Physics

Page contents

• Programme overview
• Entry requirements
• Staff research interests

Programme overview

Physics, with its concern for understanding the universe at a fundamental level, lies at the heart of scientific discovery. The School of Physics at Bristol has made major contributions to the field and provides a stimulating environment for postgraduate study. Researchers within the School explore physics at all length scales from the cosmological to the sub-nuclear, including strong activities in nanoscience and condensed matter physics. The Graduate School is an integral part of the School of Physics and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of graduate training in both academic and more generic skills.

Prospective PhD and MSc by Research students are encouraged to contact prospective supervisors prior to making an application, though this is not compulsory: applications identifying the research group of greatest interest from those listed below will also be accepted.

Research groups

The School of Physics is one of the leading Physics institutes in the United Kingdom, with a strong international reputation in a wide range of research areas, including:

• Astrophysics and cosmology
• Correlated electron systems
• Interface Analysis Centre
• Micro- and nanostructural materials
• Nanophysics and soft matter
• Particle physics
• Quantum photonics
• Theoretical physics

The School has around 90 teaching and research staff. It is housed within the HH Wills Physics Laboratory that is currently undergoing a major investment programme designed to create a new state-of-the-art research environment for both students and staff. The refurbishment will include an upgrade of all existing infrastructure as well as the construction of new facilities. In addition, several other major projects recently completed include the new high-performance computing centre, an e-Science access grid and a new centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information that also plays host to a specialist Centre for Doctoral Training in functional nanomaterials. In brief, the School is well positioned to carry out cutting-edge research in most major fields of physics.

Some of our research areas:

Astrophysics and Cosmology
The Astrophysics Group studies a range of interesting phenomena in the universe, including extra-solar planets, black holes, galaxies, relativistic jets, clusters of galaxies, plasma physics, and cosmology. Observations of these systems are made with the world's best ground and space-based telescopes across the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves up to gamma rays. PhD students usually have the opportunity to visit a major observatory in Chile, Hawaii or the Canary Islands. Theoretical work is closely tied to the interpretation of these data, and numerical or computational studies make use of the University of Bristol's powerful supercomputing facilities. Students will present their work to the wider scientific community at high-profile international conferences.

The Group provides a friendly and dynamic research environment. Graduate level courses and training in observational, data reduction and numerical techniques are offered. A series of research seminars are run throughout the year for graduate students and staff, and many sub-groups have regular informal meetings to discuss their work and the latest research advances.

Correlated Electron Systems
Despite more than twenty years of research there is still no consensus as to the mechanism of high temperature superconductivity, yet the subject still enjoys intense research interest worldwide. The Correlated Electron Systems Group in the School of Physics is a worldleader in researching the fundamental physics of high temperature superconductors. We use a variety of different experimental techniques to investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of these materials, including neutron scattering, positron annihilation, microcalorimetry, thermal and electrical transport and micro-magnetometry.

Much of our work is done using our own facilities in Bristol; however we also make extensive use of international facilities. It is only by performing these cutting edge experiments that progress can be made.

Interface Analysis Centre
The Interface Analysis Centre is a well established multidisciplinary research centre at the University of Bristol and based in the School of Physics. For over 20 years the IAC has been actively involved in research on materials and material surfaces. The Centre continues to provide a vibrant and stimulating environment for postgraduate study, exploring materials of all types, including strong activities in nanoscience, nuclear and structural materials. Our graduates will be equipped with enhanced team-working and problem-solving skills that will enable them to successfully address real world materials problems. We welcome applications from students with interests in nuclear, materials and environmental research, in particular: uranium and reactive metals, materials in extreme environments and materials ageing. As the Centre has attracted much additional funding from leading UK companies, there is often the opportunity for PhD studentships to be further augmented with industrial placements and bespoke education and training.

Micro- and Nanostructural Materials
Research in the Micro- and Nanostructural Materials group covers many different topics, but all are driven by innovation and technological relevance. The main thrust of the Centre for Device Thermography and Reliability, led by Professor Martin Kuball, is advancing and understanding the reliability and thermal performance of semiconductor devices such as GaN and other power electronic devices used in satellites, switches and radars, and developing new materials such as borides for neutron detectors. The Surface Physics Group led by Professor Walther Schwarzacher researches a wide variety of materials and phenomena, including magnetic nanoparticles, surface stress in electrochemical systems, protein-surface interactions, spin transport in organic molecules and electrodeposited ultrathin films. The Electron Microscopy Group led by Professor David Cherns has an outstanding reputation in transmission electron microscopy, and has a special focus on nanomaterials for solar cells and light emitting devices. The Diamond and New Energy Group led by Dr. Neil Fox focuses on the synthesis and characterisation of nanostructured, wide band gap materials for applications in energy harvesting, radiation detectors and electron sources. All the members of the Micro- and Nanostructural Materials Group have extensive international research links.

Nanophysics and Soft Matter

The Nanophysics and Soft Matter Group, is a large research group with a diverse range of research interests spanning hard and soft materials, biological systems and clinical applications. It has a proven track record for interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation in instrumentation.

A major technique which is widely used in the Nanophysics and Soft Matter Group is scanning probe microscopy. The group has a world-leading position in the development of ultra-high speed, high-resolution atomic force microsopy (Miles), capable of producing movies with nm-scale spatial and millisecond time resolution. Vertical probe force microscopy (Antognozzi), pioneered in Bristol, offers extreme force sensitivity and is applied widely to biomolecular force measurements from molecular motors to the growth of microtubules. The photonic force microscope (Hoerber) is a unique technique for exploring spaces and interactions within micro structures, particularly biomolecular structures. Time-resolved scanning near-field optical microscopy (Gersen) allows us to follow the full evolution of local EM fields on ultrafast timescales, and a new form of microscopy capable of detecting individual nanoparticles by their modification of the polarization state has also been developed.

