Research areas
In present days there is a clear shift towards a new way of doing physics, which relies strongly on the use of computational means. Computational Physics, which is expanding with the availability of modern and more powerful computers, has been offering new insights on various natural phenomena, complementing and going beyond more traditional visions based on analytical approaches.
We also perspective to use our expertise and available means to start projects on other research areas, organise advanced courses, and provide help for general scientific education.
In this framework, our current research areas are:
Astrophysics and Cosmology
This group gathers researchers working on astrophysics and cosmology topics. It covers theoretical, computational and observational skills, potentiating synergies between them to tackle a number of problems of current interest in the field. The main research areas are the physics of white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, the equation of state of dense hadronic matter, radio astronomy, detection and characterisation of exoplanets, dynamics of stellar and planetary systems, celestial mechanics, computational astrophysics, interplay between particle and gravitational physics, the origin of dark matter, dark energy, inflation, and the baryon asymmetry.
Astrophysics and Geophysics
Current astrophysical and geophysical methods encompass a variety of disciplines among which Physics, Mathematics and Computers Engineering. We presently meet in our centre the scientific requirements to model mathematically some of the astrophysical and geophysical processes that govern such different physical systems as the Earth, the Minor Bodies of the Solar System (e.g., Near Earth Objects, Kuiper Belt Objets, and associated families like Centaurs, Comets and Irregular Satellites), to Stellar Evolution, Solar Physics, Light Pollution and Dark Sky Preservation.
The origin of the Earths magnetic field is a complex research subject. In our group, we focus on the study of the magnetic field at the Earths surface (or above) and of the study of the related fluid flow models at the top of the core. These kind of plots can work as useful boundary constraints for the numerical simulations of the geodynamo.
It is generally known that there exists strong solar wind-Earths magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. The role of turbulence in the solar wind Earths magnetosphere interaction processes can be reliably interconnected by investigation of the non-Gaussian characteristics of magnetic turbulence in the solar wind and the occurrence of intermittent magnetic turbulence in the Earths plasma sheet.
Chemical and Applied Condensed Matter Physics
The group gathers researchers with a common interest in the use of diffraction and other techniques such as neutron and Raman scattering, muSR and Mossbauer spectroscopies to investigate a wide range of materials, such as semiconductors, OLEDs and engineered materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a key technique for a significant part of the research developed in the group; being widely used across a number of disciplines, it promotes a variety of interdisciplinary collaborations on a regular basis with experimental and theoretical research groups. Long standing collaborations are established with computational physics groups of the Physics Department, as well as with several chemistry and pharmacy groups of the UC. Partnerships with industry are active, namely with pharmaceutical and electromechanical companies. Multidisciplinary research, in close connection with teams from the Arts Faculty and other Institutions like national museums and other universities (Universidade da Beira Interior and University of Florence, Italy).
Condensed Matter
The main objective of this group is to attack some specific problems of the spectroscopic characterization of complex biomolecules, including environment and dissipation effects. The motivation is clear: there is today a great need for accurate theoretical predictions of the response of biosystems to light. Computer simulations of these phenomena can, for instance, guide experimental biochemists in the design of fluorophores with novel spectroscopic properties by selective mutations, or in the control of bioprocesses of medical relevance.
Fundamental Interactions
Among the research topics of most actuality are ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions, effective field theories of quantum chromodynamics at low and intermediate energies, the structure of nuclear and quark matter, the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, applications in astrophysics and cosmology, hot and dense stellar matter, phase transitions in nuclear and hadronic matter, development of many-body physics approaches which include bosonization and generalized coherent states methods, scattering phenomenology and hadron spectroscopy, few-body physics and meson production on light nuclei, studies of newly observed hadronic states, which are challenging the traditional understanding of non-perturbative QCD, studies of the influence of final-state interactions, and the discovery of new vector charmonium resonances.
Multifunctional Materials
This group gathers researchers working on topics of hard condensed matter physics dealing with electrical, optical and magnetic properties of matter in several forms, from atomic clusters and isolated molecules to crystalline solids. It combines a good balance between theory, computational and experimental skills, potentiating synergies between such approaches to tackle a number of problems of current interest in condensed matter physics. A number of experimental techniques are available in-house for sample preparation and characterization (XRD, PAC, Mossbauer spectroscopy, positron annihilation, SEM, transport properties, specific heat, magnetometry, etc.). This group is a frequent user of large-scale facilities (ILL, ISIS, ESRF, PSI, TRIUMF) for neutron-scattering, synchrotron radiation and muSR work. Topics currently being investigated include: multiferroic compounds, topological insulators, novel superconduting materials, exotic 4f and 5f compounds (heavy-fermion, multi-k), low-dimensional molecular magnets, high-k oxides and semiconductors, new efficient materials for non-linear optics, and explaining the mechanisms of colour emission in chromophore molecules of biological systems from TDDFT ab-initio calculations.
Particles and Fields
Non-perturbative approaches to Quantum Field Theories (Strong Interacting Particles). Low energy effective QCD models and phase transitions. Compact stars: equation of state, crust, collective modes. Pseudo-spin in nuclei. Nucleon and baryon form factors using effective chiral quark models. Boson description of many-body fermion systems.
Physics Education and Science Outreach
The Working Group manages our outreach and physics education efforts. We promote physics and excellence in science education in primary and secondary schools, not only by engaging scientists in visits to schools but also bringing students to the Physics Department and our research facilities. We are responsible for the school of excellence in Physics "Quark!" for high-school students from all over the country and for the coordination of the National Physics Olympiad. In addition, CFisUC collaborates on the outreach activities of the Department of Physics, Museum of Science and Centro Ciência Viva Rómulo de Carvalho.
Physics in World Heritage
The GPWH is characterized by its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary dimension, intending to promote the cooperation of researchers from various faculties of UC and other universities, allowing the development of scientific studies on rich primary fonts of the History of Science in Portugal. The Working Group collaborates with the UC, which is an UNESCO World Heritage site, studying the History of Science in Coimbra and contributing to the rehabilitation of buildings and equipments.
Soft and Biological Matter
This group works in soft condensed matter physics with a direct application to biological systems, aiming at a far-reaching impact in science and society. The research developed has a strong focus on cellular morphology and movement, tissue irrigation, and tumor and vessel growth. Within the topic of vessel growth, we explore the consequences of physical mechanisms in the development of complex processes in both health and disease such as organogenesis, wound healing, inflammation, endometriosis or diabetes. We collaborate with several multidisciplinary international teams and bring together the know-how of researchers with proven expertise in theoretical, computational and experimental tasks.
