Quantum Field Theory and Gravitational Theory constitute the main foci of research at the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Jena.

The Theory of Quantum Fields is of great importance for gaining deeper insight into the fundamental laws of nature and has an increasing impact on novel applications. Quantum fields successfully describe the fundamental interactions in elementary particle physics and are of utmost importance for theories beyond the standard model. At the same time the theory of quantum fields plays an increasingly important role in micro- and nano-technology and is an indispensable tool to study phase transitions in many-body systems. On large scales the universal gravitational force described by the Gravitational Field dominates. Through the burgeoning field of gravitational wave astronomy with its far reaching implications for astrophysics and cosmology, a deeper knowledge of realistic solutions of the Einstein field equations is urgently needed.