Niels Obers

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Niels Obers
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Niels Obers
Born (1966-03-22) March 22, 1966 (age 59)
Nijmegen, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Alma mater Radboud University Nijmegen; University of California, Berkeley
Known forIrrational conformal field theory; U-duality; blackfolds; Newton–Cartan geometry
Scientific career
FieldsTheoretical physics; string theory; quantum gravity
Institutions Niels Bohr Institute; Nordita
Doctoral advisor M. B. Halpern

Niels A.J. Obers (born March 22, 1966, Nijmegen, Netherlands) is a Dutch theoretical physicist known for his contributions to conformal field theory, string theory, higher-dimensional black holes and holography. He is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, and was Director of Nordita, the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, from 2019 to 2023. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Obers was born in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and received his undergraduate education in physics at Radboud University Nijmegen, graduating cum laude in 1987. He earned an M.A. in physics in 1989 and completed his Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991 under the supervision of Martin B. Halpern.

Academic career

After his doctorate, Obers held postdoctoral and research positions at the University of Bonn, École Polytechnique, CERN, and Nordita. From 2000 to 2002, he was an assistant professor at Utrecht University and Amsterdam University. In 2002, he joined the Niels Bohr Institute as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 2012. He has chaired the Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology section and served as Deputy Head and Acting Head of Department. From 2019 to 2023, Obers served as Director of Nordita.

Research

Obers is known for his work on irrational conformal field theory, [2] non-perturbative dualities in string theory (notably U-duality), [3] and the dynamics of black holes and black branes via the blackfold approach, [4] [5] as well as for developing non-relativistic gravity, string theory, and holography using Newton–Cartan geometry and related non-Lorentzian structures. [6] [7] His research spans a broad range of topics in theoretical high-energy physics and gravitation.

Scientific service and grants

Obers has been principal investigator or co-investigator on major national and European research grants and has been representative of Denmark for several EU COST actions. He is a co-principal investigator of the Center of Gravity (CoG), a Danish National Research Foundation Center of Excellence hosted at the Niels Bohr Institute since September 2025. [8] [9]

Public engagement

Obers is active in science outreach and public communication. He has delivered public lectures on black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmology in Denmark and abroad. He has appeared on Danish television and radio, including DR and TV2, and in several podcasts. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

He has written several popular science articles in Danish. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Selected publications

A full list of publications is available via INSPIRE.

References

  1. ↑ "Obers appointed Director of Nordita". Nordita. 2019-01-10.
  2. ↑ Halpern, M.B.; Kiritsis, E.; Obers, N.A.; Clubok, K. (1996). "Irrational conformal field theory". Physics Reports. 265 (1–2): 1–138. arXiv: hep-th/9501144 . doi:10.1016/0370-1573(95)00017-8.
  3. ↑ Obers, N.A.; Pioline, B. (1999). "U-duality and M-theory". Physics Reports. 318: 113–225. arXiv: hep-th/9809039 . doi:10.1016/S0370-1573(99)00004-6.
  4. ↑ Emparan, R.; Harmark, T.; Niarchos, V.; Obers, N.A. (2009). "World-Volume Effective Theory for Higher-Dimensional Black Holes". Physical Review Letters. 102 191301. arXiv: 0902.0427 . doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.191301.
  5. ↑ Harmark, T.; Niarchos, V.; Obers, N.A. (2007). "Instabilities of black strings and branes". Classical and Quantum Gravity. 24: R1 –R90. arXiv: hep-th/0701022 . doi:10.1088/0264-9381/24/24/R01.
  6. ↑ Harmark, T.; Hartong, J.; Obers, N.A. (2017). "Non-Relativistic Strings and Limits of the AdS/CFT Correspondence". Physical Review D. 96 086019. arXiv: 1705.03535 . doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.96.086019.
  7. ↑ Hansen, D.; Hartong, J.; Obers, N.A. (2019). "Action Principle for Newtonian Gravity". Physical Review Letters. 122 061106. arXiv: 1807.04765 . doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.061106.
  8. ↑ "The Center of Gravity — Team" . Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  9. ↑ "Center of Gravity (CoG): a new DNRF Center of Excellence at NBI". Niels Bohr Institute. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  10. ↑ "Big Bang – ny forskning forklarer verdens begyndelse". TV2 News. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  11. ↑ "Big Bang challenged – Cyclic Cosmology". Science Stories. 2021-02-12. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  12. ↑ "The Anthropic Principle". SoundCloud. 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  13. ↑ "Entanglement". SoundCloud. 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  14. ↑ "Ubegribeligt: Tid". DR. 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  15. ↑ "Gravitational waves — Science Stories". Science Stories. 2024-05-31. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  16. ↑ "Einstein Telescope". Science Stories. 2025-10-01. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  17. ↑ Harmark, Troels; Obers, Niels A. (2008). "Nye dimensioner for sorte huller". Kvant (in Danish). 19 (4): 3–7. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  18. ↑ Obers, Niels (2014-05-02). "Big Bang: ny opdagelse udløser eufori". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  19. ↑ "Tyngdebølger — ekstramateriale (PDF)" (PDF). Aktuel Naturvidenskab (in Danish). 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  20. ↑ Harmark, Troels; Obers, Niels A. (2024). "Sorte huller". Kvant (in Danish). 35 (1): 3–6. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
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