The Research Career Campus Consortium "Theoretical Particle Physics" at the University of Graz offers a structured PhD education in Theoretical Particle Physics, and, a coherent guidance and mentoring scheme for postdocs. Since 2006, over 50 PhD students have been working on a wide scope of topics. Postdocs have been included in our coverage since 2025, in a concerted effort of the University.
Our research covers all ares of particle physics, including overlap with neighboring fields, like nuclear physics, astroparticle physics, gravity, and cosmology. Our current activities focus on
- Strong interactions (QCD): The theory of quarks and gluons. The primary research activities are hadrons, especially exotics like tetraquarks, baryons and simple atomic nuclei, and their properties, as well as QCD at extreme conditions. The latter are observed in the early universe and in the interior of neutron stars. They are also recreated in experiments using heavy ion collisions. Finally, we investigate how in collisions, such as at the highest energy colliders like the LHC at CERN, complex final states of hadrons emerge.
- Higgs and electroweak physics: The theory of the origin of chemistry and our sun's burning. We investigate subtle effects, and generally describe collisions at high energies to produce particles like the Higgs, e.g. at future and current collider projects. We also looking for hints of new physics.
- Dark matter: The quest for the missing mass of the universe. We investigated possible candidates for dark matter, and try to understand how they could be observed, from astrophysics to experimental searches.
- Nonlinear QED: We try to understand the dynamics of the strongest possible electromagnetic fields, like at the most powerful lasers.
- (Quantum)gravity: We search for the fundamental quantum theory of gravity, and study how phenomena emerge, from classical ones to whole cosmologies, as well as black holes, and new phenomena like scattering of gravity quanta.
- Conceptual developments: We push our formal understanding of the mathematical structures of our theories, and also aim at answering fundamental questions about their structure, and how reality emerges.
We aim at an understanding of the most fundamental laws of nature at all scales. Simply put, we try to answer why something (and thus we) exists.
We provide our PhD students with a broad education in particle physics including the following activities:
Lecture courses on ...
- Standard Model (every year)
- Beyond the Standard Model (every year)
- Lattice gauge theory (every 2 years)
- Collider physics (every 2 years)
- Experimental particle physics (every 2 years)
- Astroparticle physics (every 2 years)
- Advanced relativity and quantum gravity (every 2 years)
- Advanced Mathematical Methods II (I is part of the master curriculum)
- as well as other topics, e.g. machine learning or philosophy of physics.
A weekly seminar in particle physics is a central part of the education and research cooperation and takes place during each semester Wednesdays at 15:00.
There are also special events such as Graduate Days, which are two-day block courses on a topic chosen by the PhD students and postdocs, and are scheduled at least once per semester.
You can find a list of activities and of our alumni here.
The consortium is part of the Research Career Campus at the University of Graz.