Members of the Theoretical Physics concentration strive to understand the extreme boundaries of the universe through various research endeavors. Some of the research topics explored in this field include:
a) Black Holes
A black hole is an object with an extremely strong gravitational field, so strong that even light cannot escape from it. Initially, black holes were merely mathematical objects, but their existence has now been proven. Every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, including our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Research conducted by the theoretical physics group focuses on exploring the mathematical aspects of black holes using Einstein’s general relativity framework, including their connection to holographic theory.
b) Particle Physics
The topic of particle physics studies the interactions of the smallest known particles, namely quarks and leptons. Many mysteries remain to be unraveled in particle physics research, including the nature of dark matter, the predominance of matter over antimatter, and the mass hierarchy of quarks and leptons. To address these mysteries, various new physics models have been proposed. Predictions from these models are then compared with data from particle colliders, such as the LHC, and satellites like Fermi-LAT.
c) Quantum Field Theory
Quantum field theory describes the smallest scales currently known to us. It is a combination of quantum theory and Einstein’s special relativity. Various mathematical aspects of this theory continue to be studied within theoretical physics research.
For the Theoretical Physics concentration, there is also a dedicated Center for Theoretical Physics, inaugurated on November 29, 2019. It is the first university-based Center for Theoretical Physics in Indonesia.
If you are interested and wish to learn more about Theoretical and Computational Physics please contact the relevant lecturers directly.