The Department of Excellence is an interdisciplinary center devoted to the investigation of two fundamental topics in contemporary physics: complex systems and dark matter. The center builds on the Department of Physics’ long-standing expertise across multiple areas, integrating diverse methods and perspectives into a focused and collaborative effort on these two research themes.
The physics of complexity—recognized by the 2021 Nobel Prize awarded to Giorgio Parisi—has developed within the broader framework of statistical physics. Complex systems exhibit emergent properties that cannot be understood solely from their individual components and therefore require investigation at the collective level. Historically, the field originated in the study of glassy transitions in disordered materials. Over the past fifty years, however, the concepts and methods of statistical physics developed in that context have been progressively extended to a wide range of problems. In particular, applications to biological systems and to networks—both neural and social—represent areas of significant scientific and technological impact. The department has a strong research activity in this field, which the Centre will further integrate and sustain with new experimental and computational facilities.
Research on dark matter represents a major frontier in defining the limits of applicability of two cornerstone paradigms: the Standard Model of particle physics and the Hot Big Bang model in cosmology. Understanding the history of the Universe is closely tied to identifying the nature of dark matter, whether it consists of heavy particles, comparable to atomic nuclei, or ultralight particles with wave-like properties. The department is highly active in this area, with research lines focused on searches for heavy and dark matter and of the cosmic background radiation.
Advancing beyond the current state of the art requires a significant increase in detector sensitivity. Within the center, new-generation detectors are being designed and developed, leveraging the novel microfabrication facility and the expertise of condensed matter groups in innovative materials such as superconductors and carbon nanotubes.
The center is equipped with two entirely new infrastructures:
A microfabrication laboratory, including a clean room and a wet lab, enabling in situ manipulation at microscopic scales for the study of condensed and soft matter, as well as the development of detection devices
An integrated computing laboratory, providing efficient and flexible access to computational resources for both device testing and multiscale simulations of complex systems
Both facilities are fully integrated into the department’s educational program, contributing to a high-level teaching offering. Together with the renewed Physics Museum, they further strengthen the department’s academic mission and its outreach activities.