- Graduate Study Overview
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Mathematical Physics
Klink, Meurice, Polyzou, Rodgers, Jorgensen, Muhly
Mathematical physics is an interdisciplinary subject where theoretical physics and mathematics intersect. The University of Iowa has held an ongoing mathematical physics seminar for the past twenty years, in which faculty from both mathematics and physics actively participate. Topics of interest include relativistic quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, representation theory of groups and quantum groups, theory of dynamical systems, quantum computing, phase transitions, quantum chaos, lattice gauge theory and C* algebras.
Our program in Mathematical Physics is one of the few in the U.S. that is fully interdisciplinary, combining both physicists and mathematicians in a working relationship. Every semester our seminar includes talks given by distinguished visitors, including Field medallists. We also organize workshops held on campus here at Iowa, attracting speakers from around the world; we've organized two such workshops in six years. Students may work on interdisciplinary research topics involving mathematics and theoretical physics. They can obtain a PhD through the University's Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences program, in which a physicist and a mathematician jointly supervise the dissertation. Two students have recently completed such dissertations; one teaches in a mathematics department, the other is doing economic research for a private company.
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
William Klink, Symmetry and group theory
- Primary research area is the application of group theory to relativistic quantum mechanics
- Topics include: representation theory of groups, applied to relativistic nuclear theory and quantum field theory
- Professor with joint appointments in Physics and Mathematics
- Emeritus professor
Yannick Meurice, Mathematics of quantum field theory
- Topics related to statistical mechanics include phase transitions in Ising models and global properties of renormalization group flows
- Studies of large-order behavior of perturbative expansions; large-field contributions to path integral
- Employment of former students: postdocs at major universities in the US and Ireland; senior research scientist in driving simulation project; software engineer in industry; college instructor
- Students travel to summer schools and conferences
Wayne Polyzou, Mathematics of quantum field theory
- Scattering theory, relativistic quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, dynamical systems, application of wavelets to physics problems
- Students also interact with other faculty in Physics and Mathematics departments
- Is a professor in two programs: Physics; Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences
- Students have opportunities to present research at national and international meetings
- Students develop skills in group theory, functional analysis, numerical analysis and computational methods
Vincent Rodgers, String theory and group theory
- Infinite dimensional Lie algebras as related to string theory; co-adjoint representations and field theories, Courant algebras, supersymmetry
- Computation includes use of symbolic manipulation software
- Students participate with mathematics professors
- Students develop mathematical skills including analytical, numerical, and symbolic methods
MATHEMATICS
Palle Jorgensen, Wavelets, quantum theory, symmetry,
algorithms
- Particles, fields, geometry, relativity, quantum computing algorithms, spectrum
- Mathematics professor, eligible to co-advise physics theses
- Author of book on wavelets
- Students develop theoretical and computational skills
Paul Muhly, Operator algebras and mathematical physics
- Mathematical underpinnings of quantum mechanics, particularly those of quantum field theory and quantum statistical mechanics
- Mathematics professor, eligible to co-advise physics theses
- Students develop skills including a wide range of analytical tools from a number of fields of mathematics