Samuel Kováčik

Contact Information

Office number: F2 - 137
Email: samuel.kovacik(you know what)fmph.uniba.sk

Research interests

I'm interested in various aspects of physics of quantum space and various models related to it. From the M-theory (numerical simulations), through noncommutative physics (fuzzy spaces mostly) to phenomenological aspects (regular black holes and modification of vacuum dispersion). List of my papers can be found here, here is our recent poster here.

Teaching

Theoretical physics
Two semester class for pedagogical combination physics/mathematics and physics/informatics. We cover most important topics of classical and modern physics from a slightly more mathematical that is common for students of pedagogics. Preliminary and auxiliary notes can be found here.

Selected topics in statistical physics
This is something like Statistical physics and thermodynamics 2. We go beyond the level of undergraduate class in most important topic of statistical physics (partition function, phase transitions, out-of-equilibrium systems) and try to connect to other areas of physics and math (Bayesian statistics, basics of information theory, Monte Carlo methods). Preliminary and auxiliary notes can be found here.

Supervising

I'm mostly interested in physics of quantum space and hope some students will be too. I usually announce some thesis topics but also, I' generally happy to discuss it with a potential candidate and come up with something new. It should concert numerical/analytical study of some models of physics in quantum space, behaviour of small black holes, random matrix models and so on. Nothing too fancy, but with some hope of being publishable later on. Basic introduction to QM for students before taking the course and interested in quantum space is here. Some supervised works:


• Quantum gravity phenomenology
• Entropická sila
• Behaviour of microscopic black holes

Thesis

Below are the theses that have been (or are being) written under my supervision — three at Masaryk University in Brno (MUNI) and the rest at FMFI UK in Bratislava. Titles link to the CRZP / IS MUNI record where available; entries without a link are still in progress.

PhD

• Phenomenological and Numerical Aspects of Quantum space — Patrik Rusnák (FMFI UK, in progress). Phenomenological and numerical study of models of quantum space.
• Consequences of Quantum Structure of space — Matej Hrmo (FMFI UK, in progress). Investigates physical consequences of a possible quantum structure of spacetime.

Master's (Mgr.)

• Quantum space visualisation — Katarína Nedelková (FMFI UK, in progress). Visualisation tools for exploring the structure of noncommutative quantum space.
• Bootstrapping advanced quantum systems — Katarína Magdolenová (FMFI UK, in progress). Extends the bootstrap method from her bachelor's thesis to more advanced quantum/matrix models.
• Algorithm for GRB delay computation — Barbora Hudačková (MUNI, in progress, working title). Develops an algorithm for computing quantum-gravity-induced time delays in gamma-ray burst signals.
• Statistics of rare astrophysical signals — Alžbeta Šobichová (MUNI, in progress, working title). Statistical study of rare high-energy astrophysical signals in the context of quantum-gravity phenomenology.
• Classical Aspects of Fuzzy Models — Rebeka Viznerová (FMFI UK, 2026). Simulates classical wave propagation and fluid dynamics on the three-dimensional fuzzy onion space.
• Probing Quantum Gravity: Precision Tests via High-Energy Phenomena Analysis — Michaela Ďuríšková (MUNI, 2025). Searches for quantum-gravity-induced time delays in Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope GRB data.
• Quantum mechanical problems in the fuzzy onion model — Patrik Rusnák (FMFI UK, 2025). Studies the hydrogen atom and harmonic oscillator within the fuzzy onion matrix model.
• Field theory on the fuzzy onion space — Matej Hrmo (FMFI UK, 2024). Hamiltonian Monte Carlo search for phase transitions of a scalar field theory on the fuzzy onion space.
• Correcting the scalar field theory on a fuzzy sphere — Alžbeta Miklášová (FMFI UK, 2024). Proposes and numerically verifies a correction term removing an unwanted extra phase from scalar field theory on the fuzzy sphere.

Bachelor's (Bc.)

• Modified harmonic oscillator — Simona Chuťková (FMFI UK, 2026). Finite-difference study of how noncommutative-space corrections shift the harmonic oscillator's energy spectrum.
• Bootstrapping simple models — Juraj Andráši (FMFI UK, 2026). Numerically optimizes the bootstrap method for matrix models and extends it to more advanced models.
• Bootstrapping Simple Matrix Models — Katarína Magdolenová (FMFI UK, 2025). New bootstrap-based method for eigenvalue distributions of Hermitian matrix models, mapping the phase diagram of an asymmetric cubic model. (Resulted in the study Eigenvalue distribution from bootstrap estimates, Phys. Rev. D 112, 126021 (2025).)
• Analysis of time delay of gamma-ray bursts — Barbora Hudačková (MUNI, 2025). Simulation framework testing cross-correlation algorithms for detecting Planck-scale time delays in GRB light curves.
• Threshold anomaly effect — Alžbeta Šobichová (MUNI, 2025). Literature review of the quantum-gravity threshold anomaly effect and its physical constraints, motivated by GRB 221009A.
• Quantum gravity phenomenology — Patrik Rusnák (FMFI UK, 2023). Quantum-gravity dispersion relations constrained using gamma-ray burst timing data. (Together with M. Ďuríšková's thesis below, resulted in the study Phenomenology of the dispersion law in three-dimensional quantum space, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A (2025).)
• Vacuum dispersion effect on GRB — Michaela Ďuríšková (MUNI, 2023). Derives a quantum-gravity-modified photon threshold relation and tests its observability using the GRB 221009A signal. (Together with P. Rusnák's thesis above, resulted in the study Phenomenology of the dispersion law in three-dimensional quantum space, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A (2025).)
• Entropická sila — Lucia Gelenekyová (FMFI UK, 2022). Hamiltonian Monte Carlo simulation of a polymer model showing the entropic force scales linearly with end-to-end distance.
• Behaviour of microscopic black holes — Matej Hrmo (FMFI UK, 2022). Hawking radiation of black holes with a quantum-blurred singularity is shown to be largely independent of the blurring profile.