Unnikrishnan's major theoretical contributions include the Theory of Cosmic Relativity[32][33][7][34] and Universal Action Mechanics. These theories have provided new insights into our understanding of the interplay between gravity and quantum mechanics, and have opened up new avenues for further research. Cosmic Relativity,[35] replaces current theories of dynamics and relativity and argues that all relativistic phenomena and laws of dynamics are controlled by the gravitational potentials of matter and energy in the universe.[6] It provides evidence and solutions to several major issues in fundamental physics.[36]
The discovery of the quantization of the Hall effect, where the movement of electrons is restricted to a 2-D plane, was characterized by quantized plateaus in the Hall resistance and has a simple theory for the integer quantum Hall effect,[37] but there is still no proper understanding of the more spectacular fractional quantum Hall effect.[37] The Cosmic Relativity theory offers a comprehensive understanding of both integer and fractional effects by modifying the quantum degeneracy due to cosmic gravitomagnetic interaction.[38]
Unnikrishnan is a key member and proposer-scientist of the LIGO-India[39] project and has been a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC).[16] He has made a significant impact in the field of gravitational waves[40][24] as he shared the Breakthrough Prize in Physics[41] and the Gruber Prize in Cosmology[42] with the LSC in 2016 for their groundbreaking discovery.
He has held academic positions at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)[1] Mumbai, India, School of Quantum Technology at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) [2] Pune, India and Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, India.
Unnikrishnan has published over 250 research papers and articles, and is also the author of two major works:[21][20] his first monograph "Gravity's Time"[20] and a major treatise "New Relativity in the Gravitational Universe".[43] The treatise, which presents a new and innovative perspective on the foundational basis of relativity,[44] has had a major impact in the field. The latter book calls for a change in the foundational basis of relativity and provides a solution to outstanding questions and puzzles about dynamics and relativity.
^rasaraja1979 (8 July 2017). "Prof. C. S. Unnikrishnan". Bhaktivedanta Institute. Retrieved 22 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^d'Espagnat, Bernard (21 February 2003). "On the Unnikrishnan approach to the notion of locality". arXiv:quant-ph/0302167.
^Unnikrishnan, C. S. (23 December 2019). "Quantum Noise in Balanced Differential Measurements in Optics: Implication to the Wave Modes of Quantum Vacuum". arXiv:1912.11362 [quant-ph].
^Unnikrishnan, C. S. (30 September 2021). "A Coherent and Unified Single Particle Description of the Integer and Fractional Quantum Hall Effects". arXiv:2110.00343 [physics.gen-ph].