Nowadays, the Faculty of Physics includes 17 Research and Educational Divisions:
The main fields of the Faculty’s research activities include:
(a) Theoretical study of physical properties of elementary particles, atoms, molecules, liquids, and solids. Development of new methods and theories in physics of atomic, molecular and condensed systems. Physics in spaces with extra dimensions and non-commutative coordinates.
(b) Complex study of electronic and molecular phenomena in solids and at interfaces.
(c) Linear and nonlinear physical optics, holography and physics of lasers. Quantum optics and its applications in quantim informatics. Low-dimentional semiconductor lasers. Study of physical properties of substance and interaction processes in gases, liquids and plasma (including active media of optical quantum generators and planet's atmosphere).
(d) Study of nucleus structure and the mechanism of nuclear interactions.
(e) Experimental and theoretical studies of optical, electronic,and magnetic properties of nanostructures and non-linear processes in nano-objects. Development of neutron, X-ray, optical spectroscopy methods for investigation of nanocomposites.
(f) Study of molecular structure and physical properties of polymers and disperse systems. Study of liquid crystals, phase transitions and intermolecular interactions in condensed media.
(g) Study, modelling and monitoring of physical fields and processes in geospheres (atmosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere, hydrosphere, Earth’s crust, mantle, core).
(h) Theoretical and experimental study of electromagnetic radiation and wave propagation in different media, non-linear waves and processes. Fundamental problems of radiophysics in satellite navigation. Radiophysical methods for exploring near-the-Earth space.
They are described in detail in the corresponding sections on the Division’s web sites.
Our scientists carry out their research work in collaboration with leading scientific centers of our country, such as National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, S.I. Vavilov State Optical Institute, Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, St. Petersburg Department of V.A. Steklov Institute of Mathematics etc. The results of the investigations are continuously published in leading Russian and foreign scientific journals.
Research in natural sciences is, by tradition, very much international. This is also the case with our Faculty of Physics. To conduct their accelerator experiments, our physicists travel to CERN (Switzerland) and GSI/FAIR (Germany). The Faculty has long-time and productive collaboration with universities and research institutes in Germany, USA, Sweden, Finland, Spain, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, UK, France, Poland, Republic, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, China etc. Our teachers,scientists and studentsare constantly workingat foreign universitiesand researchcenters around the world. And, naturally, visiting researchers and graduate students come to our Faculty in the Peterhof campus from all around the world, attracted by the experts and the facilities that have achieved international prominence.