About Lightcurve
The science leads.
The methods serve.
Lightcurve is a research group at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. We use computational methods — including machine learning — to study the Sun, stars, exoplanets, and Earth's interior.
Modern observatories produce data faster than humans can analyse it. Missions like Kepler, TESS, SDO, and the upcoming PLATO generate petabytes of observations; by the time a research group completes a first pass on one dataset, the next instrument is already returning data. Discoveries sit waiting in observations no one has had the time, or the right tools, to examine.
We exist to close that gap.
Why now
Three forces have converged to make this work both possible and urgent.
A data deluge.
Space- and ground-based missions now produce more astrophysical data each year than the field has historically processed. Kepler, TESS, SDO, and PLATO are generating petabytes of observations that cannot be examined by hand.
Computational maturity.
Statistical and machine learning techniques have matured to the point where they can address scientific questions, not just engineering ones. The methods are ready to be applied to frontier problems in astrophysics and geophysics.
A growing recognition.
Computational methods are no longer optional in modern astrophysics. They are a requirement. Public investment has already paid for the instruments and the data. Lightcurve turns that investment into reliable insight, openly communicated.
Institution
About TIFR
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is one of India's premier institutions for fundamental science, founded by Homi J. Bhabha and supported by the Department of Atomic Energy. Its Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics is among its flagship groups. Lightcurve is based on TIFR's Mumbai campus, on the waterfront at Colaba.
TIFR campus photo
Our history
From the Seismology Group to Lightcurve
Lightcurve grew out of the former TIFR Seismology Group, which built its reputation on helioseismology and the computational methods needed to image the solar interior.
New grant support from the Premji and Murty foundations has expanded that scope across four domains — Sun, Stars, Exoplanets, and Earth — and a forthcoming collaboration with Google DeepMind extends the methodological reach further.
Lightcurve is the next chapter: same rigour, broader ambition.
Principal investigator
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Prof. Shravan Hanasoge
Professor, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics
Shravan leads Lightcurve and is a faculty member at TIFR's Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, with a dual appointment at NYU Abu Dhabi's Center for Space Science.
He completed his PhD at Stanford and held postdoctoral appointments at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and Princeton University. His research has appeared in Nature Astronomy, The Astrophysical Journal, and PNAS, and has been covered by Nature, Vice, NBC News, MIT Technology Review, and New Scientist.
Alongside research, Shravan has written more than 35 articles for the Indian Express, translating frontier work in astrophysics, computation, and AI for a general audience.
Current team
Organised by primary research focus.
Stars & Asteroseismology
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Samarth GK
PhD Scholar
Global seismology of the Sun and stars; normal-mode coupling.
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Prasad Mani
Research Fellow
Helioseismology of turbulent convection; large-scale dynamics from ground- and space-based data.
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Siddharth Dhanpal
PhD Scholar
Imaging red giants; ML for asteroseismic spectra.
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Subrata Panda
Postdoctoral Fellow
Machine learning for asteroseismology; rotation and structural deformation in young intermediate-mass stars.
Visiting scholars
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Shatanik Bhattacharya
Visiting Fellow
Machine learning for asteroseismology.
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Nipun
Undergraduate Intern
Machine learning for asteroseismology.
Alumni
| Name | Group position | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Dattaraj Dhuri | PhD, 2020 | Postdoc, NYU Abu Dhabi (Center for Space Science) |
| Krishnendu Mandal | PhD, 2020 | Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research |
| Jishnu Bhattacharya | PhD, 2018 | Postdoc, NYU Abu Dhabi (Center for Space Science) |
| Arjun Datta | Postdoc, 2018–2021 | Faculty, IISER Pune |
| Ajay Malkoti | Postdoc, 2019–2021 | Scientist, NGRI Hyderabad |
| Tuneer Chakraborty | Masters, 2019 | PhD student, ICTS Bengaluru |
| Shamik Bhattacharjee | Postdoc | — |
Former visiting students have gone on to positions at IIT Madras, UIUC, ICTS Bengaluru, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur, Monash, IUCAA, North Dakota State, and beyond — including geophysics, finance, and software engineering. The range reflects how broadly the group's computational training transfers.
Advisory board
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Shrinivas Kulkarni
Caltech
One of the most cited observational astronomers working today; pioneer of time-domain astronomy.
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Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard
Aarhus University
A founding figure of modern asteroseismology.
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Arpita Roy
Schmidt Sciences
Astronomer working at the intersection of instrumentation, exoplanet detection, and large-scale science funding.
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Karthikeyan Shanmugam
Google DeepMind
Research scientist in machine learning.