Faculty of Physics and Astronomy
INSTITUTE OF EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICS
The Faculty comprises three institutes: the Institute of Experimental Physics, the Institute of Theoretical Physics and the Institute of Astronomy. They carry out research in surface physics of solids, physics of nanomaterials, dielectric physics, nuclear physics, mathematical methods of physics, field theory, theory of elementary particles and fundamental interactions, non-linear systems, astrophysics and solar physics.
The Faculty has an academic category A, and educates students in bachelor’s, engineering, master’s and doctoral programmes. Three student research clubs are active here. Ongoing research projects are financed by national and European funds. Some research is carried out in cooperation with, among others, CERN, the Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Technology Development Centre and the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
The Institute of Astronomy is the only institute in the country specialising in solar physics and also conducts research and teaching at the astronomical observatory in Białkowo. Studying physics, astronomy and engineering technical physics requires creative thinking, systematic approach and teaches problem-solving. A diploma from this Faculty is a guarantee of reliability and ease in taking up new challenges. Graduates are employed in scientific institutions, industry, computer companies, financial and insurance institutions and the health service.
INSTITUTE OF ASTRONOMY
Research is, next to teaching, the most important part of the Institute of Astronomy’s activities. In the Institute of Astronomy, this research is carried out by two departments: The Department of Astrophysics and Classical Astronomy (ZAiAK) and the Department of Heliophysics and Space Physics (ZHiFK). The object of research of the scientists from the ZHiFK, i.e. the heliophysicists, is of course the Sun, and in particular the active phenomena occurring in its photosphere, chromosphere and corona. These investigations are carried out using specialised observational instruments, which include a 53-cm Large Coronagraph, a 15-cm Horizontal Helescope with a 30-cm Jensch coelostat and an MSDP spectrograph set up at the Observatory of Astronomy in Białkowo. The scientists at the ZAiAK, or astrophysicists, are mainly concerned with variable stars, which they study using the methods of so-called asteroseismology, which allows a ‘peek’ into the interiors of stars to learn about their structure and evolution. The Wrocław astrophysicists also have at their disposal a 60-cm Cassegrain telescope equipped with a professional CCD camera, sets of photometric filters and an autoguider. This telescope is also located in the Observatory mentioned earlier. It is worth remembering that both astrophysicists and heliophysicists use satellite observations in their scientific work.
Research areas:
– asteroseismology of early spectral type pulsating stars;
– photometric variability of stars: identification of oscillaton modes, stellar atmosphere modelling;
– investigating star clusters (open and globular);
– seeking variable stars in own and satellite observations and mass photometric examinations;
– stellar spectroscopy and spectral synthesis;
– determination of binary stars parameters.
INSTITUTE OF THEORETICAL PHYSICS
– study of interactions of neutrinos with nuclei and nucleons in the energy region of 1 GeV
– creation of a Monte Carlo NuWro generator
– study of nucleon form factors
– statistical analysis of data
– transport in porous media, lattice Boltzmann gas, computational fluid mechanics
– econophysics, time series, random matrices, delayed feedback
– numerical models for statistical physics, percolation
– fundamentals of quantum mechanics
– entanglement theory
– Open systems
– decoherence
– foundations of statistical mechanics
– Deformations of algebraic structures
– Clifford algebras in electrodynamics
– Riemann hypothesis and physics
– deformations of space-time symmetries
– gravitational waves
– neutrino physics
– quantum groups and supergroups
– conformal field theories
– relativistic and quantum cosmology
– quantum gravity
– geometrical and algebraic methods in mechanics and field theory
– twistor and supertwistor theory
– physics of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions
– physics of degenerate stars and supernovae
INSTITUTE OF EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICS
– Investigating the properties of metal surfaces, semiconductors, oxides and solid/solid, liquid/solid, molecular adsorbent/solid adsorption systems;
– Investigating chemical composition, atomic and electron structure using electron spectroscopic methods;
– Investigating condensed phase surface morphology in ultra high vacuum, liquids and air using scanning probe microscopy;
– Investigating the structural and thermodynamic properties of matter using the Mössbauer effect and positron annihilation;
– Investigating the properties of dielectric materials using dielectric, optical and spectroscopic methods;
– Investigating the surface reconstruction of solids, nucleation, crystal growth, epitaxy, phase transitions of the nanostructures of metals and bimetallic alloys, surface diffusion, segregation and thermic desorption;
– Investigating the mechanism of adsorbates growth and self-organisation, atom and molecule interactions on crystalline surfaces;
– Investigating the physical and chemical properties of the surfaces of materials with technological potential and model materials – modifying such properties through adsorption layers;
– Investigating the properties of low-dimensional systems;
– Theoretical studies of the electron and atomic structure of solid surfaces, surface processes (adsorption, oxidation, catalysis) and formation of metal/molecule/semiconductor nanocontacts;
– Studying physics learning and teaching processes. Computer-aided physics teaching.
