A Generous Gift Boosts Activities in Theoretical Physics
Theoretical physics aims to answer the most fundamental questions: the origin of the Universe, the structure of elementary particles, the properties of matter at the level of atoms and molecules, the statistical properties of large ensembles of particles, and more. Despite the variety of subjects, it utilizes common tools such as quantum field theory, statistical physics, and advanced numerical methods. These tools are the common language that allow theorists working in different areas to understand each other. Theoretical physics at UF is represented by a number of groups, including the Condensed Matter Theory and Theoretical Biophysics Group, High-Energy Theory Group, Quantum Theory Project, and Theoretical Astrophysics Group.
A generous gift from an anonymous donor has now created the new Advanced Theoretical Physics Fund (ATPF) in the UF Physics Department. The scope of the newly formed ATPF includes but is not limited to supporting visits of distinguished scientists, specialized workshops, and lecture series. To date, ATPF has co-sponsored the visit of an eminent Ukrainian scholar, Prof. Oleg Usatenko from Kharkiv (see his profile in the Spring 2023 edition of the Physics Newsletter) and two workshops under the auspices of the Institute for Fundamental Theory (IFT).
On October 20-22, 2023, the ATPF and UF Institute for Fundamental Theory (IFT) supported their first joint workshop, entitled “A Window to New Physics“, organized by UF theorists Wei Xue, Pierre Sikivie, and Sarunas Verner, and Keisuke Harigaya from the University of Chicago. The focus of this workshop was on cosmic inflation, gravitational particle production, cosmic strings and domain walls in the early Universe.
Another workshop, on “Recent Advances in Superconductivity: Theory and Experiment”, took place on Dec. 14 – 16, 2023 at UF. It was co-sponsored by ATPF, William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute at the University of Minnesota, and IFT and organized by UF theorists Yuxuan Wang and Dmitrii Maslov, and Andrey Chubukov from the University of Minnesota. The focus of this workshop was on unconventional and quantum-critical superconductivity both in by now familiar materials, such as cuprates and iron-based superconductors, and in new materials, such as Kagome metals and twisted bilayer graphene.
