Physics (M.Sc./Joint Degree)

The curriculum in astrophysics begins with an introductory course that covers astrophysical objects and structures all the way from planetary to cosmological scales. Advanced lectures and seminars offer deeper insights into observational, theoretical, and data analysis techniques, specializing in particular in planetary and stellar physics on the one hand as well as early and late-time cosmology on the other.

The geophysical branch of the education centers around a general introduction to geophysics and lectures on fluid dynamics for which the main domains of application are oceanic and atmospheric circulations together with magnetic field generation. These phenomena are governed by the same principles on Earth and other planets, so that the subject of "geophyiscal fluid dynamics" naturally encompasses other planets than Earth.

Biophysics addresses one of the arguably most complex scientific problems ever: understanding life from a quantitative, predictive point of view. Rephrased more modestly, biophysics is concerned with the measurement, simulation and analytical understanding of biological matter on the level of molecules, cells or biological systems. Challenges are many: from phenomena of biomolecular interaction and self-assembly to active non-equilibrium processes and force generation in cells, from circuits of excitability and signaling to the formation of tissues, and the dynamics of populations. Close interdisciplinary interactions with life science and biomedical fields are for granted, but physics remains at the center of the field, in terms of statistical mechanics, optics, computer simulations, and a plethora of emerging new experimental techniques.

The physics of condensed matter differs enormously from that of free particles, because of the complex interactions experienced by the building blocks of matter. This has generated new physics questions right at the forefront of current research, both within universities and in industry, ranging from strong electronic correlations and the emergent behaviour arising from nano-structuring to questions concerning the production and use of complex materials.

Solid state physics starts from an atomic scale picture and generally requires a quantum mechanical description of a many-body system. Materials physicssits at the interface of physics, chemistry and materials science and investigates fundamental correlations between the micro-structure of any given material and its resulting properties. The trend towards nano-structured, complex materials requires a broad skill set across both fields. The masters stream in solid state and materials physics reflects this; while standard solid state lectures are offered in most universities, the combination with materials physics that Göttingen offers provides a rare advantage.

Research in this area in Göttinger is carried out within four research groups, an Emmy Noether research group and a junior research group, including in total around 15 postdoctoral researchers; research activities centre on high energy and ion beam physics. The high energy group is involved in several large experiments both in data analysis and detector development. Data from the ATLAS-Detector at the LHC at CERN (Geneva) are being evaluated with the aim of finding signatures of supersymmetry and further support for the Higgs boson, as well as advanced research into top quarks. Data from the D0-experiment at the Tevatron accelerator at Fermilab (Chicago) . are also being used for this purpose. In addition, the group contributes to the development of new detectors for accelerators, including the planned International Linear Collider (ILC), the upgrade of the Belle-experiment, and a pixel detector for further development of the ATLAS-detector. As the data analysis aspects of the research require substantial computing power, the group also works on Grid Computing and has a strong involvement in the Göttingen Grid-Resource-Centre GöGrid.

The "Theoretical Physics" stream offers a broad-based curriculum covering the whole range of theoretical physics, both classical and quantum, and a spectrum of methods from analytical calculations to advanced computational approaches. Core courses include Advanced Statistical Mechanics, Advanced Quantum Mechanics, Methods of Computational Physics and a project-based module on Advanced Computational Physics. A broad range of additional advanced modules bring students up to the edge of current research. A further special feature are modules emphasizing methodological connections, such as a seminar on Classical-quantum connections in theoretical physics.