The Arnold Sommerfeld Center for Theoretical Physics (ASC) was founded on November 5, 2004 and inaugurated on January 19, 2005.

The Arnold Sommerfeld Center (ASC) is an international center for theoretical physics. Its purpose is to bring together scientists from all over the world and from all fields of theoretical physics, and to offer them an environment inducive to interactive research by both resident and visiting junior and senior scientists.

In addition, the ASC offers, much in the spirit and tradition of Arnold Sommerfeld, a large set of advanced graduate courses, seminars and workshops. Visiting scientists play a major role in these activities by contributing with teaching and by giving lectures on topics of their research interests. In this way the ASC not only contributes to the internationalization of physics education and to the education of outstanding young scientists, but also promotes scientific cooperation.

The ASC has significantly sharpened the national and international profile of the Ludwig-Maximilians- University (LMU) as a center of excellence in theoretical physics. The ASC is supported by the internationally recognized research theory groups at the LMU, whose current research focuses on cosmology and astrophysics, elementary particle physics, mathematical physics and string theory, solid state physics and nanophysics, statistical physics and biophysics, computational physics, quantum optics and quantum information.

• Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München