Arkaprava Mukherjee

What year are you in?

I am in my 2nd year.

What group are you in?

Prof. Nandini Trivedi’s group. 

Where are you from?

I am originally from Kolkata, India.

Describe your research in 200 words or fewer.

I am working on multiple projects currently. Firstly, I’m working on quantum spin liquids which involve frustrated magnetism in different materials. It has important implications to topological quantum computation. My other project (with Prof. Nandini Trivedi) is on thermal transport and quantum noise. We are trying to use the quantum noise in the system to get information about the system. My final project is on understanding SYK models with a random interaction strength that has a non-zero mean. 

What have you done in physics that you are proud of?

Our work on the relation between random matrix models and the SYK model was recently accepted to the Journal of High Energy Physics.  This work is very close to my heart and I had spent almost a year on running the numerical simulations. Earlier, it was conjectured that the random matrix model and the SYK model have a one-to-one correspondence. We showed that the correspondence is not too obvious and there is a huge class of unexplored theories between these two sets of models . 

What have you done outside of physics that you are proud of?

Recently, I have been proud of my reading habits. I am very much into Murakami’s books, particularly Men without Women. I haven’t read novels in English before this. My other favorites are Sputnik Sweetheart and Farewell in Arms. I am currently reading Norwegian Woods and I want to read Kafka on the shore next. 

What are your future goals?

I would like to complete my PhD within five years. I want to fully understand what the hell I’m doing. In the long term, I would like to pursue a Postdoctoral position or become an industry professional.