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 Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad | |
| Type | Research institution |
|---|---|
| Established | 1947 |
| Budget | ₹240.00 crore (US$28 million)(2025–26)[1] |
| Director | Anil Bhardwaj |
| Location | ,, 23°2′7.61″N72°32′37.58″E / 23.0354472°N 72.5437722°E /23.0354472; 72.5437722 |
| Website | prl.res.in |
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ThePhysical Research Laboratory (abbr.PRL;Hindi: भौतिक अनुसंधान प्रयोगशाला,IAST:Bhoutik Anusandhan Prayogashala) is a National Research Institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly by theDepartment of Space,Government of India. This research laboratory has ongoing research programmes inastronomy andastrophysics,atmospheric sciences andaeronomy,planetary and geosciences,Earth sciences,Solar System studies andtheoretical physics.[2] It also manages theUdaipur Solar Observatory andMount Abu InfraRed Observatory. The PRL is located inAhmedabad.
The Physical Research Laboratory was founded on 11 November 1947[3] by Dr.Vikram Sarabhai. The laboratory had a modest beginning at his residence, with research oncosmic rays.
The institute was formally established at the M.G. Science Institute, Ahmedabad, with support from the Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and the Ahmedabad Education Society. Prof.K. R. Ramanathan was the first director of the institute. The initial focus was research oncosmic rays and the properties of theupper atmosphere. Research areas were expanded to includetheoretical physics andradio physics later with grants from theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission.
PRL is involved in research, related to five major fields of science. PRL is also instrumental in the PLANEX planetary science and exploration programme.
In June 2018, PRL scientists discovered exoplanet EPIC 211945201b or K2-236b, located 600 light years away from the Earth.[4]
The building of the PRL was designed byAchyut Kanvinde in 1962.[5]
PRL council of Management is on the top of thehierarchy of the organizational structure of PRL.[6] The director of PRL works under it. The director is consulted by various scientific divisions, thedean, and theregistrar to work consistently. PRL has the following scientific divisions:Astronomy &Astrophysics,Solar physics,Planetary sciences,Space &Atmospheric sciences,Geosciences,Theoretical physics, andAtomic, Molecular & Optical Physics. The dean of PRL offers several academic services. Administration,workshop, construction & maintenance, computational services, andlibrary are managed by the registrar of PRL. The administration takes care of general administration, stores & purchases, accounts, medical cell, andHindi cell.
The Physical Research Laboratory was founded on 11 November 1947[3] by Dr.Vikram Sarabhai. The laboratory had a modest beginning at his residence, with research oncosmic rays.
The institute was formally established at the M.G. Science Institute, Ahmedabad, with support from the Karmakshetra Educational Foundation and the Ahmedabad Education Society. After retiring from theIndia Meteorological Department,Prof. Kalpathi Ramakrishna Ramanathan joined as the first director of the institute[citation needed]. The initial focus was research oncosmic rays and the properties of theupper atmosphere as thescience behind very high energetic particles bombarding theEarth was not much known.[7] The dream of the founders was to establish a leading institute at Ahmedabad for conducting fundamental research oncosmic rays and some other selected areas ofPhysics.Atmospheric physics being Prof. Ramanathan's primary research interest, the Department of Atmospheric Physics was added to extend the scope of research activities. In some M. G. Science Institute rooms, the laboratory was initiated with few research students and assistants.
The overall scientific programs expanded in the direction of a unified study of the various types ofradiation imparted on theEarth, with the growth of thelaboratory. The need to incorporateradiophysics,theoretical physics, and anelectronics group into the then existingatmospheric physics andcosmic ray groups was strongly felt in the interest of adequate implementation of this type of program. For the financial support, theAtomic Energy Commission of theGovernment of India was requested, and the request was accepted in 1949. A Council of Management for PRL was framed in 1950 with support from several bodies such as erstwhile Government ofBombay, Ministry of Natural Resources and Scientific Research, Karmakshetra Educational Foundation, Ahmedabad Educational Society, andAtomic Energy Commission. Theozone observing station was set up atMount Abu by Prof. Ramanathan in 1951. On the date of October 12, 1951, the first measurement of ozone was performed usingDobson ozone spectrophotometer.
