Niayesh Afshordi, University of Waterloo

Research

Big Bang Black Holes Cosmic Microwave Background Cosmology Dark Energy Dark Matter Data Analysis Gravitational Waves

Latest papers

Ultraviolet Completion of the Big Bang in Quadratic Gravity.
Physical review letters · 2026 · senior author
A semiclassical model of the immediate temperature distribution surrounding the track of heavy ions with therapeutic energies.
Physics in medicine and biology · 2025
The effect of non-ionizing excitations on the diffusion of ion species and inter-track correlations in FLASH ultra-high dose rate radiotherapy.
Physics in medicine and biology · 2022

All 4 publications

Latest funding

Novel Astrophysical Windows into Fundamental Physics: From Big Bang to Black Holes, and the Dark Universe
NSERC · 2020 · Principal investigator
$170,000
Novel Astrophysical Windows into Fundamental Physics
NSERC · 2015 · Principal investigator
$210,000

All 2 grants and awards

4 publications.

01

Ultraviolet Completion of the Big Bang in Quadratic Gravity.

Liu R, Quintin J, Afshordi N

Physical review letters2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1103/6gtx-j455 PMID: 41931761

02

A semiclassical model of the immediate temperature distribution surrounding the track of heavy ions with therapeutic energies.

Rädler M, Afshordi N, Taleei R, Parodi K, Abolfath R, Lascaud J

Physics in medicine and biology2025

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/add83b PMID: 40359968

03

The effect of non-ionizing excitations on the diffusion of ion species and inter-track correlations in FLASH ultra-high dose rate radiotherapy.

Abolfath R, Baikalov A, Bartzsch S, Afshordi N, Mohan R

Physics in medicine and biology2022

DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ac69a6 PMID: 35453139

04

From Planck Data to Planck Era: Observational Tests of Holographic Cosmology.

Afshordi N, Corianò C, Delle Rose L, Gould E, Skenderis K

Physical review letters2017First author

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.118.041301 PMID: 28186796

Novel Astrophysical Windows into Fundamental Physics: From Big Bang to Black Holes, and the Dark Universe

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Afshordi, Niayesh

Keywords: black holes; big bang; dark matter; dark energy; cosmology; quantum gravity; gravitational waves; modified gravity; cosmic microwave background; data analysis

$170,000

Novel Astrophysical Windows into Fundamental Physics

Principal investigatorNSERC2015Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Afshordi, Niayesh

$210,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

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Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2020

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Big Bang Dear Professor Afshordi, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Ultraviolet Completion of the Big Bang in Quadratic Gravity." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Novel Astrophysical Windows into Fundamental Physics: From Big Bang to Black Holes, and the Dark Universe" (2020), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]