"The birth of the Standard Model of Cosmology :
pioneering contributions of
Steven Weinberg" -- Download [ pdf]
A tribute to Prof. Weinberg with a few personal memories
seminar at TIFR Bombay November 2021
"Unified theory
and the tale of two vacuum energies" -- Download [ pdf]
Higgs particle,
Inflation, Dark energy all linked by the enigmatic concept
of vacuum energy.
Research scholars' symposium SymPhy, Physics Department IIT Bombay October 2020
"Matter-anti-matter
asymmetry : Is there a unified theory?
" -- Download [ pdf]
[ Link to video of the talk ] including Q&A
Elementary particle physics
meets cosmology.
webinar hosted by Sir P T Sarvajanik College, Surat, June 2020
""Neutrinos and matter-anti- matter asymmetry
a uni cation perspective"
" -- Download [ pdf]
Exposure to basic QFT assumed
Lecture series All about neutrinos!
Link to video of the talk including the Q&A session
webinar for PhD students hosted by INO the Indian based Neutrino Observatory May 2020.
"Quantum is
surreal but is classical real?" -- Download [ pdf]
A critique of the
widespread phobia of the principles of quantum mechanics.
It is suggested the problems of acceptance perhaps lie
in too ready an acceptance of some key idealisations in
the Newtonian framework.
Math & Physics Club, IIT Bombay January 2020
"Multimessenger
view of the Universe :
Perspectives and new approaches" -- Download [ pdf]
Perspectives on
cosmology with emerging multimessenger detection
strategies; includes a lightning introduction to the
General Theory of Relativity
Equinox IIT Guwahati and Sir P T Sarvajanik College, Surat, January 2019
"Gravity and
quantum : Hawking's journey through spacetime" -- Download [ pdf]
A contribution to the
session "Gravity, quantum and blackholes -- in memorium
Stephen Hawking"
Physics Department and Math and Physics Club seminar, March 2018
"Unification,
Cosmology ... and all that" -- Download [ pdf]
General Covariance,
gauge invariance and unification dreams of twentieth
century; the enigmas of Higgs vacuum energy and Dark
Energy presented for a BSc level audience.
in-house Physics Department Colloquium, September 2017
"Elementary
Particles" -- Download [ pdf]
What are Elementary
Particles? What are fundamental interactions? Do the
elementary constituents of matter face an identity
crisis?
Talk for highschool students given at DST Inspire workshop, Punjab University Chandigarh November 2016
"Windows into
deep space : from telescopes to gravitational wave
detection " -- Download [ pdf
]
Large telescopes just a century ago gave us an
access to the galaxies and the vast expanding universe.
Within a century we have progressed through radio, IR,
microwave, X-ray and also neutrino astronomy and
gravitational lensing. The discovery of gravitational
waves in 2015, exactly a century after Einstein's
General Theory of Relativity adds a new dimension to our
view into deep space.
Talk given at SVNIT Surat April 2016
"From General
Relativity to Planck scale cosmology : the journey and
its dilemmas" -- Download [ pdf ]
How the Equivalence Principle
led Einstein to the geometric principle “boundary of a
boundary is zero”; and what paradoxes it unleashed.
Talk given at Indian Planetary Society’s meeting at CHARUSAT University, Gujarat June 2015
"A universe,
the Universe, or Multiverse" -- Download [ pdf ]
The expanding Universe from
its discovery till date; the Three Laws of Friedmann
Cosmology; questions thrown up by Dark Energy
Talk given at Mumbai area Physics meet TIFR, Mumbai March 2015 and Punjab Unviersity Chandigarh April 2015
"Unified Theories and Comsology : changing
paradigm"
--
Download [ pdf ]
In Cosmology Dark Energy drives the need for a new paradigm; in elementary Particles, neutrino mass spurs altered view of Unification
Talk given at IIT Roorkee August 2014
"Don't let PhD interfere with your research" -- Download [ pdf ]
Research Scholars Forum IIT Bombay, March 2014
"Accelerating Universe : Physics of the Nobel Prize 2011" -- Download [ pdf ]
A subset of the longer presentation below,
but including some additional specifics.
Delivered at IIT Bombay, BARC, IPA Surat and
Nehru Planetarium.
"Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Supersymmetry" -- Download [ pdf ]
Open issue of Cosmology. Dark Matter, Dark
Energy, Inflation ... and how Supersymmetry may help.
"Mathematical secrets of the Universe" -- Download [ pdf ]
Persepctives on the deep mathematical
frameworks that shaped fundamental physics of the
twentieth century
"Waking up to the Quantum" -- Download [ pdf ]
"Some exceptional Physics experiments of twentieth century" -- Download [ pdf ]
Adventures and surprises in experimental Physics, INSA Public Lecture, PRL, Ahmedabad, 2009
"From Einstein to Hawking : a journey through space-time" -- Download [ ppt] [ pdf without animation]
A simple discussion of origins of Special and General Relativity, IIT Bombay, April 2007
"Cosmology and General Relativity : a perspective" -- Download [ pdf ]
Prof R V Kamath Memorial Lecture, St. Xavier's College, January 2007
"Primordial radiation of the Universe" -- read [ html ] Download [ pdf ]
Nobel Prize 2006 : COBE results and a bit of history
"From Micro to macro : the story of our unfolding Universe" -- Download [ pdf ]
World Year of Physics lecture IISc Bangalore
"Einstein on light : from waves to quanta and back" -- Download [ pdf ]
World Year of Physics lecture : Pune University Centre for History and Philosophy of science
Before 2005
Philosophy of Science lecture 1993 at IIT Bombay
"Supersymmetry : a new organising principle in Physics -- Download [ ps ]
Philosophy of Science lecture 1998 at IIT Bombay
Seminar delivered at Nehru Planetarium Sept 2000.
Gives flavour of GR and its deep connection to geometry.
file of a self-explanatory seminar, IIT and TIFR, Oct-Dec 2001
on innovative teaching methods in school science
a harangue on misplaced pedagogical emphasis
"The What and Why of Superstrings" -- Download [ pdf ]
a self-explanatory mini-seminar for IITans ( 14 transparancies ).
A short article contributed to in-house publication Update (December 2002)
"High Energy Physics : a (historical) perspective" -- Download [ pdf ]
Evening talk at SERC HEP 2002 -- strives for accuracy and miserably fails in being exhaustive -:(
"Cosmology and Black Holes : An invitation" -- Download [ pdf ]
TechFest03 orientation lecture, with pictures and data from the internet
"Peering into the Big Bang : the new microwave map of the Universe" -- Download (6.1 Mb!) [ pdf ]
Back to the homepage of U. A. Yajnik, Physics Department, IIT Bombay
Some handiwork using J. Velthuis's Devanagari package for TeX/LaTex
( Package devnag available from comprehensive TeX archive http://www.ctan.org )
"Invokation from the S'akuntalam" -- [ ps ]
Kalidasa and modern physics!! :-)
"Preface to the Raghuvamsa" -- [ ps ]
Self-effacement or feigned modesty?