String theory may be viewed as a framework for exploring new exotic ideas on the frontier of theoretical physics. At its heart, the subject aims at describing a consistent theory of quantum gravity, in addition to being a short length scale completion of the Standard Model of particle physics. The subject’s most prevalent successes to date are twofold: convincing evidence that the theory resolves various long standing puzzles arising in black hole physics; and phenomenological realizations of models that appear to mimic the world we see at low energies. While the theory itself as a whole may still evolve beyond its current form, several of the new concepts that it has developed are expected to survive at the foundation of a future formulation of the laws of physics.

I am interested in understanding the small scale structure of space, in a context where both gravitational dynamics and quantum mechanics become important. This realm often involves studying black holes, unravelling exotic dynamics such as non-commutative geometry, and exploring new frameworks that extend the Standard Model of particle physics and standard inflationary cosmology.

Quantum gravity

Emergent gravity, Planckian structure of spacetime, holography, Matrix theory, black holes

String theory

D-branes, Super Yang-Mills theories, non-commutative geometry, Supergravity

Cosmology

Inflation, brane gas models, singularity

Quantum information

Open systems, non-equilibrium statistical mechanics, scrambling, tensor networks