The Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology at the University of Augsburg can draw a positive balance: Its Master's degree courses in Mathematics and Physics have achieved excellent results in the new CHE University Ranking 2024. This nationwide comparison of degree courses and study conditions was published by the Center for Higher Education Development (CHE) in mid-December.

With the help of funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG), a new Centre for Electron Microscopy is being established at the Institute of Physics. The aim is to create an organisational infrastructure that enables effective use of cutting-edge equipment by researchers at other institutes within the university as well as by external research institutes.

The air is so thin at an atmospheric altitude of around 80 to 120 kilometres above the Earth that it is often described as the edge of space. This zone has enormous importance for both the flight of satellites and for the Earth¡¯s climate. The University of Augsburg and Bern together with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) now want to research this area at the edge of space.

Due to a new method, artificial neural networks, as used in machine learning, will be able to be trained quicker so as to be able to solve complex problems in quantum mechanics. For example, previously unexplained properties of a special state of matter, the quantum spin liquid, can be calculated, something that has not been possible with any previous method to date. This has been made possible by a new optimisation method developed by the Institute of Physics.

The University of Augsburg is delighted to have received the highest rating for five of its bachelor¡¯s degree programmes in the CHE University Ranking 2024. The five degree programmes to receive a top rating were geography, computer science, mathematics, physics, and social sciences, with the general study conditions and supervision by teaching staff highly commended. Conducted by the Centre for Higher Education (CHE), the ranking provides a nationwide comparison of degree programmes and study conditions. It was published in May. Applications to the University of Augsburg for the winter semester 2024/25 are possible until the 15th of July.

Since the beginning of April, an interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) has been researching the first molecular steps that led to the development of life on Earth. The large-scale project based at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit?t in Munich (LMU) in cooperation with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is funded to the tune of €2 million by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The Institute of Physics at the University of Augsburg is also involved through a sub-project.

Prof. Dieter Vollhardt was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Warsaw last week in recognition of his scientific achievements and longstanding collaboration with theoretical physicists at the University of Warsaw.

Physicists from the University of Augsburg succeeded to distinguish chiral orders with similar magnetization but opposite sense of rotation through electrical measurements at low temperatures. This is relevant for fundamental research on complex magnets and with respect to possible applications for magnetic data storage. The results were published in the renowned journal Nature Physics.

Dr Aisha Aqeel has been awarded funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the development of a Emmy Noether Junior Research Group on ¡°Spintronics with chiral helimagnetic insulators¡± at the University of Augsburg. Aqeel and her research team will focus on the development of unconventional magnetic systems, referred to as helimagnets, and the optimisation of these systems for energy efficient spintronic applications.

Researchers at the University of Augsburg and the University of Vienna have discovered co-existing magnetic skyrmions and antiskyrmions of arbitrary topological charge at room temperature in magnetic Co/Ni multilayer thin films. Their findings have been published in the renowned journal Nature Physics and open up the possibility for a new paradigm in skyrmionics research. The discovery of novel spin objects with arbitrary topological charge promises to contribute to advances in fundamental and applied research, particularly through their application in information storage devices.

Researchers at the Universities of Augsburg and Groningen have been able to show that the standard picture of magnetisation reversal needs to be expanded. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications and not only enrich basic research, but also open up new perspectives for components in the electronics of the future.