Faculty of Physics
Faculty of Physics
News from the faculty
Double-slit experiment reveals hidden details between light and matter
A similar effect to that of light being refracted by raindrops to create rainbows, underlies many everyday technologies, like LCD screens and broadband connections based on fibre-optic cables. Light refraction is caused by an interaction between light and the atoms of matter. This brings the light waves slightly out of sync. “X-ray light” is “refracted”, too. But the effect is difficult to measure. A miniature device now offers a novel approach: the world's smallest X-ray interferometer.
Hubble constant measured with 1% precision
An international collaboration of astronomers, including Prof. Richard Anderson, has achieved the most precise direct measurement to date of the current expansion rate of the Universe. In a paper to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, the H0 Distance Network (H0DN) Collaboration reports a value of the Hubble constant of H0 = 73.50 ± 0.81 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹, corresponding to a precision of just over 1%.
Hybrid excitons: combining the best of both worlds
Faster, more efficient, and more versatile – these are the expectations for the technology that will produce our energy and handle information in the future. But how can these expectations be met? A major breakthrough in physics has now been made by researchers who combined two highly promising types of material – organic semiconductors and two-dimensional semiconductors. Their findings hold promise for developing new technology such as the next generation of solar cells.
PhysicsWorld: Göttingen in top ten publications of the year
PhysicsWorld has included a publication by the University of Göttingen in its list of the ten most important breakthroughs of 2025. In January, an international research team led by the Institute for Astrophysics and Geophysics published research about the weather on the exoplanet “WASP-127b”. The discovery helps to better understand the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system.
European Tensor Network School 2025
The Institute for Theoretical Physics will host the European Tensor Network School 2025 (TENSOR25) from November 17 – 21, 2025. Tensor networks are the mathematical framework for state-of-the-art computational methods for quantum many-body systems and are widely used to study ground-state properties, nonequilibrium physics, and dynamical properties of strongly correlated systems in low dimensions. The theory of the methods is rooted in quantum information theory and the methods' further applications include solving partial differential equations, quantum computing, and quantum chemistry. The school takes place every year and is intended for doctoral students who are new to the field. About 70 participants from all over Europe will attend TENSOR25 in November 2025 at Pauliner church.
Funding for training and research in biological complexity
Complex biological systems are more than the sum of their parts – their properties emerge from the dynamic interaction of their components, such as molecules or cells. PhD researchers now have the opportunity to develop their own theoretical perspective on these systems as part of an international Doctoral Network. A European consortium initiated by researchers from the University of Göttingen, the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS), and the University of Edinburgh has been awarded €4.5M by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to coordinate the network. The network consists of twelve European universities and research centres along with a number of partners outside academia.
Making robots fit for the future of recycling
Recycling textiles, cables and other “soft” materials has always been a complex procedure. Automation plays an important role in finding more efficient ways of doing this work. However, materials like this pose a real challenge for robots because they are flexible, fiddly and come in a variety of forms, which makes their properties difficult to predict for any automation system. An international research team including the University of Göttingen now plans to develop versatile solutions for automating soft material recycling. The European Union has funded the “FlexCycle” project for four years with around 7.5 million euros as part of their “Green Deal” programme of funding.
Three ERC Proof of Concept grants awarded to Göttingen University
University of Göttingen Professors – Lutz Ackermann, Timo Betz and Jörg Enderlein – have each been awarded Proof of Concept (PoC) grants by the European Research Council (ERC). These grants provide top-up funding of €150,000 over 18 months to outstanding researchers, who have already received ERC funding, so that they can build on the innovation potential of their findings. This enables Europe’s top scien-tists to develop initiatives that boost the economy and society.
Tutors wanted
For the winter semester 2025/26, we are again looking for HiWis and doctoral students who, for example, supervise exercise groups or internships as tutors. Numerous positions are advertised. Apply here.
Events
Physics Colloquium
On Monday in lecture hall HS2.
Exhibitions
Faculty of Physics
Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1
Floor B.01, Room 102
D-37077 Göttingen
Tel. +49 (0)551 3924095
Fax +49 (0)551 3924583
dekanat@phys.uni-goettingen.de