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Mathematical Physics
Klink, Meurice, Polyzou,
Rodgers, Jorgensen, Muhly, Ton-That
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-star algebras.
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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.
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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
- Several PhD theses
in the Applied Mathematics program have been completed in the last ten
years, supervised jointly with Professor Ton-That
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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
- Previous students
now employed as: postdoc at University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign;
instructor at Hawkeye College; senior research scientist in a driving-simulation
project
- Students travel
to summer schools and conferences
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Wayne
Polyzou |
Mathematics
of quantum field theory
- Scattering
theory, relativistic quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, dynamical
systems
- Students also
interact with other faculty in Physics and Mathematics departments
- Is a professor
in two programs: Physics; Applied Mathematical and Computational Sciences
- Students develop
skills in writing code in C or Fortran
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Vincent
Rodgers |
String theory
and group theory
- Infinite
dimensional Lie algebras as related to string theory; co-adjoint representations
and field theories
- Computation
includes use of symbolic manipulation software
- Students participate
with mathematics professors
- Students develop
mathematical skills including analytical, numerical, and symbolic methods
- In most years,
grant support is available for student travel to conferences
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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
- Former students
are mostly employed in academia; some are employed in industry
- Previous students
have often been supported as RA's
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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
- All former students
are employed in mathematically oriented jobs, either in industry or
in academia
- In most years,
grant support is available for an RA stipend and student travel to conferences
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Tuong
Ton-That |
Group theory
and harmonic analysis
- Group
theory
- Mathematics professor,
eligible to co-advise physics theses
- Two previous PhD
theses were advised jointly with Professor Klink: one is now an associate
professor at Eastern Louisiana State University, the other works for
a high tech firm in Oregon
- Students develop
theoretical and computational skills
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