Dr.
Ishwaree
Neupane: A short career biography + Publications
I did my undergraduate studies, B.Sc., (1986-1989) in physics and
mathematics at the Amrit Science College, Tribhuvan University,
Kathmandu, Nepal, finishing as one among the top 10, out of about 1500
undergraduates in
pure Science. In 1990, I joined the Department of Physics of Nepal's
state
university, the Tribhuvan University, as an M.Sc. student. After
completing my M.Sc. (with dissertation) in June 1994, I joined the
Central Department of Physics (CDP) of the same university as an
Assistant Lecturer. In early 1997 my position there turned into a
lectureship. I taught several graduate and undergraduate courses for
more than 3 years. Then in 1998 I moved to Seoul to enter the Ph.D.
Program at Seoul Nat'l Univ, the best-known university in South Korea,
as a SeoAM fellow, the most prestigious award given to a foreign
student. In August 2000, I visited the Univ of Waterloo (Canada), for
about a
year, with a research grant from BK21 (Brain Korea 21st Century)
project of the Ministry of Education, South Korea. In late 2001, my
time at SNU was up, and graduated with a PhD in physics on February
2002. I completed a PhD (1998-2002) on Prospective Brane World
Gravity, in theoretical particle physics (gravitation, cosmology
and
field theories) group headed by Prof. Yongmin Cho (then Director,
APCTP). During
these 4 years of graduate studies, about a year of which was spent at
the University of Waterloo (UW) Canada, I had many exciting
experiences of teaching the undergraduate physics. I have
been one of the best teachers liked by all students. (This is stated in
experience letters, enclosed in the document, which were backed up by
student evalutations of my teaching)
I then accepted a short term research position of 3 months
each at the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics
(ASICTP) and Physics Department, Theory Division, CERN, Geneva. I moved
to Taipei in September 2002 as a postdoctoral research fellow at the
National Taiwan University, the best university in
Taiwan. It was a very interesting/enjoyable experience for me to work
in NTU.
In 2004 I accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship at Canterbury
University.
I have worked in a number of reputed institutes as a
visiting research
scientist and/or as a postdoctoral fellow, namely,
the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, June 2004 - to date
the National Taiwan University, Taiwan , Sept 2002 - July 2004
CERN Theory Division, Geneva, June-August 2002
the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy,
March-June 2002
the University of Waterloo, Canada, 2000-2001;
I am a fellow of CERN-TH and (Regular) Associate of the Abdus Salam
ICTP (2004-2009). I have gained now more than 3 years' postdoctoral
experiences,
including 7 months in CERN-TH plus ICTP and 2 years in NTU (Taiwan) and
more than 1 year in UoC (New Zealand).
I am married to Manju (Pokharel), who I met in 1997 at Kathmandu, when
I was working at CDP. She is trained in Economics (B.A),
and she is
now the fulltime mother of our two chidren: Imas (6) and Iros
(3). Now we are permanent residents of New Zealand.
Skills,
Experience, and Qualities I bring
In a society as ours, it's very important to conduct cutting-edge
research and teach undergraduate and graduate students the fundamental
theories of gravity, fields and particle interactions, more
generally, Gravitation, Cosmology and Quantum Field Theories, due
to
their mathematical elegance and physical relevance to explore the
nature. Cosmology is
now a full-blown race
between theory and observations - the hallmark of a vigorous physical
science. Few areas of the human
endeavour excite the human imagination as much as curiosity about the
universe, addressing the questions like
Why are there only four different forces in nature? Why are there
only three familiy of quarks?
What is the DNA of the universe? Is
the DNA of our universe governed by superstring theory?
How/Why did the universe undergo inflation at a very
early epoch?
What is the dark energy and what is its cosmological role?
It is also
important to inform the community about what we do whenever possible
via public lectures and similar programs.
Cosmology is now the most
exciting discipline in all of physical sciences that relates the
observable universe to quantum field theory and particle physics in the
early universe. Over the last two
decades, new
technologies and ideas have driven cosmology forward at a rapidly
increasing pace, aiming to explore viable theory of inflations
and/or dark energy, the physics beyond the Standard Model, developing
tools to prove/falsify the fundmental existence of
extra dimensions and the standard model physics and its (minimal)
supersymmetric
extensions.
