Funding providers: Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) DTP and Swansea University's Faculty of Science and Engineering
Subject areas: Theoretical Physics
Project start date:
- 1 October 2023 (Enrolment open from mid-September)
Project supervisors:
- Dr Tim Burns
- Professor Chris Allton
Aligned programme of study: PhD in Physics
Mode of study: Full-time
Project description:
There is a great deal of interest in the nature of the strong interaction force of particle physics. It has a fascinating personality - in normal circumstances it confines quarks together into hadrons such as protons and neutrons with a force of 15 tonnes (the weight of 3 elephants), but at large temperatures such as occurred after the Big Bang, it is feeble and hadrons easily fall apart. Exactly how this “confining” mechanism works, and how temperature controls it, is the subject of intense research, and a $1M Millennium Prize.
The PhD research concerns aspects of this “confinement” puzzle. One possible direction is the numerical study of centre vortices, which are topological features of the theory of the strong interaction that are intimately related to confinement. Another possibility is to explore the temperature dependence of confinement through numerical simulations of the hadron spectrum, applying techniques which have not previously been used at non-zero temperature, and which are uniquely suitable for characterising deconfinement and related phenomena, such as resonance broadening.
Eligibility
Candidates must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level or a master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’ (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University).
English Language requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with at least 6.0 in each individual component) or Swansea recognised equivalent.
This scholarship is open to candidates of any nationality.
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