Curriculum vitae
Norma Susana Mankoč Borštnik
Born in Buenos Aires in Argentina to Slovenian parents
-1974 Ph.D. In physics, University of Ljubljana
-1968 Josef Stefan Institute, Theoretical Physics
-1975 Assistant Professor, 1981 Associate Professor, 1986 (Full) Professor, Department of
Physics, University of Ljubljana
-1996 Professor with a special status (with maximal number of points), University of Ljubljana,
Department of Physics
-1999 Chartered Physicist, Institute of Physics, London, 76 Portland Place, W1N 3DH
-1999-2004 Founder and director of the Primorska Institute for Natural Sciences and
Technology, Koper, Slovenia.
Lecturing: Quantum Mechanics I and II, Theoretical Physics I and II, Nuclear and Elementary
Particle Physics, Modern Physics, Physics of Elementary Particles and Fields, graduate courses
on Theory of Groups, Classical Physics, Selected Topics in Physics.
My theoretical research work spans the range from the physics of elementary particles and
fields, through hadronic, nuclear and molecular physics, cosmology to quantum computers:
o I was, together with collaborators, among the very first explaining the nuclear force as the
interaction between the two clusters of quarks, publishing several papers on this topic,
demonstrating that the presentation of the force depends strongly on the model. (Phys. Lett.
93B (1980) 489-491, J. Phys. G7 (1981)1335-1393, Phys.Lett. 99B (1981) 486-488, Nucl.
Phys. A395 (1983) 1371-1390).
o I demonstrated how can the collective degrees of freedom be extracted from the many body
degrees of freedom by using the generator coordinate method. (Nucl. Phys. A239 (1975) 321).
o I proposed, together with collaborators, the coherent rotational states as a mechanism to
produce short pulses in molecules and nuclei (Phys. Rep. 158 (1988) 161-204 and refs.
therein).
o I proposed the two modes resonator, formed by two weakly coupled cavities, to test quantum
interference phenomena. (Phys. Rev. A 68 (1999) 3299).
o Recognizing that there is besides the Dirac type of the Clifford object the second one anticommuting with the Dirac one (there is no third kind of the Clifford algebra objects), forming the
equivalent representations with respect to the Dirac one and since the massless families of
quarks and leptons do form the equivalent representations with respect to the family members, I
proposed the second kind of the gamma operators as the mechanism for generating families.
This is the only proposal in the literature, which explains and not just postulates the number of
families by making a choice of the group in one or another way. Due to this mechanism I am
predicting (together with collaborators) that there are four coupled families at the low energy
regime and the stable fifth family (Phys. Lett. B 292 (1992) 25-29, J. Math. Phys. 34 (1993)
3731-3745, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 9 (1994)1731-1745, J. Math. Phys. 36 (1995)1593-1601, Phys.
Rev. D 62 (2000) 044010, J. of Theor. Phys. 40 (2001)315-338), Phys. Rev. D 80 (2009)
083534).
o I proposed (first alone, then) together with the collaborator the improved version - the
technique for the description of the fundamental representations of the orthogonal groups in any
dimension and consequently of any unitary subgroup (J. Math. Phys. 34 (1993) 3731-3745, J.
Math. Phys. 43 (2002) 5782-5803, J. Math. Phys. 44 (2003) 4817-4827), manifesting also how
useful can be this technique, when searching for protocols for quantum computers (Int. J. of
Modern Phys. 48 (2009) 507)).
o I proved, together with the collaborator, on a toy model, that there is the hope for the KaluzaKlein-like theories to show the right way beyond the standard model in spite of the “no-go”
theorem of Witten (Phys. Lett. B 633 (2006) 771-775, Phys. Lett. B 644 (2007) 198, Phys. Lett.
