Research Interests

Movie

We have made a short movie about our work.

Soft condensed matter

We are interested in statistical mechanics and "soft condensed matter".

Statistical mechanics is the theory of the interplay of very large numbers of particles. Typically, in a piece of material that is used in an application there are 1023 particles. Obviously, one cannot solve all their equations of motion exactly. Hence we need to develop approximate theories to predict materials properties.

Soft condensed matter means everything which is dense, but can easily be deformed. Most biological materials are soft condensed matter and many "everyday substances" such as paint, glass or dairy products.

We are doing computer simulations (Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics) and theory (Density Functional Theory, Projection Operator Formalism).

At the moment we study

  • Dynamic coarse-graining based on time-dependent projection operators
  • Percolation
  • Crystallization in simple model systems (hard spheres, Lennard Jones)
  • Cholesteric liquid crystals
  • Organic piezoelectric materials as sensors and actuators
  • Rare event sampling in non-equilibrium
We also work on less physics-related topics, such as chess and pacman.

If you are interested in doing your Bachelor/Master thesis with us, you are also welcome to apply!

Langevin Simulator

We have introduced a coarse-graining method for systems out of equilibrium.
If you would like to use it, download the code from here.