Dong Lai's Research Group
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Our current research interest includes
- Relativistic and high energy astrophysics (pulsars,
supernovae, accretion disks, X-ray binaries;
gravitational waves, neutrino astrophysics)
- Hydrodynamics and MHD (stellar pulsations, accretion disks,
stellar encounters
in dense clusters, transport processes in stars, fluid instabilities,
astrophysical magnetic fields)
- Condensed matter astrophysics (equation of state, atoms,
molecules and solids in strong magnetic fields, neutron star interior
and surface physics, condensed matter in planets and brown dwarfs)
More specifically, our current research program falls into the
following four areas:
Some of our research interests may be reflected in our
publications
(to be updated once in a while).
A better place to look is
in the
arXiv.org (while everything else may be out of date,
this is expected to be up-to-date), or
ADS (Astro) and
ADS (Physics) .
Here are some recent talks that are online (Sorry, not up to date...)
-
R-Modes and Magnetic Fields (R-Mode Workshop, ITP, UCSB, 8/2000)
-
Overview of Neutron Star Kick Mechanisms (Conference on
Spin and Magnetism in Young Neutron Stars, ITP, 10/2000)
-
Bar-Mode Instability and Gravitational Waves
(Drexel Meeting on Gravitational Wave Sources and Detection; 10/31/2000)
-
Matter and Radiation in Strong Magnetic Fields of Neutron Stars
(Neutron Star workshop at Institute for Nuclear Theory, Seattle; 8/1/2001)
- Here is a power point talk
(Various version given at several places in 2002: Cornell, Columbia,
Goddard, IAU214, ASIAA)
Students currently working in our group:
Graduate students:
- Zach Medin (Astronomy; PhD expected 2008):
Quantum calculations of Matter in strong magnetic fields;
pulsar/Magnetar magnetosphere
- Dave Tsang (physics; PhD expected 2008):
Radiation from near Black
Holes; accretion disk dynamics
- Wen Fu (Astronomy): MHD processes in accretion disks
Undergarduate students:
Visiting Associates:
- Dr. Alexander Potekhin (Ioffe Institute, St Petersburg)
- Dr. Hang Zhang (Nanjing Normal University)
- Dr. Chen Wang (NAOC, Beijing)
Former Cornell students:
Ph.D. students:
- Wynn Ho (Ph.D. 2003):
Coalescing compact binaries and GWs; spin of young NSs and r-modes;
NS atmospheres, radiative transfer in strong magnetic fields.
Hubble postdoctoral fellow at Kavli Institute for Particle
Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University; now a postdoc at
Harvard CfA.
- Matt Van Adelsberg (Ph.D. 2005)
Radiative transfer, NS thermal emission. Now a postdoc at
U. Colorado/JILA.
- Akiko Shirakawa (Ph.D. 2007):
Magnetic accretion disks in X-ray binaries;
Nucleosynthesis in young cooling NSs. Now works in industry.
- Chen Wang (Ph.D. 2007 NAOC-Beijing; co-advisee):
Pulsar kick phenomenology, wave propagation in pulsar/magnetar magnetospheres
Other graduate students I have worked with:
- Phil Arras (Ph.D. 1999 with Wasserman):
Neutrino transport in strong magnetic fields;
thermal radiation from magnetars. Postddoc at CITA.
Now NSF postdoc fellow at KITP (UCSB).
- Harald Pfeiffer (Ph.D. 2003 with Teukolsky):
Mainly worked numerical relativity with Teukolsky.
Simulation of nonlinear dynamics of warped accretion disks.
Now Fairchild Postdoctoral Fellow in Theoretical Astrophys., Caltech.
Undergraduate students:
- Paul Wiggins (A&EP, '99):
Tidal interaction in NS-BH binaries. Ph.D. Caltech
- Carolyn Sealfon (college scholar, '00):
Matter in strong B-fields. Now a graduate student at U. Penn
- Brian Cameron (college scholar, '03):
Core collapse dynamics; matter in strong magnetic fields.
Now a graduate student at Caltech.
- Marcus Woo (Physics, '03):
Radiation from neutron stars. Now a graduate student at U. Maryland
- Jared Gabor (Caltech, '05): REU summer student
2004. Now a graduate student at U. Arizona
Joining our group:
There are opennings (fundings) for 1-2 graduate students (in physics and
astronomy) in our group.
Students interested in joining our research in theoretical
astrophysics are encouraged to contact Dong Lai as early as possible.
We gratefully acknowledge NASA, NSF, Chandra and the A.P. Sloan foundation for
supporting our research.
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