Hello👋, It's Me

Debayan Das

And I'm

Doing my Integrated Maters at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata (or simply IISER Kolkata)! I am interested in investigating the question on "What is the chemical evolution of interstellar material on its voyage from clouds to forming stars and ultimately to newborn planets?" Currently I am involved in two projects : (1) Building an exoplanet cloud formation code under the guidance of Dr. Liton Majumdar , (2) Validating exoplanets with statistical methods with the VaTEST team

My Education

Integrated Masters in Physics(2020 -2025)

Collage: Indian Institute Of Science Education And Research Kolkata

Current Year: 4th year(senior Undergraduate)

Courses Completed:

1.Introduction to Astrophysics

2.classical Mechanics

3.Electrostatics and Electrodynamics

4.NonLinear dynamics

5.Quantum Mechanics

6.Quantum Field Theory

7.Special Theory of Relativity

8.Computational Physics

9.Statistical Mechanics

10.Wave Optics

11.Thermodynamics

Research Experience

1. Exoplanet cloud formation code

Clouds play a crucial role in the analysis of exoplanet atmospheres and habitability. However, cloud particles, with higher opacity compared to atmospheric gases, result in increased photon absorption and re-emission. This phenomenon leads to atmospheric heating and imposes limitations on telescopic observations, confining them to layers above the clouds. With this motivation, we are currently developing a cloud evolution model to aid in the analysis of exoplanet atmospheres. Please click below to see our current status on this work

2. Validation of Transiting Exoplanets using Statistical Tools

It's an on going collaborative work with the VaTEST team, currenly we are working on finding and Characterizing Sub Neptune. Here mainly we are using 'Juliet' in modeling the Light Curve and 'Triceratops' to find out the FPPS along with other statistical tools. Please click below to know about other past works

3. Atmospheric Retrieval of WASP-77Ab

This group project was done during the NASA Sagan Summer Workshop 2023. The project was to retrieve the atmospheric properties of the WASP-77A b using JWST NIRspec spectrograph. We had to reproduce the result of August et al. (2023) by comparing the [Fe/H] and [C/O] in the atmosphere. We also carried out an "on-off" analysis at [Fe/H] = 1 as well as compare the P-T profile with August's paper. This project was presented during the workshop. CLICK BELOW(presentation).

4. Citizen Scientist

Exoplanet Watch is a NASA citizen science project, sponsored by NASA's Universe of Learning, that lets anyone learn about planets that orbit stars beyond our solar system and get involved in observing them. Citizen scientists who are a part of this project will get access to FITS files from MicroObservatory, where they can generate lightcurves to find an exoplanet, or contribute to the existing ephemeris of an exoplanet.

5. Pilot Wave Hydrodynamics

In this paper, we delve into the deterministic and realistic interpretations of quantum mechanics, focusing on De Broglie-Bohm Mechanics and Pilot-Wave Hydrodynamics, we provides a valuable insights into the potential connections between quantum and classical realms, shedding light on alternative perspectives for understanding quantum phenomena.CLICK BELOW(paper).

Workshop/ Schools

1. Sagan Summer Workshop-2023

The workshop covers theoretical modeling, interpretation, and observations of exoplanets using a variety of telescopes, techniques, and hands-on exercises(on Eureka pipeline, EXCALIBUR pipeline, forward modeling using PICASO and retrievals using the petitRADTRANS pipeline) presented by leading experts in the field. It is organised by NASA Exoplanet Science Institute(NExScI), Caltech.click here to see the recorded lectures.For more details press here.

2. Gravitaional Wave open Data workshop

This Open Data Workshop is the 6th in a series of workshops that began in 2018 by Gravitational Wave Open Science Center. Here we did a crash-course in gravitational-wave data analysis. The workshop includes lectures by data analysis experts,Noise Reduction techniques, hands on experience with software tutorials. For more details press here

3. Intro2Astro Summer school

This 8 week long summer school is organised by Fei Dai (Caltech), Howard Isaacson(University of California, Berkeley).Here I get hands on experience on how to analyze GAIA data, kepler-Tess data, how to fit Transit curves, modeling using MCMC and PyMC3 and many more things. Please CLICK below to know more about it.

4. International Conference on Quantum Information and Quantum Technology

This is a 6 week long conference organised by IISER and I-Hub Quantum Technology Foundation. Here I Learned any theoritical aspects on Quantum Optics, Quantum Chemistry, Quantum Foundation, and Quantum Materials. It was a wonderful experience to see how quntum Technologies revolutionizing modern era. For more details press here

5. Astronomy Research Data Analysis -Workshop

It was a 2 day long astronomy image analysis workshop.It coves many noise reduction techniques to create better images of astrophysical objects using satellite data.

6. Inspitre Award Manak National Awardee(Science Exihibition)

Each year, a Science Exhibition is organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in collaboration with the National Innovation Foundation – India (NIF). This competition consists of five levels, starting from the school level, then progressing to the district level, state level, and ultimately culminating at the national level. I had the privilege of participating in the national-level competition where I received a grant of 10,000 INR and obtained a patent for my proposal. Furthermore, I was invited to participate in Japan's Sakura Science Program at the international level. click here to know more about Inspire award manak

About Me

Hi! I am engaged in observational astronomy, focusing on the study of exoplanets, the interstellar medium, and planet formation. Currently, I am conducting research under the guidance of Prof. Liton Majumdar at NISER, working specifically on exoplanets. Additionally, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Prof. Jan Cami (UWO, Canada) at UWO, Canada, on a short-term project related to the interstellar medium.
If you have inquiries or are interested in potential collaborations, please feel free to contact me via LinkedIn or email.