Alessia Platania

Photograph of Alessia Platania
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
Areas of research:
Alessia Platania is postdoctoral researcher at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and a distinguished visitor at Nordita. Previously, she pursued a Double Ph.D. degree in Physics at the Radboud University Nijmegen and Catania University, and worked as a Humboldt research fellow at the University of Heidelberg. Alessia was awarded several prizes, including the "Roberto Giordano" and "Sergio Fubini" prizes, the Springer Thesis Award for outstanding Ph.D. thesis, and the Perimeter Institute BMO “Inclusive Excellence” postdoc prize.
My research lies at the interface between quantum gravity, black hole physics, and cosmology. In the past, I focused on the study of renormalization group flows of quantum gravity-matter systems (with and without Lorentz invariance violations), and on the construction of modified cosmological models and black-hole spacetimes attempting to capture the hallmarks of asymptotically safe gravity. More recently, I got interested in potential connections between string theory and asymptotically safe gravity, and I have initiated the study of non-perturbative aspects of string theory via functional renormalization group techniques.
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Perimeter Institute, 2020-present
  • Humboldt fellow, Heidelberg University, 2018-2020
  • Postdoctoral researcher, Heidelberg University, 2017-2018
  • PhD student, Radboud University Nijmegen, 2014-2018
  • Invited scientific short-term visitor within the “Origins Excellence Cluster Visitor Program”, Technical University of Munich (TUM), 2022
  • BMO “Inclusive Excellence” Postdoc Prize, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, 2022
  • Distinguished Visitor, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (Nordita), 2022
  • Invitation to the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, 2019
  • "Sergio Fubini" PhD Award, Italian Institute for Nuclear and Particle Physics, 2018
  • Best Contribution by Young Scientists to the conference "Quantum Fields - from Fundamental Concepts to Phenomenological Questions", Scientific journal Universe, 2018
  • Springer Theses Award, Springer scientific review panel, 2018
  • "Roberto Giordano" Degree Award 2013/14, University of Catania, 2014
  • Platania, A., & Redondo-Yuste, J. (2023). Diverging black hole entropy from quantum infrared non-localities. arxiv:2303.17621v1
  • Borissova, J. N., & Platania, A. (n.d.). Formation and evaporation of quantum black holes from the decoupling mechanism in quantum gravity. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2023(3). doi:10.1007/jhep03(2023)046
  • Platania, A. (2023). Black Holes in Asymptotically Safe Gravity. arxiv:2302.04272v2
  • Knorr, B., Platania, A., & Schiffer, M. (n.d.). Configuration space for quantum gravity in a locally regularized path integral. Physical Review D, 106(12). doi:10.1103/physrevd.106.126002
  • Fraaije, M., Platania, A., & Saueressig, F. (2022). On the reconstruction problem in quantum gravity. Physics Letters B, 834, 137399. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2022.137399
  • Platania, A. (n.d.). Causality, unitarity and stability in quantum gravity: a non-perturbative perspective. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2022(9). doi:10.1007/jhep09(2022)167
  • Knorr, B., & Platania, A. (n.d.). Sifting quantum black holes through the principle of least action. Physical Review D, 106(2). doi:10.1103/physrevd.106.l021901
  • Addazi, A., Alvarez-Muniz, J., Alves Batista, R., Amelino-Camelia, G., Antonelli, V., Arzano, M., . . . Zornoza, J. D. (2022). Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era—A review. Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics, 125, 103948. doi:10.1016/j.ppnp.2022.103948
  • Basile, I., & Platania, A. (n.d.). String tension between de Sitter vacua and curvature corrections. Physical Review D, 104(12). doi:10.1103/physrevd.104.l121901
  • Basile, I., & Platania, A. (2021). Asymptotic Safety: Swampland or Wonderland?. Universe 2021, 7(10), 389. doi:10.3390/universe7100389
  • Basile, I., & Platania, A. (2021). Cosmological a'-corrections from the functional renormalization group. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2021(6). doi:10.1007/jhep06(2021)045
  • Platania, A., & Wetterich, C. (2020). Non-perturbative unitarity and fictitious ghosts in quantum gravity. Physics Letters B, 811, 135911. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2020.135911
  • Eichhorn, A., Platania, A., & Schiffer, M. (n.d.). Lorentz invariance violations in the interplay of quantum gravity with matter. Physical Review D, 102(2). doi:10.1103/physrevd.102.026007
  • Platania, A. (n.d.). From Renormalization Group Flows to Cosmology. Frontiers in Physics, 8. doi:10.3389/fphy.2020.00188
