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Research facility · Johannesburg · South Africa

National Institute for Theoretical Physics

In research, National Institute for Theoretical Physics stands highest in Physical Sciences (#2,003 of 10,670 worldwide) and Physics and Astronomy (#441 of 1,417 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics and Physics and Astronomy (Nuclear and High Energy Physics is 30.7× its share of world research).

nithep.ac.za/home.htmlROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#6,471
of 22,385 · #4,631 all time
Rank in South Africa
#36
of 75
Research works
582
▲ 124% vs 2018-21
Citations
12k
20.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
10.5%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
1.05×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
74%
world 40%
International
51%
world 18%
National Institute for Theoretical Physics

What is National Institute for Theoretical Physics known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Physical SciencesDomain #2,003 of 10,670 9.7%168 #1782
Physics and AstronomyField #441 of 1,417 11.7%75 #479

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where National Institute for Theoretical Physics sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does National Institute for Theoretical Physics work in?

In 2022-now, 83% of research at National Institute for Theoretical Physics is in Physical Sciences, 8% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Physics and Astronomy (37%), Computer Science (14%), Mathematics (9%). It does 2.1× the world's share of Physical Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 198 fractional works · 83.5% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 88 fractional works · 37.0% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 33 fractional works · 14.1% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 23 fractional works · 9.7% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 14 fractional works · 6.0% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 13 fractional works · 5.4% of its workCondensed Matter Physics: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workInstrumentation: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workRadiation: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Science: 34 fractional works · 14.5% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 19 fractional works · 8.0% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 10 fractional works · 4.0% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workSignal Processing: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workInformation Systems: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMathematics: 22 fractional works · 9.1% of its workGeometry and Topology: 5 fractional works · 2.1% of its workAlgebra and Number Theory: 4 fractional works · 1.8% of its workMathematical Physics: 4 fractional works · 1.6% of its workDiscrete Mathematics and Combinatorics: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workApplied Mathematics: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workStatistics and Probability: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workModeling and Simulation: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workNumerical Analysis: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEngineering: 19 fractional works · 7.8% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 9 fractional works · 3.8% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workAerospace Engineering: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workMechanical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputational Mechanics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMechanics of Materials: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workMaterials Science: 16 fractional works · 6.6% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 12 fractional works · 4.9% of its workElectronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEnvironmental Science: 11 fractional works · 4.8% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 4 fractional works · 1.5% of its workEcology: 3 fractional works · 1.1% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEcological Modeling: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workWater Science and Technology: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 4 fractional works · 1.5% of its workAtmospheric Science: 2 fractional works · 0.6% of its workOceanography: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workChemistry: 2 fractional works · 1.0% of its workSpectroscopy: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEnergy: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.0% of its workChemical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCatalysis: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 19 fractional works · 8.0% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 9 fractional works · 3.9% of its workFinance: 5 fractional works · 2.2% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 4 fractional works · 1.5% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDecision Sciences: 3 fractional works · 1.4% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 3 fractional works · 1.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 3 fractional works · 1.2% of its workAccounting: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workTourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workSocial Sciences: 2 fractional works · 0.9% of its workLaw: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSociology and Political Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArts and Humanities: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 14 fractional works · 5.8% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 8 fractional works · 3.2% of its workMolecular Biology: 5 fractional works · 1.9% of its workGenetics: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workBiophysics: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 4 fractional works · 1.9% of its workPlant Science: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSoil Science: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInsect Science: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workCellular and Molecular Neuroscience: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 7 fractional works · 2.8% of its workMedicine: 6 fractional works · 2.7% of its workInfectious Diseases: 2 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEpidemiology: 1 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth Professions: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKNationalInstitute for…237fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences6%Physical Sciences83%Health Sciences3%Social Sciences8%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 23 fields, with their numbers
    1. Physics and Astronomy8837.0%
    2. Computer Science3414.5%
    3. Mathematics229.1%
    4. Engineering197.8%
    5. Materials Science166.6%
    6. Environmental Science114.8%
    7. Earth and Planetary Sciences41.5%
    8. Chemistry21.0%
    9. Energy20.9%
    10. Chemical Engineering10.3%
    1. Economics, Econometrics and Finance93.9%
    2. Decision Sciences31.4%
    3. Business, Management and Accounting31.2%
    4. Social Sciences20.9%
    5. Arts and Humanities10.4%
    6. Psychology00.1%
    1. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology83.2%
    2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences41.9%
    3. Neuroscience10.4%
    4. Immunology and Microbiology00.2%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics00.2%
    1. Medicine62.7%
    2. Health Professions00.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does National Institute for Theoretical Physics specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Nuclear and High Energy Physics takes 30.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Nuclear and High Energy PhysicsSubfield · 22.9 works31×
  2. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 33.5 works27×
  3. Physics and AstronomyField · 87.7 works17×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.39× its world share, 4 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.60× its world share, 8 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.16× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.25× its world share, 1 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.43× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.74× its world share, 1 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.66× its world share, 2 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.86× its world share, 34 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.94× its world share, 4 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.94× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.52× its world share, 18 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.96× its world share, 11 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 1.89× its world share, 16 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 7.77× its world share, 22 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 16.64× its world share, 88 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.14× its world share, 6 worksMedicineArts and Humanities: 0.14× its world share, 1 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.37× its world share, 3 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.45× its world share, 3 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.83× its world share, 9 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.03× its world share, 0 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.07× its world share, 2 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Physics and Astronomy, 16.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 23 fields, with their numbers
  1. Physics and Astronomy16.64×88 works
  2. Mathematics7.77×22 works
  3. Materials Science1.89×16 works
  4. Computer Science1.86×34 works
  5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.83×9 works
  6. Decision Sciences1.45×3 works
  7. Environmental Science0.96×11 works
  8. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.94×4 works
  9. Energy0.94×2 works
  10. Chemical Engineering0.74×1 works
  11. Chemistry0.66×2 works
  12. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.60×8 works
  13. Engineering0.52×18 works
  14. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.43×0 works
  15. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.39×4 works
  16. Business, Management and Accounting0.37×3 works
  17. Neuroscience0.25×1 works
  18. Immunology and Microbiology0.16×0 works
  19. Medicine0.14×6 works
  20. Arts and Humanities0.14×1 works
  21. Social Sciences0.07×2 works
  22. Health Professions0.04×0 works
  23. Psychology0.03×0 works

