Areas of interest
My thesis work was aimed at understanding the behavior of quantum fields in classical electromagnetic and gravitational backgrounds (click here for my complete thesis). Currently, while I largely focus on different issues related to inflationary cosmology and the cosmic microwave background, I continue to investigate various aspects of semi-classical and quantum gravity.
My current research interests include:
- Inflationary cosmology and the cosmic microwave background
- Deviations from slow roll inflation and generation of features in the inflationary perturbation spectrum - Comparison with the observations of the cosmic microwave background
- Generation and imprints of perturbations in multi-field inflationary models
- Origin and sigantures of primordial non-Gaussianities - Efficient numerical computation of the three-point functions - Validity of the consistency relations
- Formation of primordial black holes - Generation and signatures of secondary gravitational waves
- Post-inflationary dynamics - Effects on the evolution of perturbations - Constraining the dynamics during reheating
- Generation of magnetic fields during inflation - Cross-correlations between magnetic fields and scalar or tensor perturbations - Effects due to parity violation
- Quantum-to-classical transition of primordial perturbations
- Planck scale effects during inflation – Imprints on the cosmic microwave background
- Bouncing scenarios as an alternative to inflation
- Origin and evolution of perturbations in classical bouncing scenarios - Construction of viable bounces
- Generation of features in bouncing models
- Non-Gaussianities in bouncing models - Effects due to non-minimal coupling
- Origin of magnetic fields in bouncing scenarios - Imprints on the scalar and tensor perturbations
- Aspects of black hole physics
- Hawking radiation - Possible quantum gravitational modifications
- Entropy of black holes and black strings - Corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy
- Entropy bounds - Trans-Planckian modes and the validity of entropy bounds in the early universe
- Quantum field theory in classical backgrounds
- Unruh effect - Detecting thermal effects in spacetimes with horizons
- Response of finite time detectors - Detecting effects due to entanglement
- Vacuum polarization and particle production - Backreaction on the classical background
- Radiation reaction and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem
- Fluctuations in the backreaction term - Domain of validity of semi-classical gravity
- Quantum gravitational corrections to semi-classical effects