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My interests are in theoretical physics, mainly Gravitation and Cosmology, High Energy Physics - Theory and Phenomenology. Currently I am exploring the following areas.

  • Kaluza-Klein graviton phenomenology in Large Extra Dimensions

  • Connection between Lorentz invariance, equivalence principle and quantum gravity

  • Dark Energy in modified gravity theories

  • Conceptual problems in the Early Universe

  • Superluminal Gravity (!?!)

  • History of Science

My first serious research exposition was at the Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune as a Summer Research Student during May-June 2003. There I worked on a small project in General Relativity under the guidance of Prof. Naresh K. Dadhich. The title of the project is “Particle Orbits in Schwarzschild Metric".  It was a great learning experience for me. I learned how to consult research literature, read and understand it. What type of questions do physicists ask? What are the things they look for? In some sense, I learnt the tricks of the trade.

I got the full opportunity to conduct my own research when I joined  Dr. P K Suresh at the School of Physics, University of Hyderabad, as an M.Phil. student. He gave me the freedom to choose some problem for my dissertation. I identified the supernovae cooling problem in Braneworlds. This was a very new area and I had to learn so many things before embarking on the real problem.  I worked on this during January 2005 – June 2006. The end result of this labor of love was my dissertation “Gravity, Large Extra Dimensions and Supernovae”.
 

After my M.Phil, while I was teaching at Jain International Residential School, Bangalore, I was awarded the prestigious Summer Research Fellowship by the Indian Academy of Sciences, the Indian National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Academy, India. Under this program I worked with Prof. Romesh K. Kaul and Dr. Prasanta K Das at The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai during April – June 2007. The title of the project is “Plasmon Coalescence into Kaluza-Klein Graviton: New Astrophysical Constraints on Large Extra Dimensions”. 

Published Articles
 

Refereed Journals

  1. "Plasmon Annihilation into Kaluza-Klein Graviton: New Astrophysical Constraints on Large Extra Dimensions?", (with P K Das & P K Suresh) Physical  Review  D 78, 063011 (2008) [arXiv:0801.1269     

  2. "Bounds on large extra dimensions from photon fusion process in SN1987A",  (with P K Suresh) Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle  Physics 02, 011 (2008) [arXiv:0805.3429] 

Conference Proceedings

  1. WHEPP-X: Report of the working group on Cosmology (A Berera et. al.), Pramana-Journal of Physics 72, 1, 263-267, 2009.                                                                                               

  2. Physics beyond Standard Model: Working group 3 report (N Agarwal et. al), Pramana-Journal of Physics 72, 1, 239-250, 2009.

  3. "Supernovae as Probes of Extra Dimensions", (with P K Suresh & P K Das), AIP Conf. Proc. 939: 258-262, 2007 [arXiv:0706.3551].

  • Citation: Ian Lewis, arXiv:0710.4147 [hep-ph]

In arXiv.org

  1. "Gravity and Large Extra Dimensions", (with P K Suresh),[ hep-th/0606194]

  • Citation1: Qiang Wu et al, arXiv:0804.0620 [astro-ph].

  • Citation2: Anzhong Wang et al, arXiv:0712.3938 [hep-th].

  • Citation3: Yungui Gong et al, Phys.Lett.B663:147-151,2008. arXiv:0711.1597 [astro-ph].

  1. "Understanding Gravity: Some Extra Dimensional Perspectives", (with P K Suresh), [gr-qc/0605152]

  2. "Gravitons in Kaluza-Klein Theory", (with P K Suresh), [gr-qc/0605016]                                               


Popular Science

  1. "I Love Gravity, Because it Attracts me!", Science Reporter, Vol 44, pp 23-25, July 2007.

  2. "Are We Living in a Higher Dimensional Universe?",  (with P K Suresh), [grqc/0506125].

  • Citation: Orchidea Lecian and Giovanni Montani, Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 15: 717-736, 2006 [gr-qc/0602024].

  1. "Supernovae: Explosions in the Cosmos", (with P.K.Suresh), Science Reporter, Vol 42, pp 20-23, October 2005. [astro-ph/0504597].

  2. "Challenging Big Bang: Interview with J V Narlikar", Science Reporter, Vol. 38, pp 20-23, July 2001.

Invited Talks

  1. "Gravity and Large Extra Dimensions" at International Symposium Experimental Gravitation organized by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai at Cochin during January 5 – 9, 2009.

  2. "Supernovae as Probes of Extra Dimensions" at International Workshop on Theoretical High Energy Physics organized by Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee during March 15-20, 2007.

  3. "Supernovae and Extra Dimensions" at Young Astronomer's Meet 2005 organized by Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and National Center of Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune, during November 29 to December 2, 2005.

  4. "What is so special about Relativity?" at 100 years of Relativity Theory Celebrations organized by Jana Vignana Vedika (A.P.) in Khammam, Andra Pradesh on June 20, 2005.

Workshops and Conferences

  1. XXVII Meeting of Astronomical Society of India at Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore during February 18-20, 2009.

  2. International Symposium on Experimental Gravitation organized by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai at Cochin during January 5 – 9, 2009.

  3. X Workshop in High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-X) at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai during January 2-3, 2008.

  4. SERC Preparatory School in Theoretical High Energy Physics at the Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi during November 26 to December 15, 2007.

  5. International Workshop on Theoretical High Energy Physics at Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee during March 15-20, 2007.

  6. XXI Meeting of Astronomical Society of India at Osmania University, Hyderabad, during February 7-9, 2007.

  7. Young Astronomer's Meet 2005 organized by Inter University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and National Center of Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune, during November 29 to December 2, 2005.

  8. Einstein's Legacy jointly organized by Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and St. Pois College, Hyderabad, during October 28-29, 2005.

  9. Einstein’s Vision: Its Impact on Science and Society jointly organized by School of Physics and Department of Philosophy at University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad during March 14-16, 2004.

  10. Galaxies: Structure and Dynamics held at the Department of Astronomy, Osmania University, Hyderabad, during January 19-22, 2004.

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

Thomas Edison