About Me

I am currently a graduate student enrolled in the MSc Theoretical Physics program at The University of Edinburgh. Previously I was an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto. There, I was one of the Physics tutors at the Physics Help Center in the Science Wing of University of Toronto at Scarborough, one of the International Student Ambassadors for the year 2020, and a Teaching Assistant for the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences.

Education: I am currently a graduate student at The University of Edinburgh, enrolled in the MSc Theoretial Physics program sponsored in part by the British Council's GREAT Scholarships. Previously, I was an undergraduate student registered at the University of Toronto, enrolled in the Specialist Physics and Astrophysics program. Before that I went to highschool at FAIPS-DPS in Kuwait.

Research Interests: My current research interests are,
• Quantum Gravity and Cosmology
• Particle Astrophysics
• Black Hole Physics
• Cosmic Magnetism
• Planetary Dynamics and Planetary Astrophysics
• Stellar Astrophysics

Publications:
• Percy, John R., and Gupta, Prateek. “Pulsating Red Giants in a Globular Cluster: 47 Tucanae.” Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, vol. 49, no. 2, December 2021. https://app.aavso.org/jaavso/article/3789/

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Research

Project I Simulating Transit Timing Variations of Exoplanets with REBOUND.
Supervisor: Prof. Hanno Rein
We used the the REBOUND Python Package to simulate the Transit Timing Variations data for a star system, by using N-Body simulations for the extrasolar planets of that system.
Related code can be found here.

Project II Time Series Analysis on Long Term Measurements of Variable Stars in Globular clusters.
Supervisor: Prof. John R. Percy
We carried out time series analysis on long-term measurements of variable stars in Globular clusters using data from the AAVSO and the ASAS-SN databases.
Published results can be found here.

Project III Reconstructing broadband spectropolarimetric signals using a novel method.
Supervisors: Prof. Bryan Gaensler & Dr. Luke Pratley
We carried out an original research project in the field of Radio Astronomy and Cosmic Magnetism. We implemented multiple methods like RM CLEAN, parametric QU-Fitting and the novel method, non-parametric QU-fitting using Python to reconstruct broadband signals from multiple active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and compare these methods.

Project IV Gravitationally Induced Entanglement in the Early Universe.
Supervisor: Dr. Suddhasattwa Brahma
Recently in 2017, two independent teams came up similar experiments to show that gravitationally induced entanglement was enough to prove the quantum nature of gravity, and then a mechanism for gravitons to entangle massive particles, but it is based on an assumption of flat spacetime. In this research project, we aim to study the effects of introducing curvature in this mechanism, like the FLRW metric, and study potential applications in Early Universe Cosmology.

Community

Teaching at the University of Toronto:
• Teaching Assistant PHYA11: Physics I for Life Sciences 2020
• Teaching Assistant MATA35: Calculus II for Life Sciences 2021
• EPSA Physics Aid Center Tutor 2019-21 | Check out EPSA!

Outreach:
• UTSC International Student Ambassador 2020