Research
I am a postdoctoral researcher working at the intersection of classical general relativity, effective field theory, and strong-field black hole physics.
My research focuses on developing computational and conceptual frameworks to understand how compact objects respond to external perturbations, with particular emphasis on spinning (Kerr) black holes across extremal, near-extremal, and generic regimes. I use tools from black hole perturbation theory—especially Teukolsky-based methods—together with effective field theory (EFT) and horizon-based descriptions (such as the membrane paradigm and holographic approaches) to characterize tidal interactions, dissipation, and observable signatures in gravitational waves.
A central theme of my work is to identify robust, gauge-invariant observables—such as response functions, fluxes, and horizon quantities—that can be used to probe both classical GR dynamics and possible deviations from it, including higher-derivative corrections and beyond-GR effects.
I am also interested in how these macroscopic descriptions connect to more microscopic or string-theoretic constructions of compact objects, including microstate geometries and brane-based models, with the goal of understanding how fundamental structure may manifest in strong-field gravitational observables.
More broadly, my work aims to build a unified framework linking:
- black hole perturbation theory (Teukolsky formalism),
- effective descriptions of compact objects (EFT),
- horizon dynamics and dissipation,
- and potential ultraviolet completions of gravity.
This approach enables the study of a wide range of problems, from tidal effects and EMRIs to extremal black hole physics and precision tests of general relativity with gravitational waves.
Background
I completed my PhD at The Ohio State University, where my research focused on the thermodynamics of black holes and horizonless Extremely Compact Objects (ECOs), demonstrating the universality of black hole thermodynamics, analyzing black hole microstates via two-dimensional CFT and conformal perturbation theory, and studying the implications of horizonless microstructure for the information paradox.
I am originally from Jaipur, India, and received my integrated B.S.–M.S. degree in Physics from IISER Bhopal.
Outreach
I also work on communicating ideas in fundamental physics. I run the YouTube channel Time Before Space, where I discuss conceptual questions in gravity and quantum theory and interview physicists about foundational problems in modern physics.
