03.04.2024

Tübingen Reloaded: Insights with Astrophysicist Dr. Arthur Suvorov

In this series, we invite research alumni, who returned to the University of Tübingen on a Tübingen Reloaded grant, to share their insights and reflections by completing 10 sentences. Join us and discover what fuels their curiosity and gain impressions of their stay.

Astrophysicist Dr. Arthur Suvorov, who was invited back to the University of Tübingen by Prof. Dr. Kostas Kokkotas (UT Theoretical Astrophysics), provides insights into his research and his experience during his stay in Tübingen.

1.    The most exciting aspect of being a physicist is...
learning something new (almost) every day! Every day, I try to read some new work or think about an old problem in a new way. This ongoing exploration helps to build a "3D" picture in one's mind eye to better understand the world around us.

2. In my research project at the University of Tübingen, I was...
exploring how stars respond when they quake. Some very dense stars, most notably neutron stars, actually get so cold (relatively speaking) that they solidify a "crust" like the earth. Occasionally, something dramatic happens in the star's life that causes a starquake; I was and am interested in modelling such phenomena to better interpret the signals we see.

3.    Collaborating with other researchers helps me...
to enrich my understanding. Even the smartest people I have met have been able to learn things from others. I do not understand everything -- far from it -- and so collaborating with people, like the Theoretical Astrophysics Tuebingen (TAT) group, goes a long way to help me figure out what is going on.

4.    One of the biggest challenges I face in my research is...
numerics. Sometimes you can do everything right but the computer gives the wrong answer anyway.

5.    If I could explain one concept in physics to the entire world, it would be...
the sheer vastness of it all. Light moves fast according to us, yes, but in the cosmic scale of things it can take a practical eternity to move between galaxies. Be patient with your fellow humans.

6.    As a physicist, I often find inspiration...
in Nature. Walk around, take a look at what's going on outside. Really think about it -- it's all marvelously complicated.

7.    If I weren't a physicist, I would probably be...
an accountant or something boring where my mathematical skills can still be useful.

8.    When I'm not in the lab, I enjoy...
discussing nonsense and philosophy alike down at the pub.

9.    Coming from Australia, I'm intrigued by this aspect of German culture...
the order of things! I love the structure of German society where everything (well, maybe not the Deutsche Bahn) runs like clockwork.

10.    My favorite thing about Tübingen is...
the vibrancy. Everywhere you go there is something to do.