physics

Rajesh Gopakumar

Rajesh Gopakumar is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rajesh Gopakumar rather than just read about it. In short: Rajesh Gopakumar (born 1967) is an Indian theoretical physicist and the director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR) in Bangalore, India. He was previously a professor at Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI) in Prayagraj, India.

Key takeaways

Rajesh Gopakumar belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
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Reproduce the core statement of Rajesh Gopakumar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rajesh Gopakumar (born 1967) is an Indian theoretical physicist and the director of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR) in Bangalore, India. He was previously a professor at Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI) in Prayagraj, India. He is known for his work on topological string theory.

Background Gopakumar was born in 1967 to Jaishree and G. Gopakumar in Kolkata. His family hails from the southern Indian state of Kerala. He has the distinction of securing All Indian Rank 1 in the examination for IIT-JEE in 1987. Gopakumar obtained his integrated M.Sc. degree in physics from the prestigious IIT Kanpur in 1992. He completed his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1997 under the supervision of David Gross. After a few years as a research associate at Harvard University, he joined HRI in 2001. He was also a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey from 2001 to 2004. He is married to Rukmini Dey, a Professor of Mathematical Physics and Geometry at ICTS-TIFR.

Research Gopakumar is a string theorist. Earlier on in his career, his research was primarily focused on large N gauge theories with David Gross, noncommutative gauge theories with Andrew Strominger and Shiraz Minwalla, and topological string theory and gauge/geometry correspondence with Cumrun Vafa and is particularly known for proposing the Gopakumar–Vafa duality and Gopakumar–Vafa invariants. Later, his work focused on attempts to derive the AdS/CFT correspondence, and on minimal model holography (with Matthias Gaberdiel). In recent years, he has made important contributions to higher spin theories and their connections with string theory (with Matthias Gaberdiel). He has also recently worked on the Conformal bootstrap.

Awards B.M. Birla Science Prize in Physics, 2004 ICTP Prize, 2006 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, 2009 TWAS Prize in Physics, 2013 He was named Fellow of the Global Young Academy of Scientists for 2010. He is a member of the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Academy of Sciences.

Selected publications Dijkgraaf, Robbert; Gopakumar, Rajesh; Ooguri, Hiroshi; Vafa, Cumrun (2006). "Baby universes and string theory". International Journal of Modern Physics D. 15 (10): 1581–1586. Bibcode:2006IJMPD..15.1581D. doi:10.1142/s0218271806008978. S2CID 199676528. Retrieved 4 June 2007.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) David, Justin R.; Gopakumar, Rajesh (17 January 2007). "From spacetime to worldsheet: Four point correlators". Journal of High Energy Physics. 0701:063 (1): 063. arXiv:hep-th/0606078. Bibcode:2007JHEP...01..063D. doi:10.1088/1126-6708/2007/01/063. S2CID 8336127. Retrieved 4 June 2007.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) List of R. Gopakumar's Publications

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rajesh Gopakumar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rajesh Gopakumar claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rajesh Gopakumar before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rajesh Gopakumar ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rajesh Gopakumar

In research: Rajesh Gopakumar appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rajesh Gopakumar in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rajesh Gopakumar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1967 births, 20th-century Indian physicists, IIT Kanpur alumni, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rajesh Gopakumar outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rajesh Gopakumar in 20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

What is Rajesh Gopakumar in simple terms?

Why does Rajesh Gopakumar matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rajesh Gopakumar?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rajesh Gopakumar.