Physical Research Laboratory Archives

Kuljeet Kaur Marhas

Dr. Kuljeet Kaur Marhas is a Professor in Planetary Science Division at Physical Research Laboratory. She has been working in three sub divisions of planetary sciences (A) early evolution of Solar system (analyzing early forming solids to understand origin and evolution of Solar System), (B) presolar grains and nucleosynthesis (analyzing presolar/circumstellar grains to understand stellar evolution), (C) differentiated objects (other Solar system bodies like Moon, Mars via meteorites). Dr. Marhas has also been involved in analyzing samples from sample return missions by NASA, JAXA to understand several aspects of solar system formation. Several new scientific (theoretical and experimental) and technical projects have been initiated by her, with her recent/new interest in hydrothermal alterations and volatile transport in/at asteroidal regions.

Dr. Marhas earned her Ph.D. from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), India, in 2001. With her new experiences achieved during her postdoctoral period at Max Planck Institute for chemistry, Mainz (2002-2005) and Washington University, St. Louis (2005-2007) she brought expertise in small grain analyses and set up her laboratory in Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad.

The grand objective of the Dr. Marhas’s Fulbright-Nehru project is to understand nucleosynthesis and temporal evolution of physico-cosmochemical conditions in novae by isotopic studies of sulphur and other elements in presolar nova grains found in meteorites. Specifically, the proposal approach is to analyze a few tens of potential presolar novae grains using C and N isotopic measurements, and subsequently measure their S isotopes to compare them with the latest nova and SN models to unequivocally establish their genealogy and provenance.

Srubabati Goswami

Prof. Srubabati Goswami, Senior Professor at the Physical Research Laboratory, Gujarat, is an internationally acclaimed neutrino physicist and is recognized as a world expert in her field of research. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Calcutta in 1998. She has received several awards, including the Humboldt fellowship from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the J.C. Bose National fellowship of Departmental Science and Technology, India among others. She is an elected fellow of all the three science academies in India as well as The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

The Standard Model (SM) is exceptionally successful in describing the properties of the fundamental particles. However, Prof. Goswami is currently interested in pursuing theoretical motivations and experimental observations that tread beyond the SM. Among these, neutrino oscillations, observed in terrestrial experiments, which requires neutrinos to be massive and mix amongst different flavors, provided compelling evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Apart from oscillations, there can be several other signatures of BSM physics, including non-standard interactions, existence of extra neutrino species, and decay of neutrinos. The signatures of dark matter can also be looked into in various neutrino experiments.

During her tenure as a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence scholar, Prof. Goswami is working on exploring BSM physics in neutrino experiments, specifically in the context of a liquid Argon detector, as in the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. The novelty of the project is to consider both the beam and the atmospheric neutrinos, and to investigate the synergy between these in enhancing the sensitivity of the experiment.