Arghya Chattopadhyay

Arghya Image

DE ME IPSO

I am a theoretical physicist interested in various aspects of string theory and topics which are traditionally classified as mathematical physics. I have completed my bachelors (2009-12) and masters (2012-14) in physics from Visva-Bharati and moved to IISER Bhopal to pursue PhD in theoretical physics (2014-19). Since then, I have worked as a postdoctoral fellow at IMSc Chennai (India) [2019-20], WITS University (South Africa) [2020-22] and at the University of Mons (Belgium) [2022-24] as a C2W postdoctoral fellow .

As a theoretical physicist, my work so far has primarily focused on exploring the foundational principles of physics. In an effort to bridge the disconnet between present stance of string theory and current (and upcoming) experimental results from particle accelarators, I have ventured into the realm of particle physics. I am currently engaged in a particle physics research endeavour at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM) where I am leveraging machine learning techniques to investigate the underlying physics at the CMS experiment at CERN.

My current project is a collaborative effort with Prof. Sudhir Malik and Prof. Vidya Manian at UPRM, in partnership with the researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Through this collaboration, I am also affiliated with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Interactions (IAIFI) as a Junior Investigator.

This webpage is designed to be the nest of my varied interests and thoughts in different aspects of life and of course physics.

Seminars

This page will soon be updated with my talk slides.

Research

My research interests are quite varied. I get attracted to problems having challenging mathematical undertones, possibly allowing some algebraic geometry approach. This brought me closer to a lot of mathematical physics issues and specially string theory. Starting with my PhD, I have worked on problems on various spacetime dimensions.

My research exploration starts from 0 dimensions with matrix models and continues to 1 dimensional matrix quantum mechanics as well as SYK models. In 2 dimensions I am investigating Jackiew‐Titelboim gravity theory as well as two dimensional conformal field theory and their integrable deformations. I have also recently started working on 3 and 4 dimensional higher spin gravity theories. My work with fluid/gravity duality can be thought of as my contribution towards 5 dimensional theories. On the opposite spectrum of 10 dimensional theories, I am interested in both the mathematical and phenomenological effects of Calabi‐Yau compactifications and T-duality. I am actively working on dualities enjoyed by blackholes in supergravity especially the mathematical aspects of Freudenthal duality. Additionally I am trying to understand different ideas on p‐adic holography and interesting problems in physics inspired mathematics.

Coming to the Phenomenological aspects, I am currently working with machine learning approach to innovate effective methods that can be utilised for the CMS experiment at CERN. My literal obsession with symmetry also continues as a side-hustle to understand and implement symmetries in neural networks.

Publications

A list of my recent academic publications is written below. The full details of my publications in HEP can be found in my inspire profile.

    Teaching

    This page will soon be updated with my lecture notes and current teaching details.



    Project Students

    Loris Image

    Loris Cavenaile worked with me for a month towards his Master Internship project "Membrane Paradigm". In this project he worked with the prescription of the paper "An Action for Black Hole Membranes" by Maulik K. Parikh and Frank Wilczek, to compute actions for blackhole membranes. His project report with detailed computations can be downloaded here.





    Online Lectures

    Lecture 1 of Machine Learning for physicists, hosted by LETHEP collaboration.

    Lecture 2 of Machine Learning for physicists, hosted by LETHEP collaboration.

    Music

    You can follow my Youtube channel named Arghya for all the available videos. In the following I will list some of the special ones.

    Youtube existence

    A memorable performance with Shashi and Jagriti for 2014 edition of Enthuzia at IISER Bhopal.

    Another one with Shashi at some forgotten edition of Enthuzia at IISER Bhopal.

    Power packed performance with our little group at IISER Bhopal around 2017. Along with me I have Nilanjan on vocals, Shamim and Anirban on guitars and Kuzur on drums, a dream team.

    A last minute on-stage prepared version of "Alvida" with Shashi on vocal, Gayitri on Bass, Anoop on drums, Kaustav with keyboard and Nandekar doing something (beyond my humble comprehension).

    Bengali medley with some of the cult classics of bengal, this time accompanied by the great Indra.

    With my first music teacher didibhai recording "Ami jamini..", behind the scenes Rikon, Shilpa and Soumyada handling the camera. Of course Ghilu, my "bhagne" is behind all the moral support required.

    With my best friend alias then girlfriend and now wife Shilpa randomly recording "Surjo Dobar Pala".

    Contact

    You can reach out to me at arghya.chattopadhyay@umons.ac.be or arghya.chattopadhyay@upr.edu.


    Connect with me on LinkedIn, GitHub, or follow me on Twitter.