Research

How and when did our Universe begin? What is it made of? How did it acquire its current appearance? The Ogden Centre was established to answer some of the oldest and most fundamental questions in science, including these.

Our researchers tackle them using some of mankind’s most sophisticated techniques and machines, including advanced mathematics, supercomputers that carry out hundreds of billions of arithmetic operations per second and particle accelerators that reproduce the conditions prevailing in the Universe a millionth of a second after the Big Bang.

Research in our Department of Physics

Research in the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics

Since the Ogden Centre was founded in 2002, scientists around the world have made tremendous progress toward answering some of these questions. We have learned that ordinary atoms make up just 5% of the Universe, dark matter 20%, and the rest is dark energy. Gigantic surveys of galaxies are revealing how the Universe is structured. Large supercomputer simulations recreate the evolution of the Universe, from the Big Bang to the present. The Large Hadron Collider is providing data that can be used to test the Standard Model of Particle Physics and explore possible extensions. We now know that the Standard Model of Particle Physics is incompatible with the existence of dark matter and with the standard “cold dark matter” model of cosmology. Ogden Centre researchers have played a key role in these developments and will continue to be at the forefront of the search for a new physical formulation of our world.

The Ogden Centre is home to two research institutes, the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP). Learn more about our researchers’ latest discoveries.

The Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology

IPPP is a leading international centre for research in particle physics phenomenology – the bridge between theory and experiment in the study of the tiny building blocks of all matter in the universe and of the fundamental forces that operate between them.
Institute for Computational Cosmology

ICC is a leading international centre for research into the origin and evolution of the Universe. ICC answer some of the most fundamental questions in science: What were the first objects in the Universe? How do galaxies form? What is the nature of the dark matter and dark energy?

The Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology

IPPP is a leading international centre for research in particle physics phenomenology – the bridge between theory and experiment in the study of the tiny building blocks of all matter in the universe and of the fundamental forces that operate between them.

Image of the Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics

Institute for Computational Cosmology

ICC is a leading international centre for research into the origin and evolution of the Universe. ICC answer some of the most fundamental questions in science: What were the first objects in the Universe? How do galaxies form? What is the nature of the dark matter and dark energy?

Contact the Department of Physics

Research stories

Our researchers’ mission is to unravel the mysteries of the Universe using some of the world’s most advanced equipment and techniques. Our discoveries have received widespread media coverage from national and international news organisations, scientific journals and government agencies around the world.

Discover more

First images from new space telescope part-developed in Durham

See the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) – which Durham helped to develop and engineer.

Astronomers apply their skills to cancer research

Several Durham astronomers have joined forces with cancer researchers to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients.

Supercomputer simulations reveal new possibilities for the Moon's origin

Our pioneering scientists from the Institute for Computational Cosmology used supercomputer simulations to reveal an alternate explanation for the Moon’s origin.

Prominent Durham Professors named in Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2022

Professors from our Institute for Computational Cosmology have been named among the world's most cited researchers.

Professor Carlos Frenk with space in the background

Scientists unveil most accurate virtual representation of the Universe

The team used supercomputer simulations to recreate the entire evolution of the cosmos, from the Big Bang to the present.

Research on the formation of galaxies wins Royal Astronomical Society award

The award symbolises our high-calibre research in Physics and aligns with the extraordinary work of our world-class scientists.

Largest ever 3D map of the universe created

We’re part of an international team that has helped to create the most detailed 3D map of the universe ever.

Higgs boson 10 years on

Dr Martin Bauer and and Dr Stephen Jones from our Department of Physics look back at the discovery of the Higgs boson.

Peter Higgs standing in front of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN where the Higgs boson he theorised was discovered.

Physics Research at Durham

Take a look at some of our research and find out more about how we’re making an impact in astronomy, healthcare, business and industry.

Learn more about our research

The EAGLE Project

The EAGLE Project uses supercomputer technology to create realistic simulations of galaxies. This helps us to understand the origin and evolution of the universe and how galaxies like our Milky Way formed. Research by the EAGLE project was second out of the top 100 most cited papers published in the prestigious journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) between 2010 and 2020.

Learn more about the EAGLE project