Research

Overview

My research has always been focused on a specific modus operandi rather than on a specific theme: trying to find links between seemingly uncorrelated areas and using methods of one to explain the other. I became interested in this kind of approach during my Master, when I studied how Conformal Field Theory could be used to determine the operator content of exactly integrable spin models of Statistical Mechanics. Later, during my PhD, I worked on mappings of SU(p/q)-invariant (integrable) models to reaction-diffusion processes and crystal growth. I am also interested in History of Science and have published a few papers on the topic.

During my career I have also published a few experimental papers, an article on prime-number theory and several annotated translations mostly from German but also English and French into Portuguese.  Some of my more recent projects are described below.

Quantum Spin Models

I have been trained at the interface between Statiscal Mechanics and Mathematical Physics, namely in the Bethe Ansatz approach to solving spin models (Hermitian and non Hermitian XXZ model). From 2007 on I moved to other models with a particular interest in directed percolation, contact processes epidemic spreading with H. Hinrichsen in Würzburg. In Duisburg, in the group of D. Wolf, I worked on tribology and magnetic surfaces and their reaction to the tip of an atomic force microscope.

Temporal Network Theory

My research in this field has been conducted in collaboration with Ana Bazzan (Computer Science, Porto Alegre), Sandra Prado (Physics, Porto Alegre), Ralph Kenna (Physics, in memoriam) and Pádraig Mac Carron (Physics, Maynooth), Julia Hillner (History, Bonn), Maírín Mac Carron (History, Cork), Robert Gramsch-Stehfest (History, Jena) and Giuditta Parolini (Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin). The idea is to provide historians with techniques they can use to gain new insights into historical events. The work done with Robert Gramsch-Stehfest and Ana Bazzan was that of finding coalitions of sovereigns during the crisis of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nations in 1225. The project with Julia and Maírín was on networks of women during the Late Roman Empire and early Middle Ages, particularly in the work of Bede (Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum). This project was supported by the Leverhulme Foundation. I studied networks of scientists in the early days of Meteorology in a project with Giuditta Parolini of the Technische Universität Berlin (TU-Berlin). The work with Pádraig Mac Carron,  Ralph Kenna and Sandra Prado was mostly about network analysis of mythological texts and was supported by an ERC Grant (Horizon 2016).

History/Philosophy of Science

My interest in History/Philosophy of Physics comes from studying primary sources by physicists and philosophers of science as well as some of the first textbooks on General Relativity by Max von Laue, Hermann Weyl and Arthur S. Eddington. This made me realize how much, as a student, I missed some profound insights that transpired from their pages. So I started reading original sources and  translating some of these into Portuguese, since a technical translation requires of the translator not only a knowledge of the source and target languages, but also a deep familiarity with the subject matter. Translation is not only a very effective way of learning more about something but it also serves another purpose: it gives people access to original works they would not be able to read otherwise. This is particularly true when we think of German: some of the greatest scientists of the 20th century spoke and wrote their foundational articles in that language, not to mention some of the greatest philosophers were also German speakers. To remain truthful to the conciseness of the language and the specificity of certain words is a daunting challenge, but absolutely worthwile.

Even though I did publish some annotated translations and research articles on Diderot, Boltzmann, Planck, Einstein, Gödel and Lilienthal, I am not a historian or philosopher of Science stricto sensu. However, I do study these subjects with great interest and approach them with the utmost respect.