The table below lists many of the fields and subfields of physics along with the theories and concepts they employ.
| Field |
Subfields |
Major theories |
Concepts |
| Astrophysics |
Cosmology, Gravitation physics, High-energy astrophysics, Planetary astrophysics, Plasma physics, Space physics, Stellar astrophysics |
Big Bang, Lambda-CDM model, Cosmic inflation, General relativity, Newton's law of universal gravitation |
Black hole, Cosmic background radiation, Cosmic string, Cosmos, Dark energy, Dark matter, Galaxy, Gravity, Gravitational radiation, Gravitational singularity, Planet, Solar system, Star, Supernova, Universe |
| Atomic, molecular, and optical physics |
Atomic physics, Molecular physics, Atomic and Molecular astrophysics, Chemical physics, Optics, Photonics |
Quantum optics, Quantum chemistry, Quantum information science |
Photon, Atom, Molecule, Diffraction, Electromagnetic radiation, Laser, Polarization, Spectral line, Casimir effect |
| Particle physics |
Nuclear physics, Nuclear astrophysics, Particle astrophysics, Particle physics phenomenology |
Standard Model, Quantum field theory, Quantum electrodynamics, Quantum chromodynamics, Electroweak theory, Effective field theory, Lattice field theory, Lattice gauge theory, Gauge theory, Supersymmetry, Grand unification theory, Superstring theory, M-theory |
Fundamental force (gravitational, electromagnetic, weak, strong), Elementary particle, Spin, Antimatter, Spontaneous symmetry breaking, Neutrino oscillation, Seesaw mechanism, Brane, String, Quantum gravity, Theory of everything, Vacuum energy |
| Condensed matter physics |
Solid state physics, High pressure physics, Low-temperature physics, Surface Physics,Nanoscale and Mesoscopic physics, Polymer physics |
BCS theory, Bloch wave, Fermi gas, Fermi liquid, Many-body theory, Density functional theory |
Phases (gas, liquid, solid, Bose-Einstein condensate, superconductor, superfluid), Electrical conduction, Magnetism, Self-organization, Spin, Spontaneous symmetry breaking |
