― A little about me
I'm a theoretical astrophysicist interested in studying the evolution of the early universe. Currently, I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Theory and Computation (CTC), University of Maryland. My research focuses on understanding how the first stars and galaxies evolved and transformed the early universe by heating and ionizing hydrogen (and later helium) in the intergalactic medium, leading to cosmic Reionization -- the universe's last major phase transition.
I got my Bachelor's degree in Physics and Master's degree with a major in Astrophysics from the University of Calcutta. I received a PhD in Astrophysics from Presidency University, India. My thesis work focused on the semi-analytical modelling of the cosmological 21-cm signal during cosmic dawn and reionization. During my graduate studies, I spent a few months as a Pre-doctoral candidate at the Flatiron Institute in New York.
Outside of research, I enjoy indoor gardening, cooking, and painting. When I’m not working, I love traveling the world with my husband, Dr. Soham Mukhopadhyay!
― Research interests
Cosmic Dawn & Reionization
High-redshift galaxies
21-cm Cosmology
Semi-analytical modeling
Machine Learning
Research Highlights
A brief summary of ongoing and past projects..
Bridging Cosmic Dawn & Epoch of Reionization
We explore the conditions by which the cosmic dawn constraint is consistent with current EoR and post-EoR observations by coupling a physically motivated source model derived from RT hydrodynamic simulations of reionization to a MCMC sampler. Read more
Cosmic Rays
The IGM could be significantly heated due to cosmic ray protons generated by the supernovae from both early Pop III and Pop II stars. This study constrains the properties of CRs using global 21-cm absorption signal measured by EDGES during the cosmic dawn. Read more
The dark matter-baryon interactions provide the excess cooling of the IGM. Consequently, the heating rate due to PMFs generated during inflation gets enhanced, impacting the IGM during the Dark Ages and Cosmic Dawn. Read more
Primordial Magnetic Fields
Global mass accretion rates of DM halos from high redshift to low redshift
In numerical simulations, haloes grow through various processes: major mergers, minor mergers, and the accretion of non-halo material, which includes both unresolved haloes and diffuse particles. Tracking the mass evolution of the most massive progenitor halo as a function of redshift and peak height provides valuable insights into a halo’s mass assembly history. Utilizing state-of-the-art hydrodynamical simulations, we explore the statistical trends of accretion rates across cosmic time, from z ~ 0 to 20. Does the trend of accretion rates at low redshift persist at high redshift? Stay tuned.
Recent observations by JWST have detected massive, evolved galaxies and supermassive black holes existing just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. These findings introduce a tension between different methods of probing cosmic reionization. In this study, we investigate the evolution of the photon escape fraction -- which may depend on mass and redshift -- by combining the JWST-measured UV luminosity function with globally averaged measurements from the reionization and post-reionization epochs. Are these observations consistent? Stay tuned
Reconciling early massive galaxies with cosmic reionization constraints
― Research experience
Pre-doctoral candidate
CCA, Flatiron Institute, New York, USA Feb 2022 - June 2022
― Education
PhD in Astrophysics
Presidency University, India / 2018 - 2023
Master's degree in Physics
University of Calcutta, India / 2014 - 2016
Postdoctoral Associate
University of Maryland, College Park, USA September 2023 - Present
Interested in discussing a project related to reionization/ high-redshift universe/ 21-cm? Let's talk..
