Annual Report 2012
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Dutch Research School of Theoretical Physics ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Landelijke Onderzoekschool voor Theoretische Natuurkunde Dutch Research School of Theoretical Physics (DRSTP) Landelijke Onderzoekschool voor Theoretische Natuurkunde (LOTN) Visiting address: Minnaert Building Leuvenlaan 4 3584 CE Utrecht Postal address: P.O. Box 80.195 3508 TD Utrecht the Netherlands telephone: +31 (0)30 253 5916 fax: +31 (0)30 253 5937 e-mail: [email protected] website: http://web.science.uu.nl/drstp/ Preface This DRSTP Annual Report 2012 provides an overview of the educational and re- search activities during 2012. The Annual Report also presents two research highlights written by staff members of the Research School. In addition, it offers information, such as a list of the participating staff, of the PhD students, a comprehensive list of publications, as well as other relevant statistics. The Annual Report is not the only information that is provided by the DRSTP. A monthly Newsletter is published as well as a yearly Educational Guide containing all DRSTP activities. Up-to-date information is readily available on our website at: http://web.science.uu.nl/drstp/. We would like to thank all of those who contributed to the Research School during this past year. Prof. G.E. Arutyunov Prof. E.P. Verlinde Scientific Director Chair Governing Board September 2013 4 DRSTP Annual Report 2012 Contents 1 General information 7 2 The DRSTP in 2012 9 3 Scientific highlights 15 4 PhD program 23 4.1 Educational program . 23 4.1.1 Postgraduate courses (AIO/OIO schools) . 23 4.1.2 PhD Day . 24 4.2 PhD degrees and subsequent employment . 24 4.3 PhD degrees granted in the DRSTP in 2012 . 24 4.4 Other PhD's advised by DRSTP staff . 40 4.5 PhD students (per 31-12-2012) . 40 4.6 Scientific and educational activities of PhD students (theme 1) . 50 4.7 Scientific and educational activities of PhD students (theme 2) . 62 5 Scientific staff (per 31-12-2012) 71 5.1 Permanent staff . 71 5.2 Temporary staff . 74 5.3 Associate members . 76 6 Academic publications 77 6.1 Theme 1 . 77 6.2 Theme 2 . 85 7 Scientific activities 97 7.1 Theme 1 . 97 7.2 Theme 2 . 113 8 Science-related activities 125 8.1 Physics-related publications . 125 8.2 Public lectures . 126 8.3 Other contributions . 128 9 Research funding 131 9.1 Personal grants . 131 9.2 FOM funding . 132 9.3 FOM-Nikhef . 136 9.4 EU-networks . 137 9.5 Other . 137 10 Organization (per 31-12-2012) 139 11 Partners and associate members 141 Appendix A Mission statement 146 Appendix B Selection and supervision procedure of PhD students 150 Appendix C Postgraduate courses (AIO/OIO schools) 152 Appendix D PhD Day 157 Appendix E National seminars 161 Appendix F Statistics 162 1 General information The Netherlands has a long tradition in theoretical physics which involves research performed at university institutes, industrial laboratories, and government institu- tions. The strength of this research area is, for a large part, based on the unity of methods employed in a wide range of applications. This manifests itself both in sci- entific research and in academic education. To structure and coordinate the graduate education in theoretical physics, the Dutch Research School of Theoretical Physics (DRSTP) was formed. The school is a co- operation between the theoretical physics groups of six Dutch universities: University of Amsterdam (UvA), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA), University of Gronin- gen (RUG), Leiden University (UL), Radboud University Nijmegen (RU), Utrecht University (UU) (commissioner) and of the National Institute for Subatomic Physics (Nikhef). In addition, there are several associate members. The DRSTP was accred- ited in 1994 by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and reaccredited in 1999, 2004 and 2010. The main objectives of the DRSTP are to implement a joint program of graduate edu- cation in theoretical physics and to maintain and strengthen research in theoretical physics from a broad unifying perspective that exploits the interrelationships between different fields of theory. The DRSTP is based on the conviction that a joint venture of all the moderately sized local theory groups, each with its own profile, offers added value for the achievement of these objectives. Theoretical physics is based on universal principles. New concepts often have a much wider validity than in the field in which they are discovered, and methods developed in one field are sometimes very useful in another. Hence, theoretical physics is char- acterized by unity in diversity. The research program of the DRSTP is organized according to two themes: Theme 1: Particle physics, cosmology, quantum gravity and string theory. Theme 2: Quantum matter, quantum information, soft condensed matter and biophysics. 