I'm not in a position to answer your question since I have no direct experience in the fields you're asking about. But I do have a caveat for you. My PhD research was in the field of experimental solid-state physics (back in the day before it was subsumed under condensed matter physics). If you like hands-on experimental work (which I did), be aware of the scale of equipment that is needed and that you can directly access. Although some experiments in solid-state physics do require access to large facilities (such as a synchrotron radiation source), many experiments can be performed within the lab of a single advisor, though often with supporting equipment (such as electron microscopes) within the same campus facility (such as a Materials Research Lab). I really liked being able to prepare my own samples, analyze and characterize the samples, design and build my own experimental apparatus, run the experiments, collect the data, and analyze the data.
For projects that require access to large facilities (such as plasma fusion facilities, nuclear reactors, and particle accelerators), your hands-on access will be much more restricted, and the scope of your activities will be much more limited. E.g., a friend of mine did his PhD work in high-energy particle physics. His original thesis work involved the design of a new particle detector, which was then to be incorporated into a large-scale particle accelerator facility. But scheduling issues at the accelerator facility cropped up and there were going to be extensive delays in testing the new detector once it was built. His advisor told him he would not be able to graduate in a reasonable time. His thesis topic was then switched to analysis of data that had already been collected by others. He ended up spending waaay more time in writing software than hands-on experimental work.
Popular writers distinguish between "small science" and "big science". If you want hands-on experimental work, pay close attention to this distinction when you choose your PhD work.