Research at CNRS Physics focuses on the study of matter, radiation and the fundamental laws which govern the physical world. Physics has thematic diversity and seeks to reveal the main principles underlying the properties and behavior of objects, however complex these may be. Its approach also very much influences and nourishes research in other disciplines.
Research in physics focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying the observable phenomena of matter and radiation and of their interactions. To achieve their goals, the CNRS Physics' teams carry out experiments, conduct theoretical work, model and numerically simulate phenomena. They design the instruments and tools necessary for their research and rely on the development of infrastructures and technological platforms, in particular very large research infrastructures (TGIRs), and work collectively to advance knowledge.
CNRS Physics' research takes place within a broad disciplinary field that covers fundamental interactions, electromagnetism, atoms, molecules, complex organized or disorganized matter, as well as optics. To carry out its primary mission of broadening the field of knowledge in its discipline, the INP focuses on six major strategic research areas:
CNRS Physics' research fields come within the scope of the disciplinary sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 11, and interdisciplinary committee 54, as defined by the French National Committee for Scientific Research (CoNRS). These are steered by the INP, with the exception of section 11 which CNRS Physics jointly steers.
The foundations of CNRS Physics' work lie in understanding the world around us. CNRS Physics develops constantly evolving disciplines which cover broad fields, ranging from elementary to complex phenomena. Its research overlaps with those of engineering, chemistry, biology, mathematics and sometimes the humanities and the social sciences. This can be seen in its many interfaces and projects run in synergy with other CNRS Institutes - with CNRS Nuclear and Particle Physics, CNRS Earth Sciences and Astronomy and CNRS Engineering and Systems Sciences for particle physics, cosmology, astrophysics and engineering, and also CNRS Mathematical Sciences, CNRS Chemistry and CNRS Biological Sciences. These links involve not only instruments and methods associated with theoretical or experimental approaches, but also software developed by physicists and transcribed or adapted for use in other fields of research.
The study and advanced characterization of matter and of all manifestations of its interactions, including the various levels and scales at which they operate, set many challenges for researchers. These systems include isolated atoms and molecules, plasmas, gases, liquids, amorphous or crystalline solids and biological systems. The tools developed, to help knowledge progress and to inspire new technologies, need to be particularly effective. Their aim is also to help answer questions posed by other disciplines (chemistry, biology, earth sciences, astrophysics, cosmology, engineering) through collaborations. These high-performance tools arise from a wide variety of instrumental developments, and range from laboratory tools to shared equipment (nanotechnology centers, electron microscopes, NMR, radiation sources), including large and very large research infrastructures. Networks of research platforms and infrastructures enable researchers to organize their work at the regional, national and European levels. The expensive advanced instruments developed and implemented in these networks are open to the scientific community via project calls and program committees suitable to each type of instrument. European-level organization and management strengthens the dynamics of international exchanges and the quality of instrument development.
Together with the other CNRS institutes and its partners outside the organization, the CNRS Physics participates actively in the steering bodies of many research infrastructures (IRs) and very large research infrastructures (TGIRs).
In France
In Europe
The research teams of CNRS Physics also work on - and use - supercomputers at national facilities such the Institute for Development and Resources in Intensive Scientific Computing (IDRIS) in Orsay, the Très Grand Centre de Calcul (TGCC) in Bruyère-le-Châtel, the Centre Informatique National de l’Enseignement Supérieur (CINES) in Montpellier, as well as at the international facilities managed by PRACE, but also on smaller computers in mid-sized, regional facilities.
Physics, as a fundamental science, requires long-term research that can lead to major discoveries and transform our understanding of the world. It also holds the potential to provide solutions to the major challenges our society faces.
In the spring of 2022, CNRS Physics launched its forward-looking planning initiative. Over 1,000 physicists worked together to identify the key topics that will drive the physics research of tomorrow.
This collective effort led to the publication of an initial document, CNRS Physics Forward-Looking Perspectives, released in February 2024.
Building on this document, on June 18, CNRS Physics published its 2024 Strategic Plan, marking a first step in implementing specific actions to help realize the high-impact themes identified through the foresight exercise.
This strategic plan was presented to Sylvie Retailleau, Minister of Higher Education and Research, following the event “Physics: A Science at the Heart of Societal Challenges”, held at the French Senate on June 18, in the presence of scientists and members of Parliament.
