I am a theoretical physicist with interests lying at the intersection of general relativity, cosmology, and quantum field theory. My research is primarily driven by the question of which theories might underpin the origin, evolution, and structure of the Universe. So far, this has drawn my focus to the study of degrees of freedom, investigating how they behave in the presence of interactions or beyond the strong coupling, where conventional perturbative methods are no longer applicable. In particular, my work includes massive gauge theories, such as massive, self-interacting, vector, and Kalb-Ramond fields. I am also working on higher-derivative theories of gravity, investigating how the appearance of pathological modes, known as ghosts, can be avoided with the help of boundary conditions. My interests further extend to dark matter and dark energy, connections between noncommutative geometry and cosmology, and means to distinguish between various modified theories of gravity.
APPOITMENTS
01/10/2023 – ONGOING: Project Researcher
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, WPI,
The University of Tokyo, UTIAS, Japan
01/10/2022 – 30/09/2023: Research Fellow
ASC, LMU Munich, Germany
EDUCATION
04/2019 – 10/2022: PhD in Theoretical Physics
LMU Munich, Germany
Thesis: The massless limit of massive gauge theories
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Viatcheslav Mukhanov
Cumulative grade: summa cum laude
10/2016 – 02/2019: Master of Science in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
Joint elite master course at LMU & Technical University, Munich, Germany
09/2013 – 09/2016: Bachelor of Science in Physics
University of Split, Croatia
AWARDS & HONORS
2024 Arnold Sommerfeld PhD Prize (for the year 2022)
2022 Julian S. SCHWINGER Diploma for the Best New Talents
International School of Subnuclear Physics, 58𝑡ℎ Course: Gravity and matter in the subnuclear world
2018 – 2019 German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Completion grant
2017 – 2018 German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): Master Studies Scholarship
2017 Dean’s Award, University of Split, Croatia
2016 Scholarship of the Croatian Science Foundation (NZPUSS)
PUBLICATIONS