Soumen Ghosh is an Assistant Professor in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences division of the School of Arts and Sciences. He obtained his MSc in Physics from the University of Calcutta, and his PhD from the Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar. During his doctoral studies he identified the cause of localised electron heating observed in radio-frequency-driven expanding helicon plasma. 

After brief postdoctoral research work on fusion-like tokamak plasma experiments at the Institute for Plasma Research, Professor Ghosh moved to the University of California San Diego for postdoctoral research. There, he worked with a state-of-the-art, trap-based positron beam, which is around six times colder than even room temperature and used it for studies of resonant positron-molecule interactions and the study of positron-molecule bound states. A new resonant interaction with molecular vibrational modes beyond the fundamentals was identified. This mechanism is relevant to understanding enhanced positron annihilation in large molecules, both laboratory environments and, potentially, from the interstellar medium.

In addition to research in physics, Professor Ghosh enjoys teaching the subject to students. At the School of Arts and Sciences, he is teaching core physics courses to undergraduate students majoring in physics and engineering.

Professor Ghosh received the Parvez Guzdar Young Scientist Award - 2020 for his research contributions to helicon wave plasma studies and slow positron beam physics.
 

He works on broad range of experimental physics topics, including charged particle interactions (beam, collision, plasmas etc.) with atoms and molecules, and applied physics. 

• S. Ghosh, J. R. Danielson, and C. M. Surko, Resonant Annihilation and Positron Bound States in Benzene, Phys. Rev. Lett., 129, 123401 (2022).
• S. Ghosh, J. R. Danielson, and C. M. Surko, Enhanced resonant positron annihilation due to non-fundamental modes in molecules, Phys. Rev. Lett., 125, 173401 (2020).
• S. Ghosh, J. R. Danielson, and C. M. Surko, Energy distribution and adiabatic guiding of a soild-neon-moderated positron beam, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys., 53, 085701 (2020).
• S. Ghosh, S. Yadav, K. K. Barada, P. K. Chattopadhyay, J. Ghosh, R. Pal and D. Bora, Formation of annular plasma downstream by magnetic aperture in the Helicon Experimental (HeX) device, Phys. Plasma (Letter), 24, 020703 (2017).
• S. Ghosh, P. K. Chattopadhyay, J. Ghosh, R. Pal and D. Bora, Transition from single to multiple axial potential structures (MAPS) in expanding helicon plasma, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 50, 065201 (2017).
• S. Ghosh, K. K. Barada, P. K. Chattopadhyay, J. Ghosh, and D. Bora, Localized electron heating and density peaking in downstream helicon plasma, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 24, 034011 (2015).
   

• PHY 212: Oscillations, Waves and Optics 
• PHY 321: Laboratory Physics - Electronics