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Dr. Djuna Croon is Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology at Durham University. She received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Amsterdam University College and her master’s degree in physics from Kings College London. Next, Djuna was awarded her PhD in Theoretical Particle Physics from the University of Sussex. Afterwards, Djuna conducted postdoctoral research at Dartmouth College and subsequently at the Tri-University Meson Facility (TRIUMF), Canada’s particle accelerator centre. She joined the faculty at Durham University in 2021. In this interview, she shares more about her life and science.
People Behind the Science Podcast Show Notes
Life Outside of Science (2:08)
Much of Djuna’s free time is spent with her two young boys. They love going to playgrounds, visiting farms, and baking cookies together.
The Scientific Side (3:08)
Trained as a particle physicist, Djuna is interested in the most fundamental building blocks of nature. She studies dark matter, a mysterious type of subatomic particle that we don’t yet know much about yet. Their work uses astrophysical measurements and particle physics experiments to better understand dark matter.
A Dose of Motivation (4:33)
Djuna is really motivated by solving puzzles. It can sometimes feel overwhelming to be working on these really large questions, but Djuna finds that if she can break a big question down into small, solvable puzzles, then she knows she can make meaningful progress.
What Got You Hooked on Science? (7:17)
In her younger years, Djuna didn’t think much about science. She wanted to be a dolphin trainer or a baker. As she went through school, Djuna enjoyed creative pursuits and was interested in the arts, but she also liked mathematics because she was good at it. Not knowing what she wanted to do for a career, Djuna opted for one of the more open-ended paths in secondary school. Through her coursework, she took classes in mathematics, physics, and other STEM subjects. Later in secondary school, Djuna was introduced to quantum mechanics in her physics classes, and she found it so fascinating. Her interests in quantum mechanics guided her course selections as she enrolled in college. Gaining momentum, Djuna continued her studies in a master’s degree program and then a PhD program. Even though she didn’t set out to be a scientist, Djuna felt that by the time she chose to be a scientist, she knew what was in store for her in this career.
The Low Points: Failures and Challenges (24:30)
During her PhD program, Djuna studied the physics of cosmic inflation, which is a theory of really rapidly accelerated expansion in the early universe. Her work focused on a particular theory of what might have driven that expansion, and she compared two types of observations. In the field, there are two conventions for defining a particular variable, and Djuna hadn’t noticed that the conventions were different. She was amazed and excited when her calculations yielded an enormous effect. As Djuna prepared the first paper of her PhD to describe this work, she realized just in time that she had mixed up the two conventions. When this was corrected, the enormous effect she had seen went away completely. While it was disappointing that this project didn’t ultimately produce exciting results, and she didn’t end up writing a paper about it, Djuna was fortunate to have caught her mistake in time before it was published.
A Shining Success! (29:08)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many conferences were held remotely. Djuna missed seeing colleagues and attending meetings in person, but one silver lining was that she was able to remotely attend a scientific meeting that she likely wouldn’t have otherwise gone to. Djuna ventured outside of her field of particle physics a bit in choosing sessions to attend. In particular, she listened to a few speakers who discussed current topics in gravitational wave astronomy. Djuna knew the theory that at the end of a star’s life, there is a supernova explosion. If the star is very heavy, a black hole can then form. However, she didn’t know that if the stars are really heavy, they can undergo a different kind of supernova explosion that is so powerful that it does not leave a remnant. Instead of a black hole, there is nothing left. This notion left a lasting impact on Djuna. She reached out afterwards to a colleague, who then brought another person into the conversation, and they started writing papers on this phenomenon together. This marked the beginning of a fantastic series of collaborations and a close friendship with these colleagues.
Their initial successes led to further collaborative projects, including a recent publication where Djuna and an undergraduate student in her lab worked with colleagues to create an analytical framework for the capture of dark matter annihilating in star-like objects called dark dwarves. Dark dwarves form when lighter star-like objects are not heavy enough to start to fuse hydrogen in their cores to stabilize against gravity. Dark matter can be captured, and the dark matter particles can annihilate each other, generating energy. So, rather than continuously cooling down as they lose energy, these brown dwarves get enough energy from dark matter annihilation to pause their evolution. This was a really neat effect and a fun project.
Book Recommendations (37:43)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Most Treasured Travel (39:36)
As a postdoc, Djuna lived in Vancouver in Canada for three years, and she loved spending time in the Pacific Northwest. The pandemic occurred at the same time, and as a result, Djuna wasn’t able to do the usual scientific travel for conferences and other events. This meant that she had a lot of time to explore the city of Vancouver and engage in a variety of outdoor activities nearby, including cross-country skiing, hiking, sailing, and surfing. It was an amazing experience.
Quirky Traditions and Funny Memories (41:13)
Djuna is so excited about her work that the questions she is answering sometimes keep her up at night. In her field, they typically work together in small groups on projects that everyone is really interested in, and this sparks close friendships. When traveling for conferences and workshops, attendees go to the sessions together, but it’s also common for them to get groups together to go hiking, climbing, cycling, or exploring nature. It’s wonderful to surround yourself with people who are answering big questions about nature, but who also enjoy reveling in it.
Advice For Us All (43:40)
It’s okay if you don’t always have a plan or know what the next step of your career is going to be. Many successful people have been in the same position, even though it may seem like they had everything figured out. You can take chances, and some of them will work out. Do the best you can, and examine your options at every stage. Even if the choices you make don’t work out, you’ll likely land on your feet some other way. Also, explore your curiosity. Regardless of whether this is in your job or your life outside of work, being curious can lead you to discover new things and bring you a lot of fun and joy along the way.
Guest Bio
Djuna is a researcher in theoretical particle physics, astro-particle physics, and cosmology. She has worked on a number of topics ranging from the first second of our Universe (cosmic inflation, the great question of the matter-anti-matter asymmetry, and the origin of dark matter) to extreme astrophysical events today (supernova explosions, dark matter disrupting stars and planets, gravitational wave mergers), all in the quest to find hints of the particle nature of dark matter. When she’s not trying to unravel this great mystery, she can be found baking with her three-year-old, giggling with her one-year-old, or trying to figure out quite how many things she can transport on one bicycle (whilst wearing the least practical shoes possible).
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