Research:

I am interested in studying nonlinear astrophysical systems, particularly in high energy astrophysics and cosmology. I've done a variety of research in the past in other fields, including planetary occultations and data analysis about Pluto ; some engineering work with a CCD camera on the Magellen telescopes; and some high-energy astrophysics research with long-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts.

I'm currently working on a project with Fulvio Melia in Theoretical Astrophysics. We are looking for numerical solutions to the Landau Covariant Kinetic Equation, which is a nonlinear partial differential equation that describes the nonthermal distribution of particles moving at relativistic speeds (basically, it's a relativistic energy transport theory). Such nonthermal particle distributions are found in astrophysical systems in the presence of strong gravitational and/or magnetic fields. There are numerous applications for which a solution can be applied to; some interesting ones are being able to correctly model the conditions of a very hot plamsa accreting around compact objects (e.g., black holes, neutron stars, etc.); determining more accurate temperature variations of the hot plasma in the very early Universe; modeling the re-acceleