Astronomy & Astrophysics

Faculty in the Astronomy Program carry out research in solar, stellar, galactic, and extragalactic astronomy. This research involves observations with groundbased and spaceborne telescopes -- including the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Condensed Matter

Experimental research in polymer and biopolymer physics, phase transitions, surface physics, physics of chemical and biochemical sensors, magnetic materials, transition metal oxides under extreme conditions, photonic crystals, and ultrafast nonlinear optics.

Theoretical research in the magnetic dynamics of spin clusters, macroscopic quantum tunneling, quantum nucleation, and Bloch oscillations in a metal ring.

General Relativity & Cosmology

The Tufts Institute of Cosmology is engaged in fundamental research relating to the origin and evolution of the universe, particularly in the areas of inflation, cosmic strings, and other topological defects. We are especially interested in the observational effects of defects, such as gravitational waves and high-energy cosmic rays. Group members also study general relativity and quantum field theory, in particular negative energy densities and quantum fluctuations of the vacuum.

High Energy

Experimental searches for neutrino oscillations, nucleon decay, Higgs boson and Supersymmetric particles. Studies of neutrino interactions, top quark, gauge bosons, particles with charm, strange and beauty quantum numbers in experiments involving fixed target beams, hadron-hadron colliders and deep underground tracking calorimeters.

Theoretical studies of quark dynamics, quantum chrom-dynamics, nucleon structure, polarization, gauge symmetries, spontaneous symmetry breaking, renormalization, soliton-meson systems.