CV: PDF version as of 8/13/2021.
Galactic Dynamics:
Using high resolution numerical simulations, I model the evolution of stellar disks inside massive rotating DM halos. I study how halo spin effects the long term evolution of the stellar bar---sometimes leading to its dissolution, contributing to an explanation of the unbarred lane of the Hubble Fork diagram. Below are surface density contours of disks in halos of varying spin showing the zoo of morphologies that can be produced from initially identical disks in halos of varied spin.
Galactic Dynamics:
Using high resolution numerical simulations, I model the evolution of stellar disks inside massive rotating DM halos. I study how halo spin effects the long term evolution of the stellar bar---sometimes leading to its dissolution, contributing to an explanation of the unbarred lane of the Hubble Fork diagram. Below are surface density contours of disks in halos of varying spin showing the zoo of morphologies that can be produced from initially identical disks in halos of varied spin.
DM Observables:
The strong bar perturbation in most disk galaxies leads to secular coupling between the DM halo and stellar bar. With my postdoc advisor, Ann-Marie Madigan, I discovered a DM over-density feature nearly perpendicular to the stellar which should be present in the Milky Way---making it a prime location for future DM annihilation searches. Follow this link to watch a short talk on the topic from AAS DDA 2020!
Keplerian Disks:
With collaborators, I have studied the long term evolution of planetary disks. We have found that disks are susceptible to asymmetric clustering following the inclination instability. This discovery removes the need for Planet 9 in our solar system.
Of particular interest to me is the application of galactic dynamics techniques to planetary systems. Eccentric Keplerian disks found at large radii often mirror galactic disks, one example of this is in the inclination instability of planetary disks (bottom panel) compared to the buckling instability in barred galaxies (top panel.)
The strong bar perturbation in most disk galaxies leads to secular coupling between the DM halo and stellar bar. With my postdoc advisor, Ann-Marie Madigan, I discovered a DM over-density feature nearly perpendicular to the stellar which should be present in the Milky Way---making it a prime location for future DM annihilation searches. Follow this link to watch a short talk on the topic from AAS DDA 2020!
Keplerian Disks:
With collaborators, I have studied the long term evolution of planetary disks. We have found that disks are susceptible to asymmetric clustering following the inclination instability. This discovery removes the need for Planet 9 in our solar system.
Of particular interest to me is the application of galactic dynamics techniques to planetary systems. Eccentric Keplerian disks found at large radii often mirror galactic disks, one example of this is in the inclination instability of planetary disks (bottom panel) compared to the buckling instability in barred galaxies (top panel.)
Observational Astronomy:
The majority of my work is theoretical, however I have experience operating and analyzing self-collected data from radio and optical telescopes (21-M Radio telescope at Morehead State University and MacAdam Student Observatory at the University of Kentucky.) To the right is exoplanet transit data taken at the MacAdam student observatory and then analyzed with the data reduction software AstroImageJ.
Observational Astronomy:
The majority of my work is theoretical, however I have experience operating and analyzing self-collected data from radio and optical telescopes (21-M Radio telescope at Morehead State University and MacAdam Student Observatory at the University of Kentucky.) To the right is exoplanet transit data taken at the MacAdam student observatory and then analyzed with the data reduction software AstroImageJ.