We now understand that a physics department
without a full
strength in
the particle theory (gravity, cosmology and field theories) research
and teaching could hardly attract
many promising students--whether domestic or international-- to its
graduate
programs. Far from being impractical, gravitational physics/theoretical
cosmology
research produces important
benefits for the nation and the world. This
may be why these subjects are being more and more attractive to both
undergraduate and graduate
students. The University of Canterbury should therefore commit to
be one of
the
leaders in this fast-moving, exciting area of science, ensuring rapid
progress from the whole department's prospect. In this
context, my involvement in both research
and teaching activities of the Physics Department at Canterbury might
provide a new dimension
to its scope, other than in promoting the PBRF rating of the department.
To my knowledge, the New Zealand Universities have only a limited
number
of Ph.D. holders working in the areas related to fundamental gravity
and
particle theory (cosmology, field theories and string/M theory). This
is the place where Roy Kerr learned his basic tools/ideas so as
to be
able to discover Kerr solution back in 1963. My personal opinion is
that this department should give an opportunity to create/expand its
theoretical physics research so as to make another
important innovation from this part of the world. Indeed,
an expansion of fundamental gravity/cosmology and particle theory
research
is the need of the hour at Canterbury. In
this respect, my expertise
in the field of gravitationa and particle theory
could
be of real
significance.
I have served as a referee
for some internationally reputed physics journals, such as APS journals
(PRD) and IOP (CQG). I have published more than 15 journal papers
(with more than 30 citations per paper) and have given more than 30
invited/contributed talks in international conferences/meetings. I have
been publishing regularly in reputed international journals and I will
keep doing so, which will help me get a good personal PBRF rating. Only
two years after Ph.D. I was able to publish numerous high quality
papers which are well cited. This could also be a clear testomony of my
ability. This
would make myself a good candidate for obtaining external funding too,
including Marsden funded research grants.
.
In a
scenario many New Zealand students continue to move abroad (especially,
US and UK) for their
PhDs, I would like to work in the direction to create critical mass in
a
research group in fundamental
gravity/cosmology and particle theory, so as to make the mathematical
physics/cosmology
teaching and research
projects in the department more attractive. An active research group in
fundamental gravity/cosmology could be of real significance at
Canterbury, as
something we
need in the department to attract both domestic and
international
students. I would like to take opportunity to establish myself (and
family) permanently at Canterbury so as to continue research works in
the areas of my
expertise, promoting the already strong profile of the
department in research, innovation and implementation. I have some
track-records,
such as the National Science
Council grants of Taiwan, and
will develop further, of applying for and obtaining
external competitive
research grants.
A critical mass in the gravity/cosmology group is something we need at
Canterbury, since there is only one permanent lecturer (Dr. David
Wiltshire) working
in fundamental gravity / cosmology at present (given that Dr. Jenni
Adams has moved to experimental Astroparticle physics). It would
be my
pleasure to continue working with him and other colleagues in this
department with a new depth of understanding and appreciation, leading
to ever increasing collaborations and research outputs. Indeed, part of
the infrastructure needed for doing best (and frontier) physics
research is a community of like-minded scientists. For science (and
research quality/output) to hold in a country/university, especially if
the usual mechanisms for promoting personal contacts are few, it
is essential to develop a research community that sustain itself
through mutual support and interactions. Because of relative isolation
that still persists in New Zealand, especially in regard a frontier
research in theoretical physics (particle theory, cosmology and
gravitation) we need to work ourselves collectively and mentor in the
meantime PhD/Master degree research students in a very efficient and
productive way, so that they can find an academic job in the world
easily.
My preference at the Department
would be on teaching for students of physics, astronomy and
engineering, and development for the teaching laboratories. I know I
will enjoy teaching to undergraduate
students and assisting graduate students in their graduate
education/research, as I bring demostrated track-record of research
excellence and useful teaching experience
with me. In the past, I have lectured courses from General Physics
(Grades
XI/XII, when
working as the Program coordinator of Little Angle's college and the
academic in charge of the first year physics teaching laboratory) to
the advanced courses in the degree programs, namely,
Classical Electrodynamics (M.Sc. first year), Quantum Mechanics (I and
II) (M.Sc. first/second year), Mathematical Physics (4th year), Nuclear
Physics (4th year). I have also tutored 1st year Physics (Physics 120,
UW, Canada), General Relativity (4th year, SNU,
Seoul) and General Relativity and Cosmology (4th year, UW, Canada). I
currently co-supervise one Honours research project. I have been
guiding 3 of the Ph.D. students in UoC (Canterbury), writing joint
papers with them.