Physics Toward 2030
Fundamental Research and Societal Impact
June 2024
Drawing on the work from each foresight workshop and contributions from the Institute’s Scientific Council, CNRS Physics has identified high-potential-impact themes that will receive special attention in the coming years. This strategy document explicitly identifies these challenges, marking CNRS Physics’ first commitment to the scientific community.
A scientific policy cannot be implemented without financial, human, and operational resources. Even in a financially constrained environment, CNRS Physics is committed to enabling the development of these high-impact themes. This strategy outlines two sets of actions: specific actions already launched in 2023–2024 and those planned for 2024–2025 to be deployed over the next twelve months.
In partnership with the OPECST (Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices), CNRS organized, for the first time, a symposium at the French Senate attended by scientists and members of Parliament, during which it detailed its strategy for positioning physics research as a crucial tool for supporting ongoing societal transitions.
A first roundtable allowed business leaders to clarify their relationships with academic laboratories.
Three brief presentations showcased discoveries made in academic physics laboratories with potentially major impacts in quantum technologies, health, and climate.
The second roundtable focused on the research community’s reflection on its own practices.
February 2024
The primary goal of the Foresight initiative was to identify emerging questions and themes that will lead to the major transformations of tomorrow.
This document is the result of an extensive collective intelligence effort. Twelve workshops were organized, and over a thousand people contributed to an initial document that was discussed and critically examined during the Foresight Days held on September 12–13, 2023. Based on this text and the ensuing discussions, CNRS Physics produced this final report, which represents the shared vision of scientific foresight.
The first part addresses emerging scientific themes with the main goal of advancing knowledge. Eight themes were identified, ranging from advanced electronics and photonics to new challenges in numerical methods.
The second part focuses on major societal challenges highlighted by French and European public policy—physics for health, physics for climate and energy, physics for the environment and food, and physics for quantum technologies.
A third section of the report aims to highlight cross-cutting issues that affect all of physics, and sometimes go beyond it: gender parity and diversity, scientific culture in physics, and consideration of environmental crises.
A presentation symposium for the entire community was held online on 12-13 September 2023. After a brief presentation of the foresight work carried out by the working groups, the community commented on and asked questions about all the texts that the various workshops had passed on to their contributors.
CNRS Physics supports research teams in its laboratories by backing the development of their research projects through two specific calls for projects: Emergence and Tremplin.
Find out about the 62 winning projects from the Tremplin and Émergence calls for
In order to support the development of research projects by individuals from units under the primary responsibility of CNRS Physics, the Emergence@Physique call is renewed each year.
Its purpose is to help researchers who were recruited three to five years ago to develop a new project in which they will be the main drivers. This call is open to CRCN (Chargés de Recherche CNRS) or MCF (Maîtres de Conférences), or equivalent, working in units primarily under CNRS Physique, and to CRCNs from sections 02, 03, 04, and 05 assigned to units under CNRS Physics' secondary responsibility.
Three types of support are available:
YEAR | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
SUCCES RATE | 72% | 80% | 67% | 92% |
To further strengthen its disciplinary themes, CNRS Physics has renewed the Tremplin@Physique call for projects each year.
This funding aims to help overcome scientific and/or technological obstacles, enabling researchers to obtain substantial follow-up funding in the short term from a variety of sources (ERC, Horizon Europe, ANR, etc.).
A maximum of €25,000 per project may be granted. This budget may be used to finance equipment, operational costs, and travel to establish collaborations with other French or international research laboratories.
YEAR | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
SUCCES RATE | 66% | 65% | 61% | 62% |
| Number of funded projects | 23 | 33 | 38 | 51 |
The Research Networks (GDR) bring together and mobilize research teams from various disciplines, from different CNRS institutes, as well as academic or industrial stakeholders, around original or emerging scientific themes. This page lists the GDRs led by CNRS Physics and outlines their research areas.
A CNRS Research Networks (GDR) connects and unites a scientific community around an emerging, original theme. CNRS Physics initiates GDRs focused on scientific topics that address current fundamental or societal issues. These topics may fall within the core business but can also involve interfaces between physics and other scientific fields. In this respect, transdisciplinary GDR led by CNRS Physics are supported in collaboration with other relevant CNRS institutes.
