TheMIT Center for Theoretical Physics (CTP ) is the hub of theoretical nuclear physics, particle physics, and quantum information research at MIT. It is a subdivision ofMIT Laboratory for Nuclear Science andDepartment of Physics .
CTP activities range from string theory and cosmology at the highest energies down through unification and beyond-the-standard-model physics, through the standard model, to QCD, hadrons, quark matter, and nuclei at the low energy scale.
Members of the CTP are also currently working on quantum computation and on energy policy. The breadth and depth of research in nuclear, particle, string, and gravitational physics at the CTP makes it a unique environment for researchers in these fields.
In addition to the 15 MIT faculty members working in the CTP, at any one time there are roughly a dozen postdoctoral fellows, and as many, or more, long-term visitors working at the postdoctoral or faculty level. The CTP supports 25-35 MIT graduate students, who work with the faculty and postdocs on problems across the energy spectrum.
Current research areas in the center includeparticle physics ,cosmology ,string theory ,phenomenology in andbeyond thestandard model ,quantum field theory ,lattice QCD ,condensed matter physics ,quantum computing , andenergy research .
Notable current faculty include Nobel LaureateFrank Wilczek ,Jeffrey Goldstone , inflationary cosmologistAlan Guth , cosmologistMax Tegmark , and quantum information scientistPeter Shor .[ 1] Past CTP faculty members include USSecretary of Energy Ernest Moniz , Breakthrough Prize winnerDaniel Freedman , particle theorist and authorLisa Randall , and many others.
Current and former faculty members in the CTP include:[ 4]
Michel Baranger , student of Hans Bethe, made contributions to plasma spectroscopy, nuclear collective motion, and quantum chaosNetta Engelhardt , 2021New Horizons in Physics Prize [ 5] Edward Farhi , particle-physicist turned quantum information theoristHerman Feshbach , founding director of the CTPDaniel Freedman ,Breakthrough Prize winnerSergio Fubini , pioneer of string theoryRoscoe Giles , computer engineer and theoretical physicist; first African-American to earn a theoretical physics Ph.D. fromStanford Jeffrey Goldstone , namesake ofGoldstone bosons Alan Guth , discoverer of inflationDaniel Harlow , 2019 New Horizons in Physics Prize[ 6] Aram Harrow , quantum information scientistKerson Huang , known for contributions to statistical physics and quantum field theory alongsideC. N. Yang ,T. D. Lee , andSteven Weinberg [ 7] Roman Jackiw , of theJackiw-Teitelboim model of 2d gravityRobert Jaffe , CTP director, known forMIT Bag Model Xiangdong Ji , recipient of Herman Feshbach Prize in nuclear physics[ 8] Kenneth Johnson , famous for fundamental contributions to quantum field theory and quark substructureDavid Kaiser , cosmologist and historian of scienceFrancis Low , CTP director, Manhattan project alumnus and co-founder ofUnion of Concerned Scientists Samir Mathur , string theorist and architect of "fuzzball " program for understanding black hole microstatesErnest Moniz , former U.S. Secretary of EnergyJohn Negele , CTP director, nuclear physicistLisa Randall , particle physicist, cosmologist, and popular physics author; first female professor in the CTPPeter Shor , quantum information scientist known forShor's algorithm Isadore Singer , winner of theAbel Prize Tracy Slatyer , known for Fermi bubbles; second tenured female professor in the CTPMax Tegmark , notable cosmologist and popular physics authorJesse Thaler , Director of NSF AI Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Fundamental InteractionsCharles Thorn , noted string theoristGabriele Veneziano , pioneer of string theoryFelix Villars , ofPauli-Villars regularization method in quantum field theorySteven Weinberg , Nobel LaureateVictor Weisskopf , former MIT physics department chairFrank Wilczek , Nobel Laureate known forasymptotic freedom andaxions James Young , notable nuclear physicist; founding member ofNational Society of Black Physicists ; first tenured black professor in the MIT Physics DepartmentBarton Zwiebach , Peruvian string theorist, made central contributions tostring field theory
