Ph.D. and Integrated Ph.D. programs in physics

IMSc invites applications for its PhD and Integrated PhD programmes in Theoretical Physics starting in August 2025. Candidates intending to apply for either of the programmes are requested to visit this page regularly for updates.

Applicants for the Ph.D. program should have completed a masters' degree in physics by the time they join the program.

Applicants for the Integrated Ph.D. (IPhD) program should have completed a bachelor's degree in physics or a B.E./B.Tech degree by the time they join the program.

ADMISSIONS 2025 (Poster)

Selection interviews (tentative):

Interviews for admission to the physics Ph.D. and Integrated Ph.D. programs at IMSc, to be held in-person.
First Round: Completed.
Second Round: Week starting 2nd June, 2025.

Opening of application portal -- timelines:

First Round: Completed. Physics JRF Interview Results

Second Round: Open from 12^th May (12:00 noon) to 20^th May (23:59 hrs) 2025: Apply here.
> Qualifying examinations:
- for PhD candidates : GATE (2023, 2024, 2025), CSIR (June 2024, Dec. 2025), and TIFR Entrance Exam* (Dec. 2024).
- for IPhD candidates : GATE (2023, 2024, 2025), CSIR (June 2024, Dec. 2025), TIFR Entrance Exam* (Dec. 2024), and JAM (Feb 2025).
> Candidates who have appeared for interviews in the first round are not eligible to apply in this round.
* Candidates applying with TIFR Entrance Exam results may upload a copy of the email they have received from TIFR for interview. In the slot for rank in the qualifying exam, these candidates are requested to fill the number 100.
Second round screened lists
IPhd screened list s

Note: Receipt of a complete application before the deadline does not guarantee an interview spot. Based on the applications we receive, we will shortlist candidates for the in-person interview; shortlist to be announced soon after last date of applications.

This page was last updated on 09/05/2025. Any further updates or changes to the schedule would be notified here. Please keep checking this website regularly.

Theoretical Physics Events

Jun 04
09:00-18:00

Workshop by Prof. Sitabhra Sinha | IMSc

Workshop by Prof. Sitabhra Sinha

Conference | E C G Sudarshan Hall

Jun 05
10:00-17:00

TN Academy of Science Event

Conference | Ramanujan Auditorium

Jun 05
11:30-13:00

Siddharth Prabhu | CMI

Physics Seminar | Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall

Jun 06
11:00-13:00

Rakesh Dora | IMSc


	Two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) in a strong magnetic field host a rich variety of interacting ground states, including the celebrated fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE), Wigner crystals (WC), and bubble and stripe phases. Since the discovery of the quantum Hall (QH) effect in GaAs-based 2DES nearly four decades ago, the field has remained an active area of research. Advances in the quality of GaAs heterostructures, along with the emergence of new platforms such as graphene heterostructures and ZnO-based 2DES, have further broadened the landscape of quantum Hall physics, unveiling novel correlated phases. This thesis presents a study of various interacting phases in the QH regime. Most of the prominent FQHE states of electrons in the lowest Landau level (LLL) are conveniently described in terms of non-interacting emergent topological particles known as composite fermions (CFs), with a few exceptions, such as the recently observed FQHE state at Landau level (LL) filling $4/13$ in graphene. Using the parton framework, which generalizes the CF theory, we propose a ground state wave function for the unconventional FQHE state at $4/13$ and compute its low-lying neutral excitations, unveiling the state’s microscopic structure. We further elucidate the topological properties of the state, including its elementary fractional charges and their Abelian braiding statistics, the number of chiral gapless edge modes, and the degeneracy of the ground state on a genus $g-$surface, among other characteristics. The energy gap to neutral excitations determines the stability of an FQHE state. Earlier calculations of neutral excitations based on the single-mode approximation (SMA) and the composite fermion exciton (CFE) approach suggested that for non-Laughlin primary Jain states at fillings $n/(2n{\pm}1)$ with $n{>}1$, the SMA gap does not provide an accurate description of neutral excitations at any wavelengths, unlike for Laughlin states where it is known to work for small to intermediate wave numbers. In contrast, recent numerical studies for small system sizes indicate that the long-wavelength SMA gap and CFE gap are approximately equal for these states. To resolve this apparent discrepancy, we compute the SMA gap on the sphere semi-analytically for large system sizes and demonstrate that it closely matches the CFE gap for non-Laughlin primary Jain states in the long-wavelength limit. In doing so, we derive a closed algebra of LLL-projected density operators on the sphere, analogous to the Girvin-MacDonald-Platzman algebra in planar geometry. Additionally, we revisit the earlier SMA gap calculations, identify the origin of the long-wavelength discrepancy, and propose a suitable modification to correct it. Graphene heterostructures provide a versatile platform for tuning the electronic band structure by varying the number of stacked graphene layers, which, in turn, modifies the LL eigenstate structure. The interaction energy of FQHE liquids and electron solids, such as WC and bubble phases, depends sensitively on the form of LL eigenstates, influencing their stability within a given LL. This motivates us to investigate the stability phase diagram of electron solid phases in several LLs of bilayer and trilayer graphene. Additionally, we study the competition between electron solids and Laughlin FQHE liquids to map out their relative stability in different LLs.

Thesis Defence | Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall

Jun 11
15:30-16:45

Nihar Ranjan Sahoo | IISER Tirupati

Physics Colloquium | Alladi Ramakrishnan Hall

Ph.D. and Integrated Ph.D. programs in physics

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	Consider any isolated region of the universe as our object of study. If we wish to predict the future of this region and postdict its past, we might expect that we will need to make observations everywhere in this region. However, recently, we have come to suspect a radical departure from this expectation. In this talk, I will provide an accessible introduction to the idea that all the information in any such region could be available to observers who are only on its boundary. Dynamical information about interactions occurring in the region is also seen to be encoded in the boundary correlators. We describe our progress towards making the computation of such correlators directly in position space tractable. We find that all correlators can be cast as if they were derived from the more symmetric conformal field theories. This representation provides a new approach to computing observables for non-gravitational processes too, such as those regularly probed in colliders. We are also led to a novel principle that organizes the usual approach to such computations via momentum space Feynman diagrams.


	In the first few microseconds after the Big Bang, the universe was filled with an extremely hot and dense phase of QCD matter known as the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP). This primordial state of matter is now recreated in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and the LHC. When high-energy quarks or gluons—collectively known as partons—traverse the QGP, they interact with the medium before fragmenting into collimated sprays of hadrons, known as jets. The phenomenon of jet quenching, referring to the energy loss and modification of jets due to these interactions, is a key signature of QGP formation. Recent results from the STAR experiment provide new insights into jet-medium interactions in heavy-ion collisions. In this talk, I will highlight these observations, discuss their implications for our understanding of QCD under extreme conditions, and explore open questions and future directions related to jet quenching and the in-medium evolution of parton.

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Ph.D. and Integrated Ph.D. programs in physics