8 DRSTP Annual Report 2012 The specific content of the research program depends on the responsible project lead- ers, on their creativity as well as their success in acquiring research funding from their home university, from the Dutch research councils of NWO, or from interna- tional sources such as European Union programs. The research output of DRSTP members presented in this Annual Report is presen- ted according to the two mentioned research themes. The mission statement of the DRSTP can be found in Appendix A. 2 The DRSTP in 2012 On 31 December 2012, 103 PhD students were affiliated to the DRSTP, 60 tenured and 71 non-tenured staff (postdocs). The research output led to 22 PhD dissertations and 318 academic publications. Changes in the DRSTP organization in 2012 * Scientific Advisory Committee member, Professor D. Nelson (Harvard) ended his membership after serving two consecutive terms, from 2006 to 2012. * Professor P.M. Chaikin (NYU) joined the DRSTP as a new Scientific Advisory Committee member in January 2013. * Professor B. Nienhuis (UvA) succeeded Professor P. Mulders (VUA) as chairman of the Educational Board. Professor Mulders (VUA) chaired the Board during a period of six years. * G. d'Ambrosi MSc (Nikhef) became a member of the PhD Student Council as rep- resentative for Nikhef. In Chapter 10 you will find an overview of all DRSTP committee members per 31 December 2012. Staff mutations in 2012 * Professor G.E. Arutyunov (UU) was appointed Professor of Exactly Solvable Mod- els in Quantum Field and String Theory at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Utrecht per 1 June 2012. * Professor J.-S. Caux (UvA) was appointed Professor of Low-Dimensional Quantum Condensed Matter at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Amsterdam per 1 April 2012. * Professor B. de Wit (Nikhef) and his research group (Dr. S. Murthy, Dr. B. Sahoo, Dr. R. Gupta, I. Lodato MSc) departed from Utrecht and joined the Nikhef Theory Group in Amsterdam in March 2012. * Professor R.H. Dijkgraaf (UvA/IAS) ended his affiliation with the DRSTP per 1 July 2012. * Professor R. Fleischer (Nikhef/VUA) was appointed Adjunct Professor at the Theor- etical Physics group at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam per 1 March 2012. Professor Fleischer's (Nikhef) main research interest is the Standard Model of Particle Physics and its Extensions, with a focus on Flavor Physics and CP Violation as Probes for \new" Physics. 10 DRSTP Annual Report 2012 * Dr. B.W. Freivogel (UvA) was appointed Assistant Professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Amsterdam per 7 March 2012. * Dr. U. G¨ursoy (UU) was appointed Assistant Professor in the Quantum Gravity Strings and Elementary Particles group at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Utrecht per 1 November 2012. * Professor R. Loll (RU) was appointed Full Professor in the Theoretical High Energy Physics group at the Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics in Nijmegen. * Dr. D. Panja (UU) was appointed parttime Assistant Professor in the Soft Con- densed Matter group at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Utrecht on 1 June 2012. * Dr. K. Papadodimas (RUG) was appointed Assistant Professor in the Physics, Particles and Fields group at the Centre for Theoretical Physics in Groningen on 1 September 2012. * Professor C.J.M. Schoutens (UvA) was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science per 1 October 2012. * Professor K. Skenderis (UvA) became employed at the School of Mathematics, Uni- versity of Southampton, UK. * Dr. G.J. Stephens (VUA) was appointed Associate Professor in the Physics of Liv- ing Systems group in Amsterdam on 1 March 2012. * Dr. M. Taylor (UvA) became employed as 'Reader' at the University of Southamp- ton, UK. * Professor S.J.G. Vandoren (UU) was appointed Professor in the String Theory group at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Utrecht per 1 May 2012. Starting the same date, he became Scientific Director at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Utrecht. Awards/grants/distinctions * In December 2012 the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science awarded a grant of 18,3 Million Euros to the Delta-Institute for Theoretical Physics (D-ITP) (with J. de Boer, E.P. Verlinde, J. Zaanen, C.W.J. Beenakker, H.T.C. Stoof and G. 't Hooft) as part of the NWO Gravitation Programme entitled: Matter at all scales. The grant will allow theoretical physicists from Utrecht University, Leiden University and the University of Amsterdam to collaborate in the new Delta-Institute for The- oretical Physics (D-ITP). * Professor A. Ach´ucarro(UL) was voted `Teacher of the Year 2012'. * Dr. A. Akhmerov (UL) won the FOM Physics Thesis Prize 2012 for his thesis en- titled: Dirac and Majorana edge states in graphene and topological superconductors. Dr. A. Akhmerov (UL) won the first Gratama Science Prize 2012. * Dr. S. Ando (UvA) received an NWO Vidi grant for his proposal entitled: Probing dark matter with high-energy gamma rays and neutrinos. S. Ando (UvA) received a 2.