Who are the top researchers at National Institute for Theoretical Physics?

Ranked on the quality score, Vishnu Jejjala, Arno Botha and Hendrik J. R. Van Zyl lead among researchers whose main affiliation is National Institute for Theoretical Physics.

  1. 1 Vishnu Jejjala South Africa · #796,157 worldwide 2.1k citations · 132 works
  2. 2 Arno Botha South Africa · #1,379,122 worldwide 24 citations · 20 works
  3. 3 Hendrik J. R. Van Zyl South Africa · #1,608,100 worldwide 345 citations · 56 works
  4. 4 Izak Snyman South Africa · #1,991,188 worldwide 744 citations · 52 works
  5. 5 Betony Adams South Africa · #2,242,032 worldwide 417 citations · 30 works
  6. 6 Yannick Mvondo-She South Africa · #3,388,937 worldwide 47 citations · 29 works
  7. 7 Anik Rudra South Africa · #3,634,994 worldwide 31 citations · 16 works
All ranked researchers at National Institute for Theoretical Physics

What are the most cited papers from National Institute for Theoretical Physics?

The most cited paper from National Institute for Theoretical Physics is "Detection of a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern in South Africa" (Houriiyah Tegally et al., 2021), with 1,837 citations. Next come "The physics of exceptional points" (1,478) and "An introduction to quantum machine learning" (1,338).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Detection of a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern in South Africa Houriiyah Tegally et al. · Nature Open access 9 Mar 2021 1,837
2 The physics of exceptional points W. D. Heiss · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical Open access 23 Oct 2012 1,478
3 An introduction to quantum machine learning Maria Schuld, Ilya Sinayskiy, Francesco Petruccione · Contemporary Physics Open access 15 Oct 2014 1,338
4 Emergence and rapid spread of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lineage with multiple spike mutations in South Africa Houriiyah Tegally et al. · medRxiv PreprintOpen access 22 Dec 2020 1,199
5 Mechanical properties of graphene and boronitrene R. C. Andrew, Refilwe Edwin Mapasha, Aniekan Magnus Ukpong et al. · Physical Review B 21 Mar 2012 1,150
All 58 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at National Institute for Theoretical Physics?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Black Holes, Quantum Gravity, Supernovae, General Relativity, Dark Energy, Cosmic Microwave Background, Cosmological Parameters and Quantum Entanglement.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Black Holes19▲ 81×3 topics
  2. Quantum Gravity18▲ 88×4 topics
  3. Supernovae15▲ 78×2 topics
  4. General Relativity14▲ 89×2 topics
  5. Dark Energy14▲ 88×2 topics
  6. Machine Learning13▲ 1.65×35 topics
  7. Cosmic Microwave Background13▲ 99×1 topic
  8. Cosmological Parameters13▲ 99×1 topic
  9. Quantum Entanglement12▲ 80×2 topics
  10. String Theory12▲ 91×2 topics
  11. Field Theories12▲ 111×1 topic
  12. Holographic12▲ 111×1 topic
  13. Dark Matter10▲ 35×4 topics
  14. Cosmology9▲ 56×4 topics
  15. Entanglement8▲ 22×4 topics
  16. Neural Networks7▲ 1.90×16 topics
  17. Quantum Information6▲ 22×3 topics
  18. Star Formation6▲ 46×2 topics
  19. Galaxies6▲ 80×1 topic
  20. Stellar Populations6▲ 80×1 topic
  21. Quantum Simulation4▲ 23×2 topics
  22. Superconducting Circuits4▲ 27×2 topics
  23. Lorentz Violation4▲ 103×1 topic
  24. Noncommutative Field Theory4▲ 103×1 topic
  25. Particle Physics4▲ 23×2 topics
  26. Communication4▲ 5.3×2 topics
  27. Cryptography4▲ 14×1 topic
