
Alex Cassem, Researcher in Theoretical Physics
Hi, I am Alex Cassem, an upcoming graduate student at Tufts University to study theoretical physics and cosmology. My research focuses are in string cosmology, (stringy) inflation, the Swampland, and geometrical physics.
​
I received my degree in physics and mathematics from Winona State University, MN, in May 2022.
​
I also extremely enjoy teaching and tutoring. For example, I created a resource letter for undergraduates who want to learn general relativity but do not have the opportunity at smaller institutions. I also am currently a TA in which I have created labs, lab exams, and graded them as well (I also tutor quite a lot)!
_______________
Research Interests














My main interests currently lie in quantum cosmology through Tufts University's Institute . I have worked in string theory's Swampland program via distance conjectures, and still enjoy working in the field when I have time. As of right now, there is an apparent connection between geometric flows and distance conjectures in the Swampland in field theory space. This has been shown to work for Anti de-Sitter space, but that's it! So, I am considering about a more complicated space, Kahler manifolds, with the corresponding flow being Calabi-Yau flow.
​
Other projects I have worked on are Brans-Dicke Cosmologies with a fermionic field, holography or the AdS/CFT conjecture from type 2B string theory, whether or not Hawking Radiation can be fully expressed in terms of geometry via Ricci flow, and most recently (except with what is above) I will be starting research in the winter onto the spring into quantum cosmology (with no specific model as of right now).
​
I also have looked into the structure of string theory by going through Strings in a Nutshell textbook by producing solutions, and also the geometrical physics textbook by Nakahara, Geometry, Topology, and Physics. Both can be found in my blog or with the buttons above.
Research Topics & Reviews
Many of the papers are reviews for people who want to learn and dive into a subject.
​
Others are short articles I was asked/recommended to write.
​
The three to the right are some of my favorite. The rest can be found under the research topics/reviews tab.
A. Cassem & S. Cremonini, "The Swampland and Geometric Flows."
-
This is the 2-page (almost) write-up of my end of summer REU presentation.
A. Cassem & A. Ferstl, "Fermionic Cosmologies in Brans-Dicke Gravity."
-
This is the work from my first research project as an undergraduate. It says 2021, but I did a few revisions. Originally Spring 2020.