Theoretical Physics

It formulates the laws governing physical phenomena and, describing them in mathematical terms, makes quantitative predictions about the results of possible experiments. It studies, for example:

interactions between subnuclear particles using the so-called 'Standard Model', whose predictions are verified by experiments conducted at high-energy laboratories such as CERN's LHC, and proposes new theories to resolve formal incompleteness and experimental discrepancies;
classical and quantum systems characterised by a large number of degrees of freedom, from which new collective properties emerge. These systems describe complex phases of matter and are also applicable to the study of social networks and information flows.

Theoretical Physics in Parma

high-precision calculations for collision processes at the LHC;
study of the non-perturbative regime of quantum field theories by means of numerical simulations;
estimation of gravitational waves emitted by astrophysical systems under study by interferometric detectors, such as VIRGO/LIGO and, in the future, by the LISA space antenna;
string theories and their connection to supersymmetric gauge theories and gravity;
synchronisation dynamics and information transport in complex networks and applications of statistical mechanics to other disciplines, such as to models of the evolution of social, economic and biological networks;
transport in quantum systems and 'atomtronics', i.e. the study of quantum devices based on the transport of atoms instead of electrons.