  • Bonanno, A., Casadio, R., & Platania, A. (n.d.). Gravitational antiscreening in stellar interiors. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 2020(01), 022. doi:10.1088/1475-7516/2020/01/022
  • Asymptotic constraints on quantum black holes, London-Oldenburg Relativity Seminar, 2023/07/12
  • Asymptotic constraints on quantum black holes, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany, 2023/07/06
  • A pedagogical introduction to Asymptotically Safe Gravity, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, 2023/05/11
  • Non-perturbative strings, asymptotic safety, and the swampland, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy, 2023/05/02
  • Asymptotic safety and the swampland, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, 2023/04/25
  • Asymptotic constraints on quantum black holes, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy, 2023/04/20
  • Diverging black hole entropy from quantum infrared non-localities, 2023/04/19
  • Sifting quantum black holes through the principle of least action, Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Naples, Italy, 2023/04/18
  • Asymptotic Safety in Quantum Gravity, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy, 2023/04/17
  • Non-perturbative strings, asymptotic safety, and the swampland, University of Florence, Florence, Italy, 2023/04/05
  • Cosmological \alpha' corrections from the functional renormalization group, University of Cambridge, DAMTP, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2023/04/03
  • Sifting quantum black holes through the principle of least action, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom, 2023/03/29
  • Non-perturbative strings, asymptotic safety, and the swampland, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom, 2023/03/24
  • Cosmological \alpha' corrections from the functional renormalization group, University of Portsmouth, ICG, Portsmouth, United Kingdom, 2023/03/22
  • Sifting quantum black holes through the principle of least action, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom, 2023/03/20
  • Non-perturbative strings, asymptotic safety, and the swampland, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom, 2023/03/14
  • Non-perturbative strings, asymptotic safety, and the swampland, Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, Stockholm, Sweden, 2022/11/23
  • Causality, non-perturbative unitarity, and stability in quantum gravity: a non-perturbative perspective, 2022/11/14
  • Asymptotic Safety and the Swampland, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, 2022/10/27
  • Cosmological \alpha' corrections from the functional renormalization group, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany, 2022/10/27
  • Non-perturbative strings, asymptotic safety, and the swampland, 11th International Conference on the Exact Renormalization Group 2022 (ERG2022), Berlin, 2022/07/28
  • Asymptotic Safety and the Swampland, Seminar series "String Pheno Seminars", Online, 2022/06/07
  • Asymptotic Safety and the Swampland, Seminar talk, series "Quantum Fields and Strings Meetings", 2022/04/22
  • Sifting quantum black holes through the principle of least action, Seminar series "ETH particle seminars", ETH Zürich (videoconference), 2022/04/07
  • Sifting quantum black holes through the principle of least action, Quantum gravity, Cosmology, and Black Holes, Covilhã, 2022/03/16
  • Sifting quantum black holes through the principle of least action, Future trends in gravitational physics, videoconference, 2022/02/09
  • Non-perturbative unitarity in Quantum Gravity, Seminar series "International Seminars on Asymptotic Safety", videoconference, 2022/01/24
  • String Tension between de Sitter vacua and Curvature Corrections, Seminar series "Padua Theory Seminars", Padua (videoconference), 2021/11/22
  • Quantum gravity, regular black holes and infrared non-localities, Workshop "Regular black holes in quantum gravity and beyond: from theory to shadow observations", videoconference, 2021/10/20
  • Quantum gravity, regular black holes and infrared non-localities, Workshop "Black Holes Inside and Out", videoconference, 2021/09/30
  • String Tension between de Sitter Vacua and Curvature Corrections, Corfu Summer Institute: 21st school and workshops on Elementary Particle Physics and Gravity, Corfu, 2021/09/23
  • String Tension between de Sitter vacua and Curvature Corrections, Seminar series "CP3-seminars", CP3-Origins (videoconference), 2021/06/07
  • Non-perturbative unitarity and fake ghosts in Quantum Gravity, Workshop "The Quantum & The Gravity 2021", videoconference, 2021/04/30
  • Non-perturbative unitarity and fake ghosts in Quantum Gravity, Workshop "Quantum Gravity, Higher Derivatives & Nonlocality", videoconference, 2021/03/09
  • From renormalization group flows to cosmology, Seminar series "cosmology group seminars", University of Trento (videoconference), 2021/02/11