I enjoy working with students who are curious about theoretical physics and want to understand how the subject really works beneath the surface. Mentoring is one of my favourite parts of academic life — it’s a chance to think together, learn from each other, and explore ideas through the lense of a someone new to the topic
How I Work With my Students
My approach tends to be rather informal. I like to meet students where they are, figure out what they’re excited about, and help them develop the tools to pursue interesting questions. Sometimes this means working through calculations on a board, and sometimes just talking through big-picture ideas and seeing where they lead.
Whether it’s helping someone gain confidence with the basics or discussing research directions with more advanced students, I try to create a space where questions are welcome and where thinking slowly, carefully and out loud is encouraged.
What projects do I have to offer?
I am interested in understanding matter at extreme conditions, for which we can discuss your project possibilities from a
Heavy Ion Collisions Phenomenology
Heavy Ion Collisions, where ions like lead (Pb) are collided at the speed of light, like in the LHC, are excellent laboratories of nuclear matter at high energies. We have found that these collisions develop into a complex fluid-like state of matter, the Quark Gluon Plasma.
The work involves simulating heavy ion collisions using state-of-the-art codes, which combine High energy QCD with kinetic theory and fluid dynamics to understand the results obtained at the LHC.
Non-equilibrium Quantum Field Theory
In the last two/three decades, we have found a remarkable thing: from tiny systems as Cold Quantum Gas experiments to hot systems such as the early Universe Cosmology and the first instants of a Heavy Ion Collisions, the physics that drives them, despite the large scale difference, is the same: Quantum Field Theory!
You will develop a combination of analytical and numerical skills to solve the physics of matter outside of equilibrium from first principles.
High-Energy QCD
At very high energies, nuclei become shockwaves of coherent gluons, and we can derive, based on this an effective theory of QCD, the Colour Glass Condensate. Much of the work on this means a large deal of analytics, but if you are more nuemrically inclined, I am currently on a crusade to create better methods to evaluate numerically these interesting analytics results!
Naturally, there are other options related to other interests I have, such as quantum information and the thermodynamics of entanglement, amongst others.
You are interested?
Shoot me an email!
- I would like to know your plans and interests, along with what you think would be a topic match for you!
Former Students
Master Thesis
- Yannik Hoffmann (2024-2025). Saturation effects in exclusive vector meson production in DIS using a small-x hotspot proton model
- Nithyasree Gourisankar (2024). Phenomenology of Heavy Ion Collisions
Bachelor Thesis
- Lisa Kröger (2024). Nuclear Shell Model sampling for Heavy Ion Collisions
- Marco Müller (2021). Drehimpuls in Schwerionenkollisionen unter Benutzung des hadronischen Transportmodells SMASH.
- Jannis Gebhart (2021). Photon Production from a Medium-Induced Parton Cascade.
Dr. Oscar Garcia-Montero 