OVERVIEW
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is an academic Degree (highest Degree in general) awarded by the Universities or higher Education Institutions globally to a candidate who completes his/her original research work he/she plans, and defends the Thesis/Dissertation successfully. A student can choose any area under the field (subject) of his/her interest. If you are highly motivated and eager to learn the nature and natural Science (Physics), then, you are at the right place, here. At Rayat Bahra University, Mohali, you can join Doctoral program in Nuclear Physics, Materials/ Condensed Matter Physics, Applied Physics, Astrophysics and Astronomy.
Nuclear Physics:
The people have been trying to understand the nature and natural phenomena for Nuclear Force since the discovery of nucleus in 19th century. The nuclei at far away from beta-stability line show variety of structure. The structure of nuclei on or beyond Neutron Drip-Line on light mass region is an interesting area. Other nuclear phenomena such as dynamics of magic number, halo structure, co-existence of the spherical and deformed shapes, etc. The exotic properties of drip-line nuclei are the main focus of nuclear physics community theoretically as well as experimentally. The synthesis of long-lived super-heavy nuclei up to Z = 118 has spiked the interest of the nuclear scientific community to explore the limit of the elements as well as the Island of stability in super-heavy mass region of the nuclear landscape.
Nuclear Astrophysics and Cosmology:
The understanding of formation of nuclei after the big-bang is a big scientific challenge. The process of formation of nuclei at extreme conditions of temperature and pressure is called nucleo-synthesis. The light nuclei are produced immediately after the big-bang. The scientific community is making efforts to achieve such extreme conditions in the laboratory. The light nuclei below Fe are formed at the core of star and above Fe are formed by slow neutron capture (s-process) during the life of star and rapid neutron capture (r-process) process at the last few seconds of the life of star.
The Nuclear Physics group at Rayat Bahra University, Mohali is working on ground state properties of nuclei and the abundances of light nuclei produced during Big-Bang as function parameters such as baryon density, number of effective neutrino, etc. The Dark Matter and Dark energy is the topic of current investigation in field of space science. The role of Dark Matter in the various phenomena in the Universe is investigated in the Department theoretically.
Condensed Matter Physics:
The field of physics dealing with macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter especially the solid and liquid phases arising from electromagnetic forces between atoms. At the fundamental level, the subject deals with “condensed” phases of matter: systems of many constituents with strong interactions between them. The physicists of Condensed matter area seek to understand the behaviour of these phases by experiments to measure various material properties, and by applying the physical laws of quantum mechanics, electro-magnetism, statistical mechanics and other theories to develop mathematical models. As the largest branch of physics, it has the greatest impact on our daily lives by providing foundations for technology developments. Today, condensed matter physics is one of the most active and exciting research area in both basic sciences and technological applications. At the fundamental level, condensed matter physics is intellectually stimulating due to the continuing discoveries of many new phenomena and the development of new concepts and tools that are necessary to understand them. It is the field in which advances in theory can most directly be confronted with experiments. It has repeatedly served as a source or testing ground for new ideas.
