Mustafa Amin

WEBSITE(S)| Personal Website | Google Scholar | inspire-hep

Research Summary

I want to understand the origin of structure and matter in our cosmos. Some questions that interest me include: How did the universe first get populated with particles during the hot big bang (reheating after inflation)? What is the nature of dark matter (with focus on axions, vector and higher spin dark matter)? Can we probe the intrinsic spin of dark matter from astrophysics? My expertise lies in exploring the nonlinear dynamics of cosmological fields -- both in the context of the early universe and the contemporary universe. On the mathematical side, I am fascinated by solitons, their interactions and their relevance to cosmology. I have also delved into problems related to understanding aspects of Hubble tension, Dark Energy, gravitational waves, CMB spectral distortions, Black hole accretion discs and exoplanets.

I tend to get really excited about teaching and public outreach.

Research Areas

Cosmology, Particle Physics, Astrophysics, Nonlinear Dynamics

Education

2003 BS University of Texas at Arlington

2008 PhD Stanford University

Teaching Areas

Cosmology, Quantum Field Theory, General Relativity, Mechanics, Dark Matter

Honors & Awards

Rice Graduate Student Association Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award, 2019

Durham International Visiting Academics Fellowship, UK 2019

National Academy of Sciences Kavli Frontiers of Science Fellow, 2016

Senior Kavli Fellowship, University of Cambridge, UK (2012 - 2015)

Pappalardo Fellowship, MIT (2008 - 2011)

Body

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