Institute of Physics
Welcome to the Institute of Physics. Physics research and physics education at our institute covers a wide range of topics, both experimental and theoretical.
Research divisions
IHEF: High Energy Physics
The Institute for High Energy Physics (IHEF) is an integral part of Nikhef, the national institute for subatomic physics. The research focuses on both theoretical and experimental particle and astroparticle physics.
ITFA: Theoretical Physics
At the Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam (ITFA), scientists at ITFA perform research around research themes ranging from condensed matter theory to astroparticle physics.
WZI: Experimental Physics
At the Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute (WZI) for experimental physics, scientists perform research in the areas of quantum gases & quantum information, hard condensed matter, and soft matter.
Recent highlights
Discovering new particles using black holes
Some theories that go beyond the Standard Model of particle physics predict the existence of new ultralight particles. A new paper by Daniel Baumann, Horng Sheng Chia ans Rafael Porto shows that such particles could be detectable in gravitational wave signals originating from merging black holes.
European consortium to develop new quantum clocks
The European Union has awarded 10 million euros to a European consortium of universities and businesses to develop ultra-precise and easily transportable optical atomic clocks. The iqClock consortium will build these flagship quantum clocks by using ground-breaking developments in quantum mechanics and by bringing together the latest know-how in science and industry.
Photosynthesis at nanoscale
Researchers from UvA and VU, collaborating within the Solardam initiative, have shown the existence of a new regime of energy transfer that plays an important role in the process of photosynthesis in plants. In this new regime, the structure of the plant’s chloroplast at nanometre scale plays a crucial role.