Archived news

Cluster of Excellency "Matters of Activity" to be funded
11.2018

AdS Twist Matthias Staudacher is a principal investigator of the cluster of excellency "Matters of Activity".

More information: Matters of Activity.






Emmy Noether Junior Research Group for Dr. Stijn van Tongeren
05.2018

AdS Twist Dr. Stijn van Tongeren, a member of the group Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter, has been selected to lead an Emmy Noether Junior Research Group. This will allow him to run his own independent research group here at Humboldt University and IRIS Adlershof for up to 5 years in collaboration with the group Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter. He and his group will be working on deformations of AdS/CFT and related integrable structures.

We congratulate Mr. van Tongeren very much and are looking forward to an exciting and fruitful continued cooperation.


Exhibition: The Cube of Physics
04.2018

Exhibition Can one represent the entire knowledge of physics in terms of a cube? Does physics consist of eight `theories’ and six 'worlds' that respectively correspond to the corners and surfaces of a cube? May the cube even contain the key to the Theory of Everything? An exhibition of the Department of Physics in cooperation with the Department of Cultural History and Theory addresses these questions. Based on the idea of projecting the corners of a cube onto the triangular surfaces of an octahedron, this exhibition presents an expansive art installation in the foyer of the Department of Physics. The connections between cube, octahedron, physical theories, worlds, and fundamental constants may be explored in an interactive installation, in which visitors take the cube of physics into their own hands. An exhibition on this subject opened June 9th for the Berlin Long Night of Sciences 2018 and can be seen in front of the Gerthsen lecture hall in the Department of Physic's main building for the time being.

Exhibition Team: Christian Kassung, Franziska Paul, Jürgen P. Rabe, Matthias Staudacher, Michael Thiele-Maaß, Stefan Zieme, with the input and help of Jochen Brüning, Guido Correia Carreira, Anne Dippel, Ekatarina Eremenko, Or Ettlinger und Yumi Ko.
Further information (in German): Cube of Physics.



Humboldt Research Award for Lance J. Dixon
02.2018

Professor Lance Dixon Lance J. Dixon Professor at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, USA, has been awarded an Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Lance Dixon is a leading researcher in theoretical high-energy physics. His contributions range from seminal and mathematically profound papers in the early phase of string theory to very practical high precision calculations in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) relevant to collider physics, and to an ever deeper understanding of scattering amplitudes for quantum field theory. He has even tackled the daunting subject of understanding the perturbative structure of field theory approaches to quantum gravity.
The price will allow him to work for a total of one year with scientists at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin to develop new ways to solve quantum field theory nonperturbatively, and to investigate further the elusive theory of quantum gravity. He will be hosted by IRIS Adlershof within the research area "Space-Time-Matter" (AG Staudacher) and the fields of competence "Mathematical Physics" (AGs Kreimer, Plefka, Staudacher).
We congratulate Mr. Dixon very much and are looking forward to an exciting and fruitful cooperation.

PhD Positions for SAGEX "Scattering Amplitudes: From geometry to Experiment"
02.2018

The Innovative Training Network SAGEX "Scattering Amplitudes: From geometry to Experiment" from the European Commission has been accepted and will begin on September 1st, 2018. Two PhD positions for Early-Stage Researcher will be funded at Humboldt University,one in the research group " Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter" (Prof. Dr. Matthias Staudacher) and on in the research group"Quantum Field and String Theory " (Prof. Dr. Jan Plefka).

More information: SAGEX

Call to Prof. Stefan Fredenhagen
03.2016

Herr Prof. Stefan Fredenhagen (MPI for Gravitational Physics and currently guest professor at the research group Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter) has been offered a professorship for Mathematical Physics at the University of Vienna.

Binational Workshop of the project "Gravitation and High Energy Physics" at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
10.2014

The joint project of Hebrew University Jerusalem, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the research group "Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter" and the Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute) is organizing a binational workshop from 20.-22.10.14 with lecture programme on 20.10.2014.

DFG graduate college "Mass, Spectrum, Symmetry: Particle Physics in the Era of the Large Hadron Collider" extended
07.2013

Funding amounting to 3,3 million Euro approved by the DFG
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) has approved the proposal to fund the graduate college "Mass, Spectrum, Symmetry: Particle Physics in the Era of the Large Hadron Collider", which our research group "Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter" is involved in. It will be funded for another four and a half years with 3,3 million Euro.

