Astrophysics Research Interests

Faculty

• Professor James Stone: Astrophysical gas dynamics; star and planet formation, accretion flows, interstellar gas dynamics. Numerical algorithms for magneto-hydrodynamics and radiation hydrodynamics
• Professor Matias Zaldarriaga: Cosmology -- early universe cosmology, cosmological perturbation theory, cosmic microwave background, large-scale structure, dark matter and dark energy

Current Members

• Uddipan Banik: galactic dynamics, galaxy formation and evolution, dark matter, kinetic theory, and structure formation. While at IAS, Uddipan will conduct research on the relaxation of collisionless and weakly collisional systems, e.g., galaxies, (cold and self-interacting) dark matter halos, and collisionless plasma.
• Nianyi Chen: using numerical simulations to model the evolution of galaxies across cosmic time as well as the connection between massive black holes and their host galaxies. While at IAS, she will develop simulations for characterizing the observation signatures of such evolution through different probes and scales.
• Shi-Fan Chen: large scale structure of the universe and studies both its evolution and use to constrain fundamental physics, with an emphasis on perturbative methods. A particular recent interest has involved using these techniques in the arena of cross correlations, which he plans to further develop at the Institute.
• Sihao Cheng: using statistical analysis to understand our Universe, including topics in cosmology, stellar physics, and extrasolar planets. Recently he has become interested in developing analytical tools inspired by neural networks and studying their connection to and applications in physics.
• Alexander Chernoglazov: high-energy astrophysics; kinetic physics of plasmas and radiation mechanisms in the magnetospheres of compact objects (e.g., neutron stars and black holes). While at IAS, I will work on explaining the thermal X-ray emissions from the surfaces of pulsars and the dynamics of pulsar wind nebulae.
• Biwei Dai: developing and applying physics-motivated machine learning models to learn the fundamental properties of the universe from large-scale structure datasets. He currently works on the data analysis of weak gravitational lensing at the field level.
• Rebecca Diesing: acceleration and astrophysical impact of cosmic rays. She is currently using a detailed model of cosmic ray acceleration to better understand the evolutions and environments of extreme astrophysical phenomena, such as supernova remnants, novae, and winds launched by active galactic nuclei.
• Alexander Dittmann: theoretical and computational astrophysics. His research often focuses on the interactions between binary systems and their accretion disks, and using X-ray observations of neutron stars to glean insight into the nature of matter at supranuclear densities.
• Callum Fairbairn: the nonlinear dynamics of distorted astrophysical discs;  protoplanetary gas-dust dynamics, planet formation processes and planet-disc interactions; disc instabilities; and debris discs.
• Chris Hamilton: dynamics of galaxies, globular clusters, binary stars, and planetary systems; compact object mergers (LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave progenitors); and the kinetic theory of stellar systems and plasmas.
• Yue Hu: ubiquitous turbulence and magnetic fields in astrophysics, as well as their role in cosmic ray transport, star formation, and galaxy evolution. At IAS, Hu will explore and study the largest magnetic field in galaxy clusters.
• Nickolas Kokron: the formation of large-scale dark matter structures in the Universe and their connection to luminous tracers such as galaxies. He employs both numerical simulations and pen-and-paper theory in this study, with an emphasis on techniques that combine both paradigms.
• Gabriela Sato-Polito: connecting new observations of the most elusive corners of the Universe with tests of fundamental physics. Her recent work explores techniques to map the matter distribution in the distant Universe, and measurements of gravitational waves by precisely timing pulsars.
• Giovanni Maria Tomaselli: theoretical and astrophysical aspects of black holes, gravitational waves, and dark matter. His research has explored signatures of new ultralight particles in black hole binary inspirals.
• George Wong: high-energy astrophysical phenomena, especially in the context of accretion onto supermassive black holes; connection between black holes and relativistic jets as might be observed by next-generation experiments.
• Tomer Yavetz: applying the tools of theoretical dynamics in order to understand a variety of phenomena, ranging from the orbits of Earth satellites to the nature of dark matter. His main focus is on studying the distribution and substructure of dark matter in the Milky Way.
• Muni Zhou: uses a combination of analytic theory and numerical experiments to study plasma physics problems such as magnetogenesis, plasma dynamos, and kinetic turbulence.