I have been
enjoying the work I am doing and look forward to
taking my work to newer heights. It will be my great pleasure to work
in the Physics Department of the Massey University (Albany Campus) with
a new
depth of understanding and
appreciation among all colleagues, leading to ever increasing
collaborations and research
outputs.
My
commitments to the Department:
1. Maintain the personal overal PBRF rating at the highest level, among
the top 10% .
2. Teach the undergraduate and the graduate courses
sincerely/effectively
and assist the department in forstering new educational programmes,
and reserach projects aiming to Masters/PhD (postgraduate/research)
students in fundamental gravity and theoretical/particle physics.
3. Participate actively in research activities, organize regularly
physics seminars, work in frontier of the research projects, so
as to promote service to the national and international community,
university administration, and other responsibilities.
List
of Publications (Referred Journals)
2005 (Expecting at
least 6 major
journal publications in 2005)
I.P. Neupane
[arXiv:hep-th/0510xxx]
Klebanov-Strassler string cosmologies
I.P.
Neupane (with B.M.N. Carter) (to appear in PRD)
[arXiv:hep-th/0510xxx]
Remarks on dark energy cosmologies
from modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity
I.P. Neupane (with B.M.N.
Carter) (to be submitted to Physical Review Letters)
[arXiv:hep-th/0510xxx]
Dynamical relaxation of dark energy:
solution to both the inflation and the cosmological constant
I. P. Neupane (with B.M.N.
Carter)
(Phys.Rev.D72:043534,2005) [arXiv:gr-qc/0506103]
Thermodynamics and stability of
higher dimensional rotating (Kerr) AdS black holes
I. P. Neupane (with D.L.
Wiltshire)
(Phys. Rev. D72, Oct 2005 Issue) [arXiv:hep-th/0504135]
Cosmic acceleration from M-theory on
twisted spaces
I. P. Neupane (with D.L.
Wiltshire) Phys.Lett. B 619
(2005) 201 [arXiv:hep-th/0502003]
Accelerating cosmologies from
compactification with a twist
2004:
I. P. Neupane, Mod.
Phys. Lett. A19
(2004) 1093
Cosmic Acceleration and M Theory
Cosmology
I. P. Neupane, Class. Quantum
Grav. 21 (2004) 4383
[arXiv:hep-th/0311071]
Accelerating Cosmologies from
Exponential Potentials
I.P. Neupane,
Nucl. Phys. B Suppl. 129
(2004) 800
Inflation from string/M Theory
Compactification?
I. P. Neupane, Phys. Rev. D 69 (2004) 084011 [hep-th/0302132]
Thermodynamic and Gravitational
Instability on Hyperbolic Spaces
2003:
I. P. Neupane (with C.-M. Chen,
P.-M. Ho, J. E. Wang, and N. Ohta),
Journal of High Energy Physics 0310
(2003) 058 [hep-th/0306291]
Hyperbolic Space Cosmologies
I. P. Neupane (with C.-M.
Chen, P.-M. Ho, J. E. Wang),
Journal of High Energy Physics, 0307
(2003) 017 [hep-th/0304177]
A Note on Acceleration from Product
Space Compactification
I.
P. Neupane, Phys. Rev. D 67
(2003) 061501(R) [hep-th/0212092]
Black hole entropy in
string-generated gravity models
I. P. Neupane (with Y. M. Cho),
Int. J. Mod. Phys. A18 (2003)
2703 [arXiv:hep-th/0112227]
Warped Brane-World Compactification
with a Gauss-Bonnet Term
2002:
I. P. Neupane (with Y. M. Cho),
Phys. Rev. D 66 (2002) 024044
[arXiv:hep-th/0202140]
Anti-de Sitter Black Holes, Thermal
Phase Transitions and Holography in Higher Curvature Gravity
I.