Since 2009 scientists from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Dresden and Desy Zeuthen (Brandenburg) have been cooperating and using their research potential in theoretical and experimental particle- and astrophysics for the training of excellent PhD-students. These funds will be used to finance, among other things, 16 PhD-positions, training of PhD-students in key qualifications and invitations to guest scientists.

More information: press release (in German).

EU Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship (IIF) to Dr. Vitaly Velizhanin
06.2013

Vitaly Velizhanin, scientist at the Sankt Petersburg Institute for Nuclear Physics, Gatchina, Russia, has received a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship of the European Union’s FP7 framework programme. He will use this fellowship to work on his research project "Evolution equations for composite operators and AdS/CFT integrability" in the research group "Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter" of Prof. Dr. Matthias Staudacher. Vitaly Velizhanin wants to use this collaboration to combine his own expertise in the field of multiple loop calculations and evolution equations with that of Prof. Staudacher’s group in the field of AdS/CFT integrability, in order to extend existing results on integrability to evolution equations, which are important for QCD.

New EU Initial Training Network GATIS for PhD-students in the field of Mathematical Physics
03.2013

At the beginning of this year the Marie Curie Initial Training Network GATIS (Gauge Theory as an Integrable System) began its work. Seven European research institutions, including Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin with the research group "Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter", as well as six industrial partners have joined in this EU project to provide an excellent research environment for training and research for young scientists in the field of exactly solvable gauge field theories. The partners in this network represent different communities in the research fields gauge theories, string theory, statistical physics, and computer algebra. GATIS wants to lift the strengthened multidisciplinary interactions between these fields to a new level and reduce the distances between them in the context of graduate training. In all, 17 young researchers will have the opportunity over the next four years to produce PhD-theses in the participating institutions or to work on a one-year research project. Additionally, the network will organize numerous conferences, summer schools, workshops and trainings by the industrial partners.

More information: GATIS-website.

Research award of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation goes to Dr. Vladimir Smirnov
01.2013

Vladimir A. Smirnov from Moscow State University has received a Humboldt research award. As part of the research stay funded by this prize, he will spend a total of eight months in this and the next year in the research group "Mathematical Physics of Space, Time and Matter" of Prof. Dr. Staudacher at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and four months at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with Prof. Dr. Matthias Steinhauser. With this prize, the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation honours scientists whose fundamental discoveries, findings or new theories have shaped their fields of study in a lasting way, and who can be expected to continue to do excellent work. It is endowed with 60.000 Euro.

Dr. Smirnov is one of the most outstanding researchers in the field of perturbative quantum field theory, especially in the evaluation of multiple loop Feynmann diagrams. He has developed several key techniques that allow highly complex calculations relevant for mathematical physics. During his stay in Germany Dr. Smirnov wants to examine new classes of Feynmann integrals, which have several direct applications both in quantum physics and in supersymmetrical Yang-Mills-theories.

More information: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Humboldt-Research Prize.

Einstein research project "Gravitation and High Energy Physics" approved
12.2012

Three new researchers will begin working in a joint project by Prof. Dr. Matthias Staudacher (HU Berlin), Dr. Barak Kol (Hebrew University, Jerusalem) and Prof. Dr. Hermann Nicolai (AEI Potsdam and HU Berlin), funded by the Einstein Foundation Berlin. They will work on the project "Gravitation and High Energy Physics at the three locations from September 2013 and focus on the topics integrability in quantum field theories and effective field theory for general relativity and bring together their different expertise.

Third funding period of the collaborative research center 647 "Space-Time-Matter" approved
11.2012

On November 19th 2012, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) has approved the continuation of the funding of the collaborative research center "Space-Time-Matter" (CRC 647) for the third funding period, the years 2013-2016. In the collaborative research center, which has existed since 2005, theoretical physicists and mathematicians from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (speaker’s university), FU Berlin, the Max-Planck-Institute for Gravitational Physics and University of Potsdam will work together on fundamental Questions in gravity- and quantum field theory. The CRC has thereby created a central platform for mathematical physics in in the Berlin/Potsdam area. The department of physics is decisively involved with three of nine subprojects via the professorships Kreimer, Plefka and Staudacher and the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group Forini.

More information: CRC-website.