B 663 (2008) 265, New J. Phys.13 (2011) 103027, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor.45 (2012) 465401).
o I am proposing the spin-charge-family theory, as the new way beyond the standard model,
which is offering the explanation for all the assumptions of the standard model. The theory
offers the explanation for:: i. the appearance of all the charges of one family members, ii. the
origin of all vector gauge fields, iii. the origin of families, iv. the origin of the higgs and Yukawa
couplings, explaining why does the scalar higgs carry the ”fermion” weak and hyper charges, v.
the origin of dark matter, vi. the origin of matter/antimatter asymmetry. The theory predicts: a.
the existence of the fourth family, coupled to the observed three, b. the existence of several
scalar fields, all with the weak and hyper charges of the higgs (explaining the origin of the higgs
and Yukawa couplings), to be observed at the LHC. c. the existence of the next four families
(the stable of which forms the dark matter), d. an interesting “nuclear interaction” among stable
very heavy nucleons. The spin-charge-family theory is a very promising theory since it is
answering so many open questions in elementary particle physics and cosmology (Phys. Rev. D
74, 073013-16 (2006), New J. of Phys. 10 (2008) 093002 and refs. therein, Phys. Rev. D 80,
(2009) 083534, J. Mod. Phys. 4 (2013) 823, JHEP (2014) 165, Phys. Rev. D 91 (2015) 065004,
JMP Dec. 2015 in print).
o With the collaborator we have started the project of fermionization (bosonization) bosons
(fermions) in any dimensions to better understand why nature has made a choice of the charges
and the corresponding gauge fields, the vector and scalar ones in (3+1)-dimensional space-time
(Proc. Bled 2015, Phys. Lett. B 486 (2000) 314-321, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 35 (2002) 1056310571, Phys. Lett. B 644 (2007) 198-202, J. High Energy Phys. 04 (2014) 16).
I founded the Primorska Institute for Natural Sciences and Technology in Koper in 1999 and
have leaded it for five years while developing and leading or collaborating on several joint
projects with the enterprises.
This institute was founded to invite into the institute not only very capable researchers with their
own ideas in the theoretical and experimental physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, computer science, and other technical sciences, but among them those
who were prepared to propose and develop projects, interesting for enterprises and were able
to teach students on concrete problems how new ideas emerge and how can one approach to
look for the solutions.
I founded in 1998 and I am still leading, together with the collaborators, the Annual Workshop
entitled “What Comes Beyond the Standard Models” (the electroweak and cosmological ones)
which has this year taken place for the 18th consecutive time. Every year we also publish the
Proceedings to this Workshop. This workshop is unique in stressing intense discussions
detailing proposed approaches to the open questions of elementary particle physics and
cosmology.
My students succeeded to found the successful enterprise (BS Storitve), offering to my
further students the fellowship on any topic under my supervision.
Other activities:
*-1987 (one of the) organizer of the Workshop on Mesonic Degrees of Freedom in Hadrons,
Bled-Ljubljana, June-July, 1987,
*-1989 organizer (one of) of the 6th Adriatic Meeting on Particle Physics, Modern Trends in
Particle Physics,
*- 2001- peer reviewer for the EC Research Training Network,
*- 1991-1998 President of the National Physics Committee of the Society of Mathematicians,
Physicists and Astronomers of Slovenia (DMFA), leading inclusion of the physics section of
DMFA in the EPS,
*- 1998 initiator (one of several) and one of the founders of the Primorska Science Foundation
*- 1999 initiator (one of two) and founder of the Primorska Institute for Natural Sciences in Koper
*- 1999-2004 director of this Institute
*-1996-1999 member of the Council for General Education of the Republic of Slovenia
*-since 1991 principal investigator for several projects financed by the Slovenian Ministry of
Science and Technology
*-since 1999 principal investigator and/or collaborator on several joint projects with the
enterprises
*- 2008-2009 member of the Managing Board of the University of Primorska
*- since 2009-14 a principal investigator on “Origin of families, dark matter constituents and
physics beyond the Standard model”, with 0,5 FTE, it is the part of the program “Astrophysics
and Physics of Atmosphere”. P1-0188
Mentorship: Matjaž Kaluža, Milan Golob, Bojan Božič, Klemen Bohinc, Bojan Gornik, Renato
Bertalanič, Valentina Ločniškar, Gregor Bregar, Matjaž Gregorič, Miriam Cvetič, Klemen Bohinc,
Metod Škarja.