RESEARCH
Research Interests
My main research interests revolve around quantum gravity and include black hole physics, fundamental structure of spacetime, and cosmology.
Current Research
Classical and Quantum Black Holes
Black holes are one of the main playgrounds of quantum gravity. Theoretical and phenomenological study of black holes not only help us understand these wonders of nature better, but also sheds light on the structure of spacetime and provides crucial hints about the nature of quantum gravity.
In this line of research we study the quantum and semiclassical regime of black holes in vacuum and in the presence of collapsing matter. We also carry out phenomenological studies of these objects to connect the theory to observations.
Structure and Emergence of Spacetime
Spacetime provides a background and causal structure for all the other fields. However, the nature of space and time is still unknown. They may be just emergent phenomena valid on some effective level. If so, the questions is how and from what do they emerge?
In this line of research I study topics related to the deep/quantum structure of spacetime, its possible emergence mechanism and substratum and its consequences. I also work on issues related to the nature of spacetime such as the problem of time in Hamiltonian gravity.
Quantum Gravity Phenomenology
What ultimately confirms our theoretical results are the experimental data. Given the extreme high energies associated to quantum gravitational phenomena, it is highly unlikely that we can perform related experiments on labs on Earth. So we need to turn our attention to astrophysical and cosmological phenomena. We can receive signals from these phenomena in the form of gravitational waves, photons neutrinos, etc. These are called multi-messengers.
We work towards deducing quantum gravity-related phenomenological signatures from our theories to be observed by present and future multi-messenger observatories such as the Event Horizon Telescope, LIGO, Fermi Gamma Ray Telescope, LISA, etc. These signatures and their observation will be crucial in understanding the nature of quantum gravity and the structure of spacetime