P. Neupane, Class. Quant.
Gravity 19 (2002) 1167-1184
[arXiv:hep-th/0108194]
Effective Lagrangian from Higher
Curvature Terms: Absence of vDVZ Discontinuity in AdS space
I. P. Neupane, Class. Quantum
Gravity, 19 (2002) 5507-5523
[arXiv:hep-th/0106100]
Completely localized gravity with
higher curvature terms
I. P. Neupane (with Y.M. Cho
and P. S. Wesson), Nucl. Phys. B 621 (2002)
388-412 [hep-th/0104227]
No ghost states of Gauss-Bonnet
interaction in warped backgrounds
2001:
I. P. Neupane, Phys. Lett. B512 (2001) 137-145
[arXiv:hep-th/0104226]
Gravitational potential correction
with Gauss-Bonnet interaction
2000:
I. P. Neupane, Journal of High
Energy Physics 0009 (2000) 040
[arXiv:hep-th/0008190]
Consistency of Higher Derivative
Gravity in the Brane Background
I. P. Neupane,
arXiv:gr-qc/9902039.
Planetary Perturbation with a
Cosmological Constant
Selected
Conference Proceedings
I. P. Neupane, Proceedings, YKIS 2005, June 26-30,
2005, Kyoto.
Accelerating cosmologies from
M-theory on twisted spaces
I. P. Neupane, Proceedings,
XXXIX La Tuile, April 4-11, 2004, Italy
Dark Energy and Cosmic Speed-Up: M
Theory Perspectivves
I. P. Neupane,
Proceedings, Tsukuba 2003, Lattice 2003, Japan
Inflation from string or M theory
compactification
I. P. Neupane, Confinement
2003, July 21-24, 2003, RIKEN, Japan, World Scientific Publishing
(2003).
AdS/CFT, Large N and Confinement
I. P. Neupane, ICTP Preprint,
IC/02/072 (also in TH2002, Paris)
Large N Effects on Thermal Phase
Transition
I. P. Neupane, Proceedings
IMFP, Oct. 25-30, Malaysia [arXiv:gr-qc/9812096]
Cosmological Constant in de Sitter
Spacetime
Recent
Conference Talks
Cosmic
acceleration from M theory on twisted spaces, June 29 (YKIS
2005) and July 7 (PostYKIS 2005), YITP, Kyoto
Cosmology as
Geodesic Motion: Multiple Scalars, MSCS Victoria-Canterbury
Gravity Workshop, 28-29 Jan, 2005
Dark energy and
cosmic acceleration: string/M theory perspectives, XXXIXth
Moriond Meeting, 28 March - 4 April, Italy
Cosmic
Acceleration and M Theory Cosmology, 2003 International
Symposium on Cosmology and Particle
Astrophysics (CosPA 2003), Taipei, 13-15 Nov 2003.
Invited/Contributed
Talks/Seminars
Theories of Dark
Energy and Cosmic Acceleration, June 12, 2005, Univ
of Canterbury, New Zealand, also at National University of
Singapore (July 11, 2005)
Can inflation and
observed cosmic acceleration both arise from compactification?
July 30, 2004, Univ of Canterbury, New Zealand
Cosmology from M
Theory Compactifications with Fluxes, March 25,
2004, ICTP, Trieste (Italy)
Accelerating
Universes and Multiple Moduli, CERN Theory seminar, April 29,
2004.
Cosmic
Acceleration from Modified Gravity and M-theory: Alternative to Dark
Energy, August 29, CosPA, NTU, Taiwan
Cosmic speed-up
and dark energy from dynamical compactifications, Academic
Sinica, Dec 26, 2003, Taipei
Cosmology from M
Theory Compactifications with Fluxes: Cosmic Speed-Up and Dark Energy,
December 5, 2003, CfCP, Chicago (on-line presentation)
http://cfcpwork.uchicago.edu/seminars/talks/031205/talk.pdf
Accelerating
Cosmologies from Exponential Potentials, Nov 5, 2003, SISSA
(Italy)
Time-Dependent
Hyperbolic Compactification, July 25, 2003, KEK-Theory, Tokyo
(I have given several other talks in the areas of formal field
theories: Back in 2000-2002 I was also working on different problems in
the quantum field theory, (super) Yang-Mills, including the
restricted and extended QCD/QED, the conventional Kaluza-Klein
compactifications, monopole problems. These work were
along the line of the earlier works by Prof. Yongmin Cho, my PhD
academic supervisor at SNU, Seoul)