Theoretical physics

The activities of the theory group focus on the study of the fundamental interactions, encompassing a wide spectrum of interests which go from formal investigations, to theory and phenomenology of strings, fields and particles, to nuclear physics, to gravitation and cosmology, to statistical and quantum physics.

Web site of group of Theory and Phenomenology of Fundamental Interactions

Gravitation and Cosmology

Understanding the origin and dynamics of the primordial universe when the energy was close to the Planck scale, as well as the dynamics of black holes,  offer numerous challenges. These include  quantum effects in gravitational interactions, the mechanism of cosmic inflation, the nature of dark matter and of dark matter.

Phenomenology of fundamental interactions

The study of the fundamental interactions between the elementary constituents of matter at accelerators working at the energy and intensity frontiers, aims at providing an answer to some of the most enticing questions in physics: How comes that the Universe is matter dominated? What is the origin of the tiny neutrino masses? Is there new physics in reach beyond the electroweak scale? Do we fully understand the various regimes of strong interactions? What are the properties of nuclear systems at the stability limit and in extreme environments?

Quantum field theory and strings

Quantum field theory is the primary theoretical tool to describe both fundamental interactions and condensed matter. Nevertheless, several issues still remain open. These include the study of non-perturbative effects also via exact methods like integrability, the dynamics of supersymmetric theories and consistent theories of quantum gravity like strings, the duality between gauge and string theory, systems with branes and extra dimensions and the connection between fundamental physics at high scales and low-energy phenomenology

Quantum many body systems, quantum information & computation

The study of the quantum many body systems is the cornerstone of our understanding of different forms of matter, from its fundamental constituents to composite structures. As a result of important experimental advances that have allowed to synthesize new materials and to directly manipulate atomic structures, theory has developed new methods that integrate numerical simulations techniques with modern approaches to  statistical field theory,  importing also powerful tools from information theory and quantum computations, with a high impact in applications for data science.

People

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Roberto Balbinot

Associate Professor

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Fiorenzo Bastianelli

Associate Professor

keywords: quantum field theory and string theory, path integrals, worldline formalism
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Matteo Becchetti

Research fellow

keywords: Theoretical particle physics, Phenomenology of fundamental interactions
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Luca Brunelli

PhD Student

Teaching tutor

keywords: String Theory, String Phenomenology, QFT, 4d Supersymmetric EFTs, Cosmology
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Roberto Casadio

Full Professor

keywords: Black holes, Cosmology, Quantum theories of gravitation, Quantum field theory
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Michele Cicoli

Full Professor

keywords: String phenomenology, String cosmology
keywords: Condensed Matter Physics, Quantum Information Theory, Data Science and Computation, Tensor Networks
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Elisa Ercolessi

Associate Professor

keywords: Quantum many body systems, Phase transitions, Entanglement, Quantum information, Quantum Computation
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Max Joseph Fahn

Research fellow

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Filippo Fecit

PhD Student

Teaching tutor

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Paolo Finelli

Associate Professor

keywords: Hypernuclei, Nuclear parity violation, In-medium chiral dynamics, Exotic nuclei structure, Nuclear mean field model,

Vito Giardinelli

Research fellow

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Alessandro Granelli

Adjunct professor

Research fellow

keywords: Astroparticle Physics, Neutrino Physics, Leptogenesis, Dark Matter
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Matteo Grotti

PhD Student

keywords: Theoretical Physics, Quantum Computing, Quantum Many Body Theory

Massimo Guidi

Research fellow

keywords: Galaxy Clustering
keywords: neutrino physics / astroparticle physics / dark and hidden sectors
keywords: quantum theory, cosmology, gravity
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Vittorio Larotonda

PhD Student

Teaching tutor

keywords: String Theory, Quantum Field Theory, Symmetries, Anomalies
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Matteo Licheri

PhD Student

keywords: String Phenomenology, Flux Compactification, Moduli Stabilization, String Cosmology
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Ling Lin

Senior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: quantum field theory, quantum gravity, string theory, symmetries
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Fabio Maltoni

Full Professor

keywords: phenomenology fundamental interactions particles accelerators collider
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Silvia Pascoli

Full Professor

keywords: Neutrinos, Astroparticle physics
keywords: Fundamental Interactions - String Phenomenology - String Cosmology - Machine Learning
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Pierbiagio Pieri

Associate Professor

keywords: Quantum many-body systems, Ultracold atomic gases, Superconductivity, Superfluidity, BCS-BEC crossover
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Lorenzo Piroli

Associate Professor

keywords: Quantum many-body physics, Quantum information theory, Statistical field theory
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Francesco Ravanini

Associate Professor

keywords: Quantum Field Theory, Bethe Ansatz, Conformal Field Theory, Integrability, Non-equilibrium Physics
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Filippo Sala

Senior assistant professor (fixed-term)

keywords: Particle physics, Astroparticle physics, Cosmology, Beyond the Standard Model
keywords: String phenomenology, Cosmology, Gravity
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Roberto Zucchini

Associate Professor

keywords: Quantum field theory, Geometrical aspects of field theory, String and (mem)brane theory