In short
I am Thibaut Coudarchet, doctor in theoretical physics and currently working as a postdoc at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. My field of research is high-energy physics and in particular quantum gravity and string theory. Theoretical physics is a fascinating world, but it can be scary from outside! That is why I have written an outreach book, for everyone, to explain its core concepts and share this domain with the general public. You will find more information about this book on the page dedicated to it (though the book is only available in French for now): My outreach book.
My educational background
After high-school, I studied two years in a “classe préparatoire” of mathematics in France, which is something equivalent to two years at the university. After that, I endend my Bachelor of Science (in physics) and did my two years of Master of Science (theoretical physics) at the “Ecole Normale Supérieure” (ENS) of Lyon. I started a Ph.D at the “Centre de Physique Théorique” (CPHT) of the “Ecole Polytechnique” in Palaiseau in France and I became of doctor in physics in 2021. During two years I was a postdoc at the “Instituto de Física Teórica” (IFT) in Madrid and I have started a second postdoc at the “Institut für Theoretische Physik” (ITP) in Heidelberg, Germany, where I am currently working.
My research interests
The lectures I followed when I was a student lead me to the heart of fundamental physics and in particular to one of the biggest theoretical challenge of modern physics: Elaborating a quantum theory of gravity. My thesis was about aspects of string theory, a theoretical framework to actually describe gravity at the quantum level. I then pursued investigations in this field of research during my two postdoc positions.
To be more specific, during the Ph.D, I worked on cosmological consequences of string theory and stabilisation of open-string moduli in models where supersymmetry is spontaneously broken by a Scherck-Schwarz mechanism. After that I switched to more phenomenological aspects of string theory (“string phenomenology”) and got closer to what is called the “Swampland Program”. I have worked on flux compactifications in type IIA and type IIB string theories, with focus on building solutions featuring a scale separation between the internal space and the extended spacetime. Group page of the institute where I am working now.
Of course if you are reading those lines but you are not a physicist, this probably does not look like anything to you. But if you are curious to learn more about string theory and more broadly about the theories of fundamal physics, I invite you to discover my outreach book (only available in French now though).
My personal interests
Although I do not have much time to spend on this hobby, I like astrophotography a lot. You can find information about my setup and my best shots on the dedicated page: astrophotography.