Case Western Reserve University Physics Department,
201B Rockefeller Building,
10900 Euclid Avenue,
Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
1-203-809-3935
yi - zen &bull chu @ case &bull edu
http://www.stargazing.net/yizen/
Education
Research Experiences
- Summer 2006, Spring and Fall 2008
- Used perturbative field theory methods to compute, up to certain integrals, the n-body general relativistic effective lagrangian to the second post-Newtonian order (2 PN).
- Developed algorithm that would in principle be able to generate the Feynman diagrams contributing to the n-body effective langrangian to an arbitrary PN order. (Gravitational wave observatories need the 2 body lagrangians beyond 3.5 PN.) Implemented some Mathematica code to this end.
- Summer 2007 to Fall 2007: CERCA, Case Western Reserve University, with Tanmay Vachaspati
- Solved the full spectrum of bound state energy eigenstates of the Dirac equation (i&gamma&mu&part&mu-g&phi)&psi = 0 in kink and antikink (&phi = ±tanh[z]) backgrounds.
- Proved, contrary to recent claims that kink-antikink bound states do not exist at all, that at least one fermion bound state has to exist for all non-zero values of the Yukawa coupling g and that the ground state energy tends to zero as the kink-antikink distance increases to infinity.
- Numerically solved the fermion ground and excited states on the kink-antikink (&phi = tanh[z+L] - tanh[z-L] - 1) for a range of Yukawa couplings and kink-antikink separations.
- Summer 2004, Spring 2006 to Summer 2006: Particle Theory Group at Yale University with Marco Cirelli
- Computed excess of anti-neutrinos over neutrinos required in the early universe to suppress sufficiently the production of the LSND sterile neutrino, so as not to alter the formation rates of the light elements, in order that its possible existence could be reconciled with the observed abundances of 4He and deuterium.
- Introduced lepton number conserving neutrino density matrix Boltzmann equations.
- Summer 2005 to Spring 2006: Particle Theory Group at Yale University with Walter Goldberger
- Used effective field theory techniques to compute mass, tension, and thermodynamics of black holes in R1,d-2 x S1 spacetimes.
- Devised algorithm and implemented Mathematica code to generate the Feynman rule for the N graviton vertex in Minkowski space, where N is an arbitrary positive integer greater than one.
- Spring 2002 to Spring 2003: STAR group at LBNL with Nu Xu, Kai Schweda, and Eugene Yamamoto
- Analyzed φ meson, proton and anti-proton production rates from proton-proton collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)
- Summer 2001: BaBar Group at LBNL with Yury Kolomensky
- Calibrated the silicon wafers of the BaBar SVT at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC)
- Fall 2000 to Spring 2001: E158 Experiment at SLAC with Gilbert Shapiro
- Designed and oversaw construction of an electron beam monitor
Publications
- Yi-Zen Chu, "The n-body problem in General Relativity up to the second post-Newtonian order from perturbative field theory," arXiv: 0812.0012 [gr-qc]
- Yi-Zen Chu and Tanmay Vachaspati, "Fermions On One Or Fewer Kinks," Phys. Rev. D 77, 025006 (2008), arXiv: 0709.3668 [hep-th]
- Yi-Zen Chu and Marco Cirelli, "Sterile neutrinos, lepton asymmetries, primordial elements: how much of each?," Phys. Rev. D 74 085015 [arXiv: astro-ph/0608206]
- Yi-Zen Chu, Walter D. Goldberger, and Ira Z. Rothstein, "Asymptotics of d-dimensional Kaluza-Klein Black Holes: beyond the Newtonian approximation," JHEP 0603, 013 (2006) [arXiv: hep-th/0602016]
Talks
- The N Body Problem In General Relativity From Perturbative Field Theory
- 24 June 2008: Prospects in Theoretical Physics (PiTP) 2008 Participants' Talks, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton NJ
- Fermions On One Or Fewer Kinks (based on arXiv: 0709.3668 [hep-th])
- 2 November 2007: CERCA Seminar, Case Western Reserve University
- Asymptotics of Kaluza-Klein Black Holes (based on hep-th/0602016)
- 22 February 2007: Cosmology Seminar, Tufts University
- 16 January 2007: Syracuse University
- 10 January 2007: Cosmo Lunch, University of California, Irvine
- 10 November 2006: CERCA Seminar, Case Western Reserve University
Teaching
- Fall 2007
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for Physics 336/436 (Modern Cosmology) at Case Western Reserve University
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for Physics 349/449 (Mathematical Methods for Physics) at Case Western Reserve University
- Fall 2005, Spring 2006
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for Relativistic Field Theory 609A (Quantum Field Theory I) at Yale University
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for Relativistic Field Theory 630B (Quantum Field Theory II) at Yale University
- Fall 2004, Spring 2005
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for General Physics Laboratory 165A, 166B at Yale University
- Fall 2003, Spring 2004
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for General Physics 150A, 151B at Yale University
- Fall 2001, Spring 2002
- Founder and Instructor of official amateur astronomy class, Astro 99 at UC Berkeley
- Fall 2000, Spring 2001
- Physics tutor at UC Berkeley dormitory
- Summer 2006 to Spring 2007
- Provided math and physics instruction and aid for students spanning a broad range of ages and levels.
- Taught AP Calculus, algebra and college level physics.
- Tutored college level physics; math for SAT, GMAT, GRE and college level chemistry; physics for MCAT; SAT II Physics; and basic statistics.
- 1997 to 1999
- Tutored (UK) `A' and `O' level maths and physics.
Leadership Experiences, Community Service
- Spring 2005, Spring 2006
- Organized star parties for people with disabilities, in collaboration with STARRY, Yale's undergraduate astronomy club.
- Spring 2000 to Summer 2002
- Founder and Leader of Astronomers at Berkeley, an amateur astronomy club at UC Berkeley
- 1995 to 1996
- Chief photographer for my high school, Hwa Chong Junior College, Singapore
Skills