PD Dr. Wolfgang Unger

High Energy Physics Group
Universität Bielefeld

wunger at physik.uni-bielefeld.de

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Hello! I am a theoretical physicist with emphasis on the thermodynamics of quantum chromodynamics (QCD).

QCD is the theory of the strong interaction, which describes the interaction between quarks, mediated by the gluons.
The remarkable feature of QCD is that quarks do not exist as isolated particles, but are confined into hadrons.
I am interested in what happens if nuclear matter is heated up to temperatures relevant shortly after the big bang,
or compressed to densities one finds in neutron stars.

It has been found that a qualitatively new state of matter exists, the quark gluon plasma.
The lattice group at Bielefeld university aims to figure out whether there is a true phase transition in the phase diagram of QCD.
The only method available to answer this and related questions are Monte Carlo simulations.


Within the former Emmy-Noether Project "Lattice QCD at strong coupling" and within the subproject "Lattice QCD at non-vanishing density" of the CRC-TR 211 we aim to tackle this problem via strong coupling expansions
combined with Monte Carlo simulations, such that the QCD phase diagram can be studied in the plane of baryon chemical potential and temperature.

Note: Bachelor and Master students have the opportunity to write a thesis within this group. Please contact me.

I am also interested in philosophy of science, philsophy of physics and epistemology, and I am a proponent of structural realism.