicolour theories
Staff also have research interests in
theories of quantum gravity, particle
cosmology, and condensed matter
systems. The newly discovered relations
among these different topics makes
Swansea one of the leading Theoretical
Physics groups in Europe. The group has
close connections with other leading
groups in Europe, USA and Asia.
Specialist equipment includes:
• a low-energy positron beam with a
highfield superconducting magnet for
the study of positronium
• a number of CW and pulsed laser
systems
• scanning tunnelling and near-field
optical microscopes
• Raman microscopes including
tip-enhanced capabilities for
nano-Raman
• a 72 CPU parallel cluster
• access to the IBM BlueGene/Q
Supercomputer which is part of UK’s
DiRAC Supercomputer facility and is
one of the fastest computer systems
in the world
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