The Department of Physics organizes its research into eight areas, ranging from the most fundamental questions in physics to their applications in materials, complex systems and emerging technologies. Each area brings together a group of research professors and develops divisional projects with national and international collaborations.
Optical and Transport Phenomena in Matter (FOTM)
Area head: Dr. Rebeca Sosa Fonseca
Created in 1974 as the Molecular Physics area, it took its current name in 1995. Since the 1980s it has developed its experimental laboratories in magneto-optical spectroscopy, quantum optics, thermoluminescent dosimetry, growth of amorphous and crystalline materials, physical chemistry of nanostructures and photoluminescence, as well as the Theoretical Mesoscopic Group.
- Optical spectroscopy and thermoluminescence
- Physical chemistry of nanostructured systems by Raman spectroscopy
- Linear and nonlinear optics of micro- and nanostructured systems
- Transmission and processing of ultrafast signals
Physics of Liquids
Area head: Dr. Rodrigo Sánchez García
One of the longest-standing research groups in the country devoted to the properties of matter in the liquid phase and similar phases, in their structural and thermodynamic characteristics.
- Computational molecular thermodynamics (Molecular Dynamics, Monte Carlo and high-performance computing)
- Theoretical molecular thermodynamics (equations of state, integral equations and perturbation methods)
- Atoms and molecules under confinement
- Thermodynamic properties of materials (acoustic spectroscopy, PVT densimetry and optical microrheology)
Physics of Complex Systems
Area head: Dr. Mario Sandoval Espinoza
The research professors in this area work on frontier topics, from highly applied problems to fundamental questions about many-body behavior: diffusion in biological systems with complex geometry, vehicular traffic models, photochemical mechanisms in the atmosphere, fluctuation theorems and weak-signal detection, and the generalization of kinetic theory to the relativistic case, with applications in cosmology.
- Physics of biological systems
- Vehicular flow
- Photochemistry
- Relativistic kinetic theory
- Stochastic processes
- Hydrodynamics
Theoretical Physics
Area head: Dr. Miguel Angel Bastarrachea Magnani
Theoretical physics provides a common ground, both conceptual and mathematical, for the different fields of physics, from classical and quantum mechanics to electromagnetism and statistical physics. Using general techniques such as Green’s functions, classical and quantum field theories or random matrix theory, the Theoretical Physics Area pursues a range of interdisciplinary studies, including light–matter interaction at the classical and quantum levels, solid-state problems, transport, nanostructures, magnetism, high-energy physics, stochastic processes and quantum technologies.
Gravitation and Cosmology
Area head: Dr. Hugo Aurelio Morales Técotl
Research in gravitation has been carried out at UAM-I since 1974. The area was founded at the initiative of Dr. Carlos Graef, a Mexican physicist invited by Einstein himself to discuss his ideas on gravity, who entrusted the formation of the initial group to Dr. Octavio Obregón. Starting from Einstein’s idea that gravity is geometry, the area studies cosmology, black holes and gravitational waves, the relationship between gravity and the other interactions of nature, and proposals for experiments to put it to the test. It brings together eight researchers, several postdoctoral fellows and graduate students.
Mechanics
Area head: Dr. Norberto Aquino Aquino
It addresses nonlinear, classical and quantum mechanics with analytical, numerical and computational techniques. It studies constants of motion and integrability of physically relevant systems, the interplay between quantum and classical chaos, and nonlinear dynamical systems through fractal and multifractal geometry, with applications ranging from fractal antennas to the modeling of biological phenomena. It incorporates artificial intelligence and Python (PySINDy) to reconstruct Hamiltonians from time series, and designs dynamical systems using analog electronic circuits.
- Nonlinear periodic phenomena
- Stability of nonlinear periodic systems
- Nonlinear dynamics
Statistical Mechanics
Area head: Dr. Pablo Alejandro Lonngi Villanueva
One of the most productive areas in the Department: over 30 years it has produced books and around 500 articles in prestigious national and international journals, together with intensive work in teaching, outreach and the training of new researchers. It studies the statistical description of many-body systems and out-of-equilibrium phenomena.
Polymers
Area head: Dr. Roberto Olayo González
Founded in 1974 and formally established in 1980 by the CBI Divisional Council. It designs and synthesizes polymer systems with specific properties, with the structure–property correlation as its central axis. Its research lines are the synthesis and physical chemistry of polymers and the physical and chemical properties of polymeric materials, with applications in nanostructures, electric batteries, plasma-synthesized semiconducting polymers for spinal cord regeneration and electrospun scaffolds for medical use.
Contact details and office numbers for each area head are on the Structure page. The full list of research professors is on the Faculty page.