The Faculty of Physics and Astronomy is one of twelve faculties at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. It comprises the Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, the Institute of Physics, Theoretical Physics, Environmental Physics and Theoretical Astrophysics.

Kirchhoff Institute of Physics

The Kirchhoff-Institut für Physik (Kirchhoff Institute of Physics, KIP), built in 2002, is a research institute located in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It shares faculty with the physics and astronomy departments at the

. The institute is named after

Gustav Kirchhoff Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (; 12 March 1824 – 17 October 1887) was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects. He ...

, who collaborated in Heidelberg in 1854 with

Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bu ...

in spectroscopic work. The scope of its research is broad. Many projects exist, from

low temperature physics In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures. The 13th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration (held in Washington DC in 1971) endorsed a universal definition of “cryogenics” and “cr ...

and neuronal information processing to surface physics. Facilities include (apart from several laboratories) a

cleanroom A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...

, an ASIC laboratory, an experimental hall and, as it is also serves undergraduates, there are 2 auditoriums with a capacity of over 300 people, several seminar rooms and a CIP pool. Current director is Prof. Dr. Markus Oberthaler. Research interests include: *

Biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

* Complex Quantum Systems condensed matter systems at ultra-low temperatures and

matter waves Matter waves are a central part of the theory of quantum mechanics, being an example of wave–particle duality. All matter exhibits wave-like behavior. For example, a beam of electrons can be diffracted just like a beam of light or a water wav ...

. *

Particle Physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

calorimetry and trigger processor development for the

ATLAS An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

and H1 particle detectors. * Technical Computer Science

Institute of Physics

Institute of Theoretical Physics

Institute of Environmental Physics

The Institute of Environmental Physics was founded in 1975. Its current director is Prof. Dr. Norbert Frank. Research Interests *

Atmosphere and Remote Sensing An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A ...

, Radiative Transfer and Solar Energy Deposition *

Terrestrial Systems Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

, Water Flow, Solute Transport and Permafrost *

Aquatic Systems Aquatic means relating to water; living in or near water or taking place in water; does not include groundwater, as "aquatic" implies an environment where plants and animals live. Aquatic(s) may also refer to: * Aquatic animal, either vertebrate ...

, Groundwater and Paleoclimate, and

Limnology Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteris ...

* Small-Scale Air-Sea Interaction, Image Processing *

Atmospheric Aerosols An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A ...

, Aerosols and Climate

Center for Astronomy

The ''Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg'' (Center for Astronomy of Heidelberg University) was founded in 2005 and is an association of three research institutes: the Astronomical Calculation Institute, the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics and the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl (the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory).

Astronomical Calculations Institute

The Astromomisches Rechen-Institut (Astronomical Calculation Institute) is part of the Center of Astronomy of the

. Before it was a research institute for astrometry and stellar dynamics belonging to the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. It is the most important international institution for astronomical data calculations. The Astronomisches Rechen-Institut is responsible among other things for the Gliese catalog of nearby stars, the fundamental catalog FK5 and FK6 and the annual published Apparent places, a high precision catalog with pre-calculated positions for over 3 thousand stars for each day. The ARI was founded in 1700 in

Berlin-Dahlem Dahlem ( or ) is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. It is located between the mansion settlements of Grunewald and ...

Gottfried Kirch Gottfried Kirch (; also KircheKenneth Glyn Jones, ''The Search for the Nebulae'', Alpha Academic, 1975, p. 19. , Kirkius; 18 December 1639 – 25 July 1710) was a German astronomer and the first "Astronomer Royal" in Berlin and, as such, directo ...

. It has its origin from the catalog patent application in this time by

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (german: Friedrich I.; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg-Prussia). The latter function h ...

, who introduced a monopoly on publishing star catalogs in Prussia. In 1945 the Institute was moved by the occupying force (Americans) nearer to their headquarters in Heidelberg. Since January 1, 2005 it has been integrated into the Center of Astronomy and as of today is not limited to publishing star catalogs but has a wide research scope.

Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics

The Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics was founded in 1976.Center for Astronomy Heidelberg – Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics
/ref> Research Interest *

Cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

Gravitational lens A gravitational lens is a distribution of matter (such as a cluster of galaxies) between a distant light source and an observer that is capable of bending the light from the source as the light travels toward the observer. This effect is known ...

ing and

Galaxy groups and clusters Galaxy groups and clusters are the largest known gravitationally bound objects to have arisen thus far in the process of cosmic structure formation. They form the densest part of the large-scale structure of the Universe. In models for the grav ...

* Star formation, interstellar turbulences and development of galactic gas clouds *

Planet formation The nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model in the field of cosmogony to explain the formation and evolution of the Solar System (as well as other planetary systems). It suggests the Solar System is formed from gas and dust orbitin ...

, through gravitation collapse of interstellar molecular gas clouds *

Accretion disc An accretion disk is a structure (often a circumstellar disk) formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a massive central body. The central body is typically a star. Friction, uneven irradiance, magnetohydrodynamic effects, and other ...

s, theory of accretion discs, winds and mass loss from discs

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heidelberg University Faculty Of Physics And Astronomy Heidelberg University Gustav Kirchhoff