Stockholm university
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Research subject Cosmology, Particle Astrophysics and Strings

The University conducts a wide range of research in theoretical and experimental astroparticle physics and cosmology. Supernovae and gravitational lenses are used for distance measurements aimed at a better understanding of dark matter and dark energy.

Our research is focused on dark matter (both theory and experiment), dark energy (both theory and experiment), cosmology, string theory and general relativity.

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Physics
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Researchers

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Research groups

Astroparticle Physics

In astroparticle physics we are interested in the constituents of the Universe, most notably the nature of dark matter. In our research we connect elementary particle physics, astronomy and astrophysics to explore the dark matter, both theoretically, but also phenomenologically together with experimental groups.

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Cosmology

Cosmology observation and instrumentation work at the department includes supernovae, the cosmic microwave background, and large surveyes of galaxies.

Kosmologi
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Research projects

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Do axions exist, and if so, how do we find them?

Research
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We explore the cosmic content of the universe by measuring the expansion rate using supernovae as distance indicators.

standard candle supernova
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The existence of Dark Matter (DM), matter that is invisible to conventional telescopes has become indisputable. This project employs deep underground detectors for rare events to search for dark matter particles.

Research
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The direct detection of gravitational waves has opened a completely new chapter in the study of gravity and the physics of the most compact objects in nature, black holes and neutron stars, especially using the electromagnetic counterparts

Research
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Gravitation governs cosmological expansion and mass motion on Earth and in the Universe. Quantum mechanics guides other forces and properties of matter. In "holographic" theories, gravitation and matter are parallel manifestations of quantum theory.

Research
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Measurements of the expansion rate of the universe give different results. We want to understand why, using lensed supernovae. An explanation could be that our model of the universe is not complete and that there is new physics to discover.

Research
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Did inflation happen, and what caused it?

Research
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The particles in the Standard Model of particle physics and their masses lack explanation. It is as if we had the periodic system of elements, but not its explanation in terms of quantum mechanics and interactions of protons, neutrons and electrons.

Research
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What is the nature of dark matter?

Courses and programmes

At the Department of Physics at Stockholm University, we offer high-quality education with a strong connection to frontier research. We promise exciting studies in tight student groups and with active researchers as your teachers.

Courses and programmes

Doctoral studies

At Fysikum there are four postgraduate subjects: physics, theoretical physics, chemical physics and medical radiation physics.

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News

Arthur Loreiro, forskare på Oskar Klein Center, Stockholms universitet.
Department of Physics

Arthur Loureiro's project is funded by the Swedish National Space Agency

"At the beginning of January 2025, the Swedish National Space Agency announced that my Career Grant project was selected for funding (5.45 million SEK). This grant will support my research activities here at Fysikum, focusing on cosmology linked to the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope, which will be launched in July 2023," says Arthur Loureiro, researcher at the Oskar Klein Centre at Stockholm University.

Physics - Theme page
Kvinnliga fysiker på Kvinnodagen 2024
Department of Physics

International Women's Day 2024: Women in physics

March 8 is International Women's Day and today we want to highlight women in physics. There are many examples including Marie Curie, Maria Goeppert Mayer and Lise Meitner to Fabiola Gianotti and Lene Hau. We also mention some of the female professors of physics who belong to the Fysikum.

Physics - Theme page
Medlemmar i ALPHA-gruppen på Stockholms universitet som arbetar med en tidig prototyp.
Department of Physics

A Plasma Haloscope for the Post-Inflation Axion

In Fall 2022, a consortium of the Simons Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation published a solicitation seeking to make profound advancements in physics by means of Small-Experiments of “table-top” size. The proposal “A Plasma Haloscope for the Post-Inflation Axion”, lead by the Berkely group has been announced as one of the 11 awardees among hundreds of initial proposals, for which a total of $30M over five years has been pledged by the foundations. “With this funding and also the earlier funding by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation we’re ready to start developing and building this detector that has the potential to discover axions”, says Jón Gudmundsson, senior researcher at Stockholm and current spokesperson of the ALPHA collaboration.

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Departments and centres

Research in the subject is mainly carried out at Fysikum in the divison of Cosmology, Astroparticle Physics and String Theory.

Department of Physics

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