The main missions of a GDR are to foster a thematic, often multidisciplinary, community; to encourage free access to new partners; to promote collaboration and exchange among scientists within the network of participating laboratories; and to establish scientific projects at national, European, or international levels. Expanding GDR communities to include industrial stakeholders—for instance, through the creation of a "partners' club"—enables mutual enrichment and the identification of shared research topics.
This page presents, in the form of summary sheets, the objectives of each Research Network led CNRS Physics. Beyond describing their research focuses, each summary offers the opportunity for new partners—possibly from other disciplinary fields or non-academic sectors—to contact the GDR and join their mailing lists.
The mission of the Architecture and dynamics of the nucleus and genomes (ADN&G) research network is to bring together the French community involved in the study of nuclear organisation and interested in physical modelling. At the interface of physics and biology, the GDR ADN&G aims to understand the functional role of the organisation in physiological processes and associated pathologies by encouraging the emergence of of an integrated approach of the architecture of chromosomes and their dynamics on different size and time scales.
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RESEACH TOPICS
COMMUNITY
The mission of the Hardware implementations of natural calculation (BioComp) research network is to bring
together and structure the French community working on the realisation of bio-inspired hardware systems. BioComp
aims both to understand the mechanisms at work in biological systems in order to create new types of chips based on
natural computation, and to build hybrid hardware architectures in order to better understand biology.
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THÉMATIQUES
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The mission of the Chalcogenide materials: research, development and innovation (CHALCO) research network is to bring together the french community working at the forefront of science/technology around chalcogenide materials in a large variety of multidisciplinary fields. The CHALCO research group aims at structuring this community, on the french national level, to empower the different players to collaborate and interact beyond their own native field. This will be made possible by a vertical netting from fundamental research to industrial applications, and a transverse netting in the 4 identified fields: memories/neuromorphic, optical/photonic, thermal/energetic and spin-orbitronics. Linking all the knowledge/research operators from the fundamental research up to the industrial production will enable the emergence of new synergies in all the deep tech fields where chalcogenide materials are involved.
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The assignment of the Science with coherent X-rays at 3rd and 4th generation synchrotron sources (CohereX) research network is to gather the French community using coherent X-ray techniques for their research that spans from biological systems over cultural heritage materials and functional materials to the electronic and magnetic structure and dynamics of matter. CohereX aims to share the know-how and to foster the development of novel innovative studies and data analysis approaches, in particular, with respect to the unique opportunities offered at upgraded extremely brilliant synchrotron sources.
*La science avec les rayons X cohérents dans les sources synchrotron de 3ème et 4ème génération
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The mission of the research network Control of waves in complex media (COMPLEXE) is to gather the French community involved in both fundamental and applied research in the field of the physics of waves in complex media. COMPLEXE aims to foster exchanges between opticians, acousticians, cold-atom physicists and seismologists, and focuses on fundamental aspects of the propagation of waves as well as on the development of novel methods for control and imaging of waves within complex media.
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The mission of Nonlinear effects in optical fibers and in integrated optics (ELIOS) research network is to bring together the French academic community working on nonlinear effects in waveguides in the broad sense, and to stimulate relations with French manufacturers.
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The mission of Isolated and interacting molecular assemblies (EMIE) research network is to bring together the French community of physicists and chemists working on molecular systems, and covering a wide range of size and complexity. The objects under scrutiny are either isolated in the gas phase or surrounded by a controlled environment. Building upon fundamental aspects of experimental and theoretical molecular physics, our community is naturally inclined to benefit from interactions with other disciplines (chemistry, biology) and to extend its fields of applications to other scientific domains with timely societal impacts (biology, atmosphere).
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The Quantum gases (GAZ QUANTIQUES) research network gathers this community in a broad sense merging the communities interested in quantum fluids of light and in ultra-cold atoms. These research domains share the same type of scientific questions often originating from condensed-matter physics. They also share a common quantum simulation approach using well controlled and characterized artificial systems. Each experimental system brings complementary advantages. The whole domain is characterized by a strong link between theories and experiments. The GDR will permit discussions and training about both experimental and theoretical novel techniques and will help
maintaining the French community at the forefront of research.