As the number of activities and workers were increasing, Ahmedabad Education Society decided to provide land for a separate building. Ahmedabad Education Society and Karmakshetra Educational Foundation contributed money for the cost of the building.Nobel laureate Prof.C. V. Raman placed the foundation stone of the building on February 15, 1952 and the latePrime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru inaugurated the first building of the campus on April 10, 1954. In the years of 1957–58, the scientists of PRL were taking part in a variety of scientific programs related toEarth sciences. Due to this, a need for in-house development ofradiationdetectors and electronic instruments was felt.[citation needed]Thus, PRL started developing and implementing MesonTelescopes,Photometers,Geiger-Muller Counters,Ionosonde,Dobson Spectrometers, etc. For the observations ofairglow during the nighttime, ozone concentration in the atmosphere, theintensity of cosmic rays, etc., a research station atGulmarg inKashmir was established in 1955 by PRL. As this station was giving fruitful results, it was decided to set up a complete High Altitude Research Laboratory atGulmarg in 1963.[citation needed] In the 1960s, many of rocket payloads were being manufactured at PRL. So PRL started emerging as the center for developing payloads for rockets.[citation needed]
Research onlunar meteorites and rocks andEarth sciences was started as they were favorite subjects ofProf. Devendra Lal, who took charge of the position of director of PRL in 1972. Various novel branches of studies such as Astronomy andPlasma Physics were launched in the 1970s. The research on Plasma Physics had two significant goals. One was to provide theoretical and experimental support to the then present research at PRL on space andionosphere. The other was to commence research on the plasma of high temperature, which was crucial for the development offusion research. The second goal was shifted and emerged as an institute namedInstitute for Plasma Research (IPR),Gandhinagar. In the 1970s, a program onatomic andMolecular physics was added to the existing programs as atomic and molecular reactions are crucial in order to understandastrophysics andatmospheric science. During the same era, threeradio telescopes were also developed atRajkot,Surat, andThaltej(Ahmedabad). They were established with an aim to measure the speed ofsolar wind via observing radio sourcescintillations at the same time with all telescopes.[3]
The research in various scientific divisions of PRL is as follows:[2]
This research program looks into optical,infrared,X ray, andradio wavelengths to study the problems concerned to galactic and extragalactic cosmic phenomena. The studies include the fields ofstar formation, evolution ofintermediate mass stars,photometric andpolarimetric studies ofactive galaxies and BL Lac objects and highangular resolution studies by lunaroccultations, and the study on circumstellar structure. The astronomical observations are taken through a 1.2 m infrared telescope that is located inMount Abu. The laboratory has also undertaken solarphotospheric andchromospheric studies under theGlobal Oscillations Network Group project atUdaipur Solar Observatory. A 12 ftSPAR telescope is being used in this project. By utilizing radio techniques, theSolar Activity and its effect onspace weather are also studied.
Thisinterdisciplinary research program works on a broad range of topics such asastrochemistry, foundations ofquantum mechanics,luminescence dating, etc. It also studies classical and quantum properties oflight,atoms,molecules, molecular clusters via broad range ofelectromagnetic spectrum, highenergyelectrons, etc. To cover the research activities in the area ofquantum information science, the "Quantum Science and Technology Program" is started by this research group. The other research areas under this program areion-momentumspectroscopy,quantum optics andquantum information,laser producedplasmas,non-linear optics andquantum entanglement,light scattering, etc. The available experimental facilities arediode-pumped solid state laser,femtosecondfiber laser, nikon inverted researchmicroscope,spatial light modulators, singlephoton counting modules(SPCM),spin coating unit,FTIR spectrometer, etc.
The division focuses on characterization of the processes which took place in the earlySolar System. To do so, the program utilizes the applications ofstable andradioactive isotopes. Main goal is to understand the origin and evolution of the Solar System with a special focus on innerplanets. Another goal is to comprehend the physical and chemical processes of atmospheres of planets bysimulations, observation, and modelling. Planetary Science and Exploration Program (PLANEX) is also run by this division. Some of the other research activities being conducted in this division are, but not limited to, solar X-ray andfluorescenceemission fromlunar surface, observations and modeling oftrace gases,ions, anddust, in the loweratmosphere of Mars, reflectancespectroscopy of terrestrial and lunar samples, galactic chemical evolution, etc. Nobel gasmass spectrometer,electron probe micro analysis(EPMA), etc., are the experimental facilities available at this division.
The theoretical physics division at PRL aims to study theoretical and phenomenological aspects ofatomic physics,condensed matter physics,gravitation andastroparticle physics, non-equilibrium phenomena, andparticle physics. Current research programs includeneutrino physics,physics beyond standard model, standard and non-standardCP violation,Fermion masses,super-symmetry,baryogenesis,phenomenology of higher-dimensional theories,QCD andquark gluon plasma,colour superconductivity,chiral symmetry breaking, study ofquantum chaos innuclear energy levels,group theoretical models andnuclear structures, study of atomicRydberg states,stark spectroscopy ofatomic levels, stability analysis of synchronized structures in coupled map networks.
This goal of the division is to study radiative, chemical,ionization, and dynamical processes in the atmosphere of our planet by different methods such asin-siturocket and balloon borne experiments, laboratory experiments, and theoretical simulation and modeling of the atmosphere of Earth. Wide research domains of this division areatmospheric chemistry;aerosol,radiation, andclimate; and plasma and neutral interactions in near-Earth space. Measurement and modeling oftrace gases andozone are performed to investigate the dynamics andchemistry of the lower part of theatmosphere. Atmosphericaerosols are attempted to be characterized via different methods of observations and analysis. Some experimental facilities of this division include aerosol chemical speciation monitor(ACSM), surface trace gas analyzers, rocket and balloon borne sensors, near infrared imaging spectrograph(NIIS),Lidar,Greenhouse gas analyzers, etc.
Studies that are particularly related togeochronology,geochemistry,glaciology,oceanography andpalaeoclimatology are carried out in this department. The major focus is on studying Earth and its components' origin and evolution.Isotope geology is one of the most researched subjects. Their research is based on measurements of abundances ofradioactive isotopes,elements, etc. This division runs several research programs, particularly aerosol chemistry,hydrology,paleoclimatology,oceanography, etc. The experimental facilities of this division incorporateaccelerator mass spectrometer(AMS),aethalometer,isotope ratio mass spectrometer(IRMS),ion chromatographs, and many more.
The Physical Research Laboratory holds various seminars and public lectures. It has a workshop, computer centre, library and various other laboratories. It also offers a five-year doctoral programme inphysics, with specialisations intheoretical physics and complex systems,outer space andatmospheric sciences,quantum optics andquantum information, astronomy and astrophysics (infrared, sub-mm andradio astronomy,Solar physics, planetary andgeosciences). The admission is through a written test and interview.
The research institution offers national awards to scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the field of science and technology. The awards presented are:
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