World leading research in some of the most exciting areas of theoretical physics including string theory, quantum field theory, cosmology, quantum foundations and gravity
Welcome to the Theoretical Physics Group at Imperial College! The Group was founded in 1956 by Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam and we have written a brief history of the Group. We carry out world-leading research in some of the most exciting areas of theoretical physics including string theory, quantum field theory, cosmology, quantum foundations, and gravity. We have a dynamic PhD programme and we offer a one year MSc Course which provides a focussed training to begin research at a PhD level.
Academic year 2020-21: The QFFF MSc course will begin on schedule as campuses reopen in the Autumn. We are working on a "multi-mode" teaching structure that will retain the format of the course and the connections between students and staff while being flexible enough to combine in-person and online teaching.
Major Grant Awards and Prizes
- Prof. Kelly Stelle has been awarded the John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics for his work on fundamental physics.
- UK lead partner in CNRS International Research Network on Quantum Fields and Strings
- Prof Claudia de Rham is recipient of the Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in the Physical Sciences & Engineering category.
- Prof Claudia de Rham is joint recipient of the 2018 Adams Prize
- Prof. Mike Duff has been awarded the 2017 Paul Dirac Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics
- Advanced ERC Grant, "Gauge theory - string theory duality: maximally supersymmetric case and beyond", Tseytlin
- Advanced ERC Grant, "Gravity, black holes and strongly coupled quantum matter", Gauntlett
- Consolidator ERC Grant, "Massive Gravity and Cosmology”, de Rham
- EPSRC Programme Grant, "New Geometric structures from string theory", Hull et al
- STFC Consolidated Grant, "M-theory, cosmology and quantum field theory", Waldram et al
Friends of Imperial Theoretical Physics
Postdoctoral Vacancies and Fellowships
We welcome applications for a postdoctoral position in string theory starting in October 2021. Deadline for applications is 17 December 2020.
We also support fellowship applications, including those from STFC and the Royal Society. Note the group and department have internal deadlines for applications which are well before the official deadlines:
- internal deadline for STFC Ernest Rutherford and Royal Society URF fellowships is July 2021
- internal deadline for Imperial College Research Fellowships is August 2021
Recent Media and Events
- Claudia de Rham writes about massive gravity in the New Scientist.
- Fay Dowker and Stephen Wolfram in discussion.
- Claudia de Rham profiled in The Guardian.
- Arttu Rajantie interviewed by Finnish television on the implications of Brexit
- "Turning gravity upside down" profile of Claudia de Rham and Andrew Tolley's work in "Imperial Stories".
- 'Time Tries All Things' at the Institute of Physics: a collaboration between artist and filmmaker Grace Weir and theoretical physicists David Berman and Fay Dowker.
View all news, media, events and major funding announcements
Edward Tasker 1992-2020
It is with great sadness that we note the death of our much-loved colleague, student and friend Edward Tasker. He will be very greatly missed and our thoughts are with his loved ones and family.