We study a broad range of biomolecular structures and biophysics (Berry, Hoerber, McMaster, Miles, Seddon) including selfassembled structures as well as protein and mucin structures and interactions. Furthermore, our group has developed a holographic nanoassembler (Hanna, Miles) to fabricate 3D structures using spatial light modulators which, as well as allowing us to assemble components, (eg photonic structures), and nanotools, also enables us to probe forces down to 1 pN. Experimental work is combined with theory and simulations. Applications range from pure physics through to living cell manipulation and medicine.

Scattering studies (X-ray and neutron) on liquid crystals and nanoparticle suspensions (Richardson) have led to improved stability and electro-optic response as well as the development of a molecular material which modifies interfacial properties and phases. Neutron scattering methods have been developed to measure changes at the nanoscale in thin films such as polymer brushes, gels, and lipids resulting from confinement. Container-less processing by aerodynamic and acoustical levitation techniques are allowing the X-ray and neutron study (Barnes) of structure, vitrification and crystallisation (nucleation and growth) of high-melting temperature oxides. Much can also be learned about atomic and molecular behavior in condensed matter through measurements and simulations of colloidal particles (Royall) in glasses, selfassembled structures, and networks. Two spin-out companies have originated in the group: Infinitesima and Nu Nano.

Group Members: Dr Massimo Antognozzi, Professor Peter Barham, Dr Adrian Barnes, Dr Monica Berry, Dr Henkjan Gersen, Dr Simon Hanna, Professor Heinrich Hoerber, Dr Ian Lindsay, Dr Terry McMaster, Professor Mervyn Miles FRS, Professor Robert Richardson, Dr.Paddy Royall, Dr Annela Seddon.

Particle Physics
The Particle Physics Group is at the forefront of the data analysis and upgrade of the CMS and LHCb experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Within CMS we are focusing on SUSY and other exotic particle searches and studying properties of the top quark. Within LHCb we are pioneering new methods to measure CP violation, the asymmetry between matter and antimatter, and are studying Quantum Chromodynamics. Furthermore the group is at the forefront of developing novel detector technologies and systems, including for applications outside particle physics such as homeland security and medical imaging.

Bristol PhD students will usually join one of the experiments and undertake physics analysis as their main activity, and will also be involved in some aspect of the detector operation. There are also opportunities for you to focus more on the detector upgrade programme, including hardware R&D and software simulation studies. If you'd like to join us in October 2014 and be involved in looking at fresh data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider, we have opportunities. You could also work on technology R&D in a variety of areas: new particle detector techniques using CVD diamond; novel integrated detectors; or new experiments in the area of quark flavour physics.

The Bristol Particle Physics group is one of the oldest in the country and is currently made up of 8 full time academic staff, and around 30 research assistants and PhD students.

Group members: Professor Nicholas Brook, Dr Henning Flacher, Dr Joel Goldstein, Dr Helen Heath, Professor Gregory Heath, Dr David Newbold, Dr Jonas Rademacker, Dr Jaap Velthuis.

Quantum Photonics
Our goal in the Centre for Quantum Photonics is to explore fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics, as well as work towards future photonic quantum technologies by generating, manipulating and measuring single photons as well as the quantum systems that emit these photons. Photons make excellent quantum bits or qubits (two level quantum systems) since they are well isolated from the environment and their quantum mechanical state can be easily manipulated.

The Centre for Quantum Photonics links the School of Physics, the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Bristol Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information.

Group members: Professor Jeremy O'Brien, Dr Ruth Oulton, Dr Mark Thompson.

Theoretical Physics

Theory is an essential complement to experimental physics, guiding and interpreting real-world results. Bristol has a very strong tradition in theoretical physics, including the discovery of the Aharanov-Bohm effect in 1959 and the geometric or Berry phase in 1983 by Professor Sir Michael Berry FRS. Currently the main research areas of the group include the geometric properties of waves, theory of condensed matter physics, and the foundations of quantum physics and its applications to quantum information theory.

In the study of geometric properties of waves we consider topics such as light-matter vortex interactions in Bose-Einstein condensates, sub-wavelength focusing and nano-optics and the geometric structure of random waves and cosmic microwave background radiation.

Theory of condensed matter physics research in the group focuses on novel materials and unconventional superconductivity, for example high temperature superconductors or superconductors with exotic magnetic or superconducting quantum ground states.

In the fundamental aspects of quantum physics the main research interest has been in quantum non-locality. This work has led to some of the central concepts of the area of quantum information and computation, such as teleportation. There is also significant interest in the group in statistical and soft matter physics, and we have strong links with experimental groups such as Quantum Photonics and Correlated Electron Systems as well as with theoreticians in the Mathematics and Chemistry schools.

Group members: Professor James F Annett, Dr Mark Dennis, Professor John Hannay, Professor Sandu Popescu, Emeritus Professor Sir Michael Berry FRS, Professor Robert Evans FRS, Professor Balazs Gyorffy, Dr Tony Short, Dr Jasper Van Wezel.

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Entry requirements

An upper second-class degree (or international equivalent) in a relevant subject.

For information on international equivalent qualifications, please see our International Office website.

Admissions statement

Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.

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Key research interests

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