Dutch Research School of Theoretical Physics ANNUAL REPORT 2010 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 30 253 5916 fax: +31 30 253 5937 e-mail: [email protected] website: http://web.science.uu.nl/drstp/ Preface This DRSTP Annual Report 2010 provides an overview of the educational and re- search activities during 2010. The 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 publica- tions, as well as other relevant statistics. The Annual Report is not the only information that is provided by the DRSTP throughout the year. The DRSTP also publishes the monthly DRSTP Newsletter and a yearly Educational Guide of its educational activities. Up-to-date information is also readily available on internet 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. dr. R. Loll prof. dr. E.P. Verlinde Scientific director Chair Governing Board (per 1 May 2011) December 2011 4 Annual report 2010 Contents 1 General information 7 2 The DRSTP in 2010 9 3 Scientific highlights 15 4 PhD program 21 4.1 Educational programme . 21 4.1.1 Postgraduate courses (AIO/OIO schools) . 21 4.1.2 PhD Day . 22 4.2 PhD degrees and subsequent employment . 22 4.3 PhD degrees granted in the DRSTP in 2010 . 22 4.4 PhD students (per 31-12-2010) . 37 4.5 Scientific and educational activities of PhD students (theme 1) . 46 4.6 Scientific and educational activities of PhD students (theme 2) . 56 5 Scientific staff (per 31-12-2010) 69 5.1 Permanent staff . 69 5.2 Temporary staff . 72 5.3 Associate members . 73 6 Academic publications 75 6.1 Theme 1 . 75 6.2 Theme 2 . 84 7 Scientific activities 97 7.1 Theme 1 . 97 7.2 Theme 2 . 112 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 . 137 9.4 EU-networks . 137 9.5 ESF . 138 9.6 Other . 138 10 Organization (per 31-12-2010) 139 11 Partners and associate members 141 Appendix A Mission statement 146 Appendix B Selection and supervision procedure of PhD students 151 Appendix C Postgraduate courses (AIO/OIO schools) 153 Appendix D PhD Day 158 Appendix E National seminars 163 Appendix F Shell theoretical physics stipends 165 Appendix G Statistics 167 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 scien- tific 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 coope- ration between the theoretical physics groups of six Dutch universities: University of Amsterdam (UvA), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA), University of Groningen (RUG), Leiden University (UL), Radboud University Nijmegen (RU) and Utrecht University (UU) (commissioner) and of the National Institute for Subatomic Physics (Nikhef). In addition, there are several associate members. The DRSTP was accre- dited 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 cha- racterized 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 Annual report 2010 The specific content of the research program depends on the responsible project lea- ders, 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 internatio- nal 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. 2 The DRSTP in 2010 On 31 December 2010, 90 PhD students were affiliated to the DRSTP, 49 tenured and 52 non-tenured staff (postdocs). The research output led to 22 PhD dissertations and 335 academic publications. Reaccreditation DRSTP In June 2010 the accreditation of the DRSTP was extended for another six years by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). This recognizes and endorses the prominent role the DRSTP has been playing in the Dutch theoretical physics community since its inception in 1994 in maintaining high standards of excel- lence in both research and graduate education. PhD Day On 15 October 2010 the DRSTP PhD Student Council organized their third PhD Day. The PhD Day is an annual fall event organized by members of the PHD Student Council and is part of the educational program for PhD students. The PhD Day is aimed at exchanging ideas, inviting former PHD students to discuss career options, presenting scientific talks and discussing recent trends in theoretical physics. The PhD Day is primarily intended for PhD and Master's students. More information is available in Appendix D. Shell theoretical physics stipends On 8 December 2010 Shell awarded stipends for the third time to the best Master's students in theoretical physics in the Netherlands. With these stipends, Shell intends to draw attention to future career possibilities for graduates in international compa- nies such as Shell. Eleven Master's students in theoretical physics were awarded a Shell stipend. More information is available in Appendix F. 10 Annual report 2010 Sjoerd Hardeman (27 January 1982 - 7 July 2011) Sjoerd Hardeman, a PhD student at the Institute Lorentz in Leiden with Ana Ach´ucarro and Koenraad Schalm, died on July 7th (2011) after a long battle with leukaemia. He was hospitalized at the end of February, two days before defending his thesis on \Non-decoupling of heavy scalars in cosmology", and passed away a day after it was announced that he had earned an N.W.O. Rubicon scholarship to work with Prof. Paul Shellard in Cambridge. Sjoerd and his collaborators had recently published the first calculation of the effects of sharp turns along the inflationary trajectory. They predicted specific features and statistical correlations in the spectrum of primordial density perturbations generated during inflation. These can be searched for in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, they betray the presence of heavy fields that are otherwise too heavy to be detected by conventional means such as particle accelerators or astropar- ticle detectors [1]. Sjoerd's project in Cambridge was to search for these features of heavy physics in the new CMB data set that is being collected by the ESA Planck Satellite. Sjoerd Hardeman [1] A. Ach´ucarro,J-O Gong, S.R. Hardeman, G. Palma, S. Patil, Features of heavy physics in the CMB power spectrum, Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, JCAP 1101 (2011) 030. Staff mutations in 2010 * Per 1 June 2010 the position of professor emeritus F.A. Bais (UvA) was extended. * Per 1 January 2010 the position of professor emeritus B. de Wit (UU) was extended. * Prof. dr. B. Krauskopf (VUA) resigned on 1 September 2010. His affiliation with the DRSTP ended. * Prof. dr. Y. Levin (UL) resigned on 1 Augustus 2010. His affiliation with the DRSTP ended. 2. The DRSTP in 2010 11 * Prof. dr. M. Mostovoy (RUG) was appointed associate professor per 1 February 2010. * Prof. dr. G. Nienhuis (UL) retired per 1 July 2010. * The DRSTP membership for Prof. dr. P. van Baal (UL) changed into that of an associated member per 1 October 2010. * Dr. V. Vitelli (UL) was appointed assistant professor at the Instituut-Lorentz on 1 January 2010. Changes in the DRSTP organization Prof. dr. R. Loll (UU) started her position as Scientific Director of the DRSTP per 1 April 2010. Prof. dr. K. Schoutens ended his term as chairman of the DRSTP Governing Board per 1 May 2011. A list of DRSTP committee members can be found in Chapter 10. Guest chairs * Prof. dr. S.S. Sethi (Chicago) occupied the Van der Waals Chair at the University of Amsterdam from 1 April to 30 June 2010. Professor Sethi delivered a series of lectures entitled: Introduction to supergravity and flux compactifications. * Prof. dr. T.A. Witten (Chicago) occupied the Lorentz Chair at Leiden University from 1 May to 30 June 2010. Professor Witten taught a course of three lectures en- titled: Thin sheets and sandpiles: subtle self-organization in prosaic places.