CEA DSM – IPhT

The Institut de Physique Théorique (IPhT) is a laboratory of fundamental research, located in Saclay, about 20 km south-west of Paris.

The research performed at the IPhT aims at better understanding the laws which govern our universe and its organisation. It encompasses most of the great subjects of modern theoretical physics:

  • High energy physics (QCD and hadronic matter, physics beyond the standard model, supersymmetric gauge theories)
  • Cosmology (large scale structures in the Universe, dark matter, dark energy)
  • Quantum gravity and string theory
  • Exact methods and mathematical physics (integrable systems, conformal theories, matrix models, enumerative geometry, classical and quantum dynamical systems)
  • Condensed matter physics and quantum physics (high Tc superconductivity, quantum magnetism, cold atoms)
  • Statistical physics and out of equilibrium physics (disordered systems, glasses, exclusion models, fluid dynamics)
  • Biophysics (biopolymers, biological networks), complex systems and dynamical networks
The IPhT comprises about fifty permanent physicists (2/3 CEA, 1/3 CNRS), about thirty PhD students and postdocs, assisted by a support staff of about ten people. The IPhT also hosts permanently many short term visitors.