Theoretical Particle Physics

Our Research

What are the fundamental constituents of the universe and the laws that govern them? These are the big questions that the theoretical particle physics group are trying to answer. We have diverse research interests that range from astroparticle and cosmological physics that describe the physics of the early Universe, to the physics of the Standard Model and beyond that describes the fundamental interactions and matter of the subnuclear world. Group members have played a major role in exploring neutrino physics and the identity of dark matter. Research areas of the Standard Model include the physics of the famed Higgs boson and elucidating why there is more matter than anti-matter in the Universe. We also explore frontiers Beyond the Standard Model such as supersymmetry and extra dimensions, and how they may be discovered experimentally.

These are exciting times for particle physics as we are in the middle of the era of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment at CERN. The LHC has already discovered the Higgs boson: what it finds next could provide the answers to some of the most fundamental questions regarding the quantum Universe.

More information

For more information about research into theoretical particle physics in the School of Physics, visit the Theoretical Particle Physics research group.