For students

We at the Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and the Laboratory of Quantum Optics are always happy to offer students opportunities to work on a Bachelor’s or Master’s Thesis with us. We offer a broad range of exciting topics from distillation of quantum entanglement to models of dark energy and from photonic quantum bits to complex quantum networks, just to name a few. We are also open to suggestions from students as long as the topic is related to theoretical physics or quantum optics.

If your interest was piqued, please don’t hesitate to contact either Jyrki Piilo (jyrki.piilo@utu.fi) or Tom Kuusela (kuusela@utu.fi) on topics related to theoretical physics and quantum optics, respectively.

Some examples of MSc thesis framework in theoretical physics:

Open quantum systems and decoherence
All realistic quantum systems interact with their environments. This leads to the fundamental phenomena of decoherence, loss of quantum properties and quantum to classical transition. Subsequently, this also bears importance how real-world quantum devices operate. We have MSc thesis topics available within this general framework and in terms of methods, the treatment of open system dynamics can include analytical calculations, simulations for stochastic descriptions, or both. Recently, a particular emphasis has been on non-Markovian quantum dynamics, where memory effects influence the behaviour of quantum systems. The area covers also quantum transport framework and themes.

Network theory and empirical studies of complex systems
Network science is a multidisciplinary research area which is often used to study and analyze real-world systems, e.g., complex socio-economic systems, with data driven approaches. Within this general framework we offer MSc topics in the context of, e.g., financial market data and their network descriptions.

Please look forward to information about working towards obtaining a PhD with us! This will be added shortly.