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The van der Waals interaction now allows to assemble materials of different nature and dimensionality, 2D (2D materials), 1D (nanotubes, nanowires), 3D (more or less thin films) or 0D (quantum dots, molecules) in the form of heterostructures. Van der Waals heterostructures of low-dimensionality materials (HoWDi) research network brings together teams that explore the elaboration of these heterostructures as well as their novel physical properties, which are inherited from the constituent materials or generated by interface or proximity effects.
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The Halide Perovskites (HPERO) research network is dedicated to halide perovskites. It offers a multidisciplinary approach mixing fundamental and applied aspects, so as to create a synergy capable of developing new concepts as well as opening new potentials in terms of applications.
* Pérovskites halogénées
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The mission and main objective of the Artificial intelligence in materials science (IAMAT) research network is to bring together the many teams and different communities interested in artificial intelligence approaches in theoretical and experimental materials science. The scientific topics cover the continuum from AI developments to concrete applications in materials science. The key goals are to promote educational exchanges between communities, particularly through transverse actions, and to foster new inspirations and collaborations.
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The mission of the Interaction, disorder, elasticity (IDE) research network is to lead to collaborations whose common point is the study of phenomena where heterogeneities play an essential role – both at the theoretical and experimental level – and well described by the framework of disordered elastic systems. The purpose of the GDR is to promote exchanges between communities working on systems of very different nature or scales, although described within this same framework, in order to pool the varied expertise on open questions and initiate new research themes.
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The mission of the Interfacial Soft Matter (ISM) research network is to emphasize and understand the structure and dynamics of thermally dominated systems near the boundary between a liquid and another phase. ISM provides a forum for the French and international communities - from physics, chemistry and engineering backgrounds and using a diverse set of experimental, theoretical and computational tools - studying the domain to congregate and exchange ideas.
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The mission of the High-energy lasers and plasmas under extreme conditions (LEPICE-HDE) research network is to bring together the French community working on high energy density (HED) physics related to high energy lasers. Its role is to strenghten the exchange between the numerous research teams with the aim of developing new experimental and diagnostic tools, as well as improving the modelling capabilities for HED physics in the frame of laser-generated plasmas.
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The mission of the GDR Epitaxial materials (MATÉPI) is to bring together the French community working on the growth, characterization and application of epitaxial systems. It aims to promote epitaxy as a discipline of its own and for others, an academic discipline with its own challenges, with strong industrial and economic implications. This GDR aims to foster a deeper understanding of non-equilibrium effects in growth mechanisms, explore the link between the quality of epitaxy at ultimate scales and the structures and properties of epitaxial devices, delve deeper into the functionalization of materials, as well as the industrial applications of epitaxy.
Several crucial issues are addressed by this GDR: highlighting and disseminating the advances made by the epitaxy community, disseminating knowledge, bringing together different groups to stimulate new collaborations and interactions between different communities (semiconductors, oxides, 2D materials, metallic materials...), but also between theory/experiment, fundamental/applied, academic/industrial, etc. As epitaxy is at the heart of technological innovation, the attention paid to its development is closely linked to industrial ambition and economic sovereignty.
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THEMATICS
o Modeling and prediction
o Epitaxy under strong interactions
o Epitaxy under weak interactions (van der Waals)
o Instrumental developments and ex- and in-situ characterizations
o Epitaxy of nanostructures and new systems
o Coupling epitaxy/properties
o Ultimate properties and quantum engineering
o Functionalization of materials
o Industrial issues: from material to device
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La mission du GDR Optomécanique et nanomécanique quantiques (MecaQ) est de rassembler la communauté française dont les activités de recherche sont liées à la nanomécanique et à l’optomécanique, notamment dans le régime où les fluctuations quantiques jouent un rôle important. La métrologie, les mesures ultrasensibles ou l’information quantique font partie des sujets de recherche du GDR MecaQ.
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La mission du GDR Matériaux, états électroniques, interactions et couplages non-conventionnels (MEETICC) est de rassembler la communauté française de scientifiques expérimentateurs/expérimentatrices et théoriciens/théoriciennes, chimistes et physiciens/physiciennes, qui étudie les matériaux présentant des états électroniques et des couplages non-conventionnels. Contrôlées, les propriétés remarquables de systèmes tels que les multiferroïques ou les isolants topologiques pourraient conduire à des ruptures dans le domaine de l’énergie et des technologies de l’information.
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The mission of the Mesoscopic quantum physics (MESO) research network is to bring together the French community whose activities are focused on coherent electronic transport in conductors of all sizes and types (hybrid systems, topological insulators, graphene, etc.). Recent theoretical and experimental developments focus on the manipulation of the quantum states of such systems, and on very large bandwidth experiments.
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The mission of the Nanosciences with near-field microscopy under ultra-high vacuum (NS-CPU) research network is to bring together the French community whose “nanoscience” research activities are based on scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques operating under ultra-high vacuum (UHV). Indeed, a typical phenomenon in nanoscience results from a physical, chemical, magnetic, mechanical or optical fact that must be measured by individual and direct observations with spatial precision of the order of a picometre.
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The mission of the Nanoscale gold and gold nanoparticles (Or-nano) research group is to initiate and support collaborations of its researchers on topics related to gold nanoparticles, nanoscale gold films or gold-based complexes. The GDR organises two series of regular events in France: the Or-nano conferences which are of multidisciplinary nature and the Or-nano Discussions which aim to deal in depth with a hot topic. Particular support is offered to doctoral students, notably through exchange grants between affiliated labs to participate in scientific events. Or-nano strongly encourages its members to carry out outreach activities in order to make the general public aware of the
research conducted in its laboratories. Since its creation in 2006, Or-nano has confirmed its dynamism by regularly evolving its topics, and thus aims to actively contribute to the relevance of French research on the world stage.
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The mission of the GDR Soft Physics for Hard Materials (SoPHy) is to bring together the French community involved in the study of hard materials obtained from soft precursors. This is the case for a wide range of materials such as cement, porous supports for catalysis, and biologically-inspired or -derived materials such as mother-of-pearl or collagen-based composites involving biomineralization processes. This GDR covers all the stages involved in synthesizing and obtaining hard materials, involving complex physical processes associated with the application of internal stimuli (e.g. ice templating, etc.) or external stimuli (e.g. mechanical shearing, high-power ultrasound, etc.) during the shaping of the soft precursor. This GDR will examine the possibility of playing on the structural, mechanical or functional properties of these precursors to better control their final properties in the hardened state.
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The Theoretical Challenges for Climate Sciences (Théorie & Climat) gathers the community of theoreticians: physicists, climatologists, oceanographers, atmospheric scientists, mathematicians, computer scientists, numerical scientists, machine learners, who work on climate sciences. Its aim is to develop innovative theoretical and numerical tools to overcome current scientific gaps. Approaches in statistical physics, turbulence modelling, mathematics and machine learning will help to deepen the understanding of fundamental mechanisms, improve models, and better predict extreme climate events to reduce uncertainties about the impacts of climate changes. This GDR has a strong interdisciplinary vocation and involves researchers from several CNRS institutes, many other French scientific organizations, and private companies.
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The mission of the GDR Quantum technologies (TeQ) is to bring together the multidisciplinary French community whose research activities cover the broad spectrum of quantum technologies, from physics to computer science, mathematics and chemistry. This GDR encompasses all the different types of physical support for quantum information, such as photons, trapped atoms and ions, quantum boxes and point defects in the solid state, superconducting circuits, hybrid quantum systems... In particular, its scientific scope combines theoretical and experimental developments, ranging from highly exploratory aspects to engineering aspects on mature technologies.
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The Ultrafast Phenomena (UP) research network is dedicated to the study of all phases of matter (gas phase, solid, nanometric, liquid and plasma) at ultrafast timescales (attosecond, femtosecond and picosecond). The French community of ultrafast science is very strong and particularly recognized at the international level. This is due to its high-level experimental and theoretical capabilities, as well as highly recognized laser companies. This research field is strongly expanding because of the development of new laser technologies (at the laboratory scale or at large scale facilities such as FEL or ELI) and computational capabilities, which allows addressing new questions, from the most fundamental (quantum coherence) to applications (optimization of smart materials). The mission of the GDR UP is to stimulate the structuration of our community and to provide an analysis of the state-of-the-art and prospects of our research field.
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The mission of Science with XFELs (XFELs) research network is to bring the French community of involved researchers in studies using X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) emitting in the X-ray domain. At the interface of physics, chemistry and biology, the XFEL GDR aims at sharing know-how and at maintaining the community aware on the fast evolution of the possibilities provided by this kind of installation.
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