Our research activities fall into the following broad categories:
Quantum Field Theory combines quantum mechanics and special relativity and provides a broad framework describing many areas of physics.
String Theory offers a mathematically consistent way to quantize gravity and unify it with the other forces.
Cosmology is the study of the large-scale properties of the universe, such as its origin, evolution and fate.
Solitons are stable, non-singular solutions which appear in a variety of non-linear systems, both classical and quantum.
The Group's interests complement those of the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, and together we form the Centre for Particle Theory . With over 25 permanent staff, we are one of the largest groups researching mathematical and theoretical physics in the UK. Our members have received numerous prestigious awards including UKRI and Royal Society fellowships and ERC grants, and we actively participate in international collaborations such as MSCA Doctoral Networks and Simons Collaborations.
Beyond the Standard Model, Supersymmetry and string model building
My research interests encompass the formal and methodological aspects of quantum field theory—generalized symmetries, anomalies, semiclassical methods, and Monte Carlo simulations—and their applications to particle physics and early-Universe cosmolog
Postdoctoral researcher in mathematical physics at Durham. PhD from Queen Mary London on superconformal field theories. Now studying entropic ordering in statistical systems and exploring AI–physics connections
Integrable systems, mathematical physics, string theory
My research explores geometric aspects of string and field theories, focusing on dualities among manifolds of special holonomy and the engineering of field theories from singular geometries, with recent emphasis on G₂ manifolds.
My research focuses on the mathematical structures underlying quantum field theory. I lead an ERC Consolidator grant developing the mathematical foundations of generalised symmetries, aiming to deepen our understanding of quantum systems.
Quantum Field Theory, String Theory, Algebraic Geometry
My research focuses on holography, black hole physics, and hydrodynamics in strongly coupled systems, investigating transport phenomena, symmetry breaking, and emergent dynamics in gravitational duals of quantum field theories.
Conformal and integrable field theories
Resurgent methods in quantum field theory
Mathieu Moonshine, Representations of 2d Superconformal Algebras, String Theory and Conformal Field Theory.
Quantum Field Theory, String Theory, Dualities, String Phenomenology
My research focuses on conformal field theories and string theory, combining ideas relating to conformal bootstrap, scattering amplitudes and AdS/CFT to further our understanding of string theories in curved spacetimes.
I study fundamental aspects of gravity and its interplay with quantum physics. My work covers the dynamics of black hole horizons, holographic descriptions of quantum black holes, and the fate of black hole interiors beyond general relativity.
Paul Heslop’s research explores quantum field theory and quantum gravity through the AdS/CFT correspondence, focusing on correlation functions and amplitudes to uncover hidden symmetries and geometric structures.
Integrability, deformations and dualities, and their applications to quantum field theory, string theory and gauge/gravity duality. Establishing new links with other topics, including quantum algebra and statistical physics.
Nabil has diverse interests, including the study of neural networks as physical systems, generalized global symmetries and their applications, holographic duality, and applications of quantum field theory to statistical physics.
Holography, Effective field theory, Hydrodynamics
My research primarily focuses on understanding black hole dynamics through the lens of holographic duality, specifically on how black hole interiors are encoded in the observables of the dual quantum field theory.
Studying conformal and superconformal field theories, including local and extended operators (defects), through non-perturbative approaches such as bootstrap techniques and chiral algebras (vertex operator algebras) of superconformal field theories.
Quantum field theory, string theory, holography, and cosmology
Automated e-assessment for undergraduate mathematics, String theory and the string/gauge theory correspondence, Pair production in quantum field theories.
My research explores the implications of holography for early universe cosmology, and the development of momentum-space methods in conformal field theory.
I work on gravity as a double copy of gauge theory, including its mathematical underpinnings and extensions to curved spaces. I also study asymptotic symmetries and their applications to scattering amplitudes, and flat-space holography.
Non-perturbative quantum field theory
String theory and the string/gauge theory correspondence, Quantum gravity, Applications of mathematics to biology, Computer algebra
I model some biological systems such as the cytoskeleton or the initial Darwin ancestor (proto-ribosme). I also study potential geometries for protein nano-cages via the classification of Polyhedral Cages.
I work on string theory and quantum gravity, focusing on the emergence of spacetime in holography and the description of black holes, using the gravitational path integral and entanglement.
Tom Rudelius's research explores the intersection of string theory, cosmology, and quantum field theory, focussing on how theoretical constraints from quantum gravity shape models of the early universe and particle physics.
String Theory, Supersymmetric Field Theories
Non-perturbative phenomena in Quantum Field Theories, QCD, spin systems, Resurgence and anomaly matching
Mathematical Physics, Topological Solitons
String theory and the string/gauge theory correspondence
Our 2025 Willmore Pure Postgraduate Day celebrated the exciting research in pure mathematics carried out by junior researchers in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
Find out more about our research, research areas, other members of staff and more.
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