  28. Gravitational Waves4▲ 29×2 topics
  29. Nucleosynthesis4▲ 34×3 topics
  30. Quantum4▲ 21×1 topic
  31. Quantum Algorithms4▲ 30×1 topic
  32. Quantum Computation4▲ 30×1 topic
  33. Renormalization Group4▲ 28×2 topics
  34. Efficiency4▲ 5.2×5 topics
  35. Cosmic Rays4▲ 31×2 topics
  36. Neutrinos4▲ 31×2 topics
  37. Spintronics4▲ 12×4 topics
  38. Solar Wind3▲ 16×2 topics
  39. Electronic Structure3▲ 7.9×6 topics
  40. Galactic Center3▲ 29×2 topics

Which research topics does National Institute for Theoretical Physics publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Cosmology and Gravitation Theories, Black Holes and Theoretical Physics, Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena and Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories.

Cosmology and Gravitatio…13Cosmology and Gravitation Theories: 13 fractional worksBlack Holes and Theoreti…12Black Holes and Theoretical Physics: 12 fractional worksGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena: 6 fractional worksNoncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories: 4 fractional worksQuantum Information and Cryptography: 4 fractional worksQuantum Computing Algori…4Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture: 4 fractional worksAdvanced Algebra and Logic: 3 fractional worksAlgebraic structures and combinatorial models: 2 fractional worksSolar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 2 fractional worksAdvanced Combinatorial Mathematics: 2 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsNuclear and High Energy PhysicsStatistical and Nonlinear PhysicsArtificial Intelligence3 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Cosmology and Gravitation Theories Astronomy and Astrophysics 13 works
  2. 2 Black Holes and Theoretical Physics Nuclear and High Energy Physics 12 works
  3. 3 Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena Astronomy and Astrophysics 6 works
  4. 4 Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories Statistical and Nonlinear Physics 4 works
  5. 5 Quantum Information and Cryptography Artificial Intelligence 4 works
  6. 6 Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture Artificial Intelligence 4 works
  7. 7 Advanced Algebra and Logic Computational Theory and Mathematics 3 works
  8. 8 Algebraic structures and combinatorial models Geometry and Topology 2 works
  9. 9 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 2 works
  10. 10 Advanced Combinatorial Mathematics Discrete Mathematics and Combinatorics 2 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available74.4%not open25.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors51.2%domestic only48.8%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has National Institute for Theoretical Physics's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 124% higher than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is National Institute for Theoretical Physics as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0010% in 2024.

still counting0.00050%0.0010%0.0015%National Institute for Theoretical Physics0.0011% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of National Institute for Theoretical Physics over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting5%10%15%National Institute for Theoretical Physics13.6% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 20252020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 14.6% in 2017.

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