Research groups
The School of Physics and Astronomy includes the Schuster Laboratory in Manchester and the Jodrell Bank Observatory nearby in Cheshire. A great deal of the experimental research by Manchester physicists is 'big science', such as Astronomy, High Energy Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics, based at international facilities.
The Astronomy & Astrophysics group is one of the largest astrophysics groups in the UK. The group's research covers a wide range of observational, modeling, theoretical and technological interests. Members of the group use telescopes throughout the world and beyond it. These include UKIRT, JCMT, Gemini and others in Hawaii, the ING telescopes in La Palma, the ESO VLT in Chile, the VLA in New Mexico, USA, the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and the Jodrell Bank Observatory. Jodrell Bank is home to the MERLIN and VLBI National Facility, the UK's main radio astronomy facilities.
The Biological Physics group's research is centred on bio-interfaces, addressing issues such as biophysics conformations of interfacially immobilised proteins and design peptides, surface bio-compatibility, controlled release of plasmid DNA and effects of surface chemistries and topology on vacular cell growth and tissue structuring mediated by extracellular membrane proteins. The research strength of the group lies in the application of a number of new physical techniques, such as neutron reflection, neutron diffraction and small angle neutron scattering, spectroscopic ellipsometry, infrared reflection, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy for molecular and cellular studies at model biological interfaces.
The Condensed Matter Physics group has an experimental programme studying superfluid helium, and mesoscopic physics.
The Nonlinear & Liquid Crystal Physics group has a progamme of research in many aspects of liquid crystal physics and in chaos, turbulence, vortices and granular flows.
The Nuclear Physics group has a wide programme of work in a variety of different areas includng exotic nuclei using radioactive beams, nuclei far from stability using tagging techniques, neutron-rich nuclei produced in fission and laser spectroscopy of rare isotopes. These physics areas are pursued in experiments at a wide range of international facilities.
The Photon Physics group has a programme of research in photoionisation, laser and electron impact excitation experiments at Manchester and at Synchrotron Radiation Facilities throughout the world. These experiments include laser atom manipulation, cooling and trapping, together with probing and preparation of targets using lasers, VUV radiation and electrons. The group also has a strong research programme in laser photomedicine, in laser development including fibre lasers, and in non-linear optics.
The Particle Physics group is made up of both theorists and experimenters. Our theorists work on a wide range of particle physics phenomena, from supersymmetry and extra dimensions through to strong interactions and the early universe. The experimenters are currently involved in the H1 experiment at the ep HERA collider in Hamburg, the BABAR matter-antimatter experiment in San Francisco, the DØ experiment at the Tevatron in Chicago, the NEMO experiment at the Modane Underground Laboratory, France and the future ATLAS experiment at the LHC currently under construction at CERN, Geneva.
The Theoretical Physics group has strong research programmes in Condensed Matter Physics and Nuclear Physics. Theoretical physicists are also a part of the Particle Physics group.
The School of Physics and Astronomy maintains strong ties with other disciplinary groups such as Atmospheric Science. Their areas of interest include, radiative transfer, precipitation and cloud electrification, boundary layer processes, aerosol properties, cloud physics and chemistry, remote sensing and atmospheric dynamics and atmospheric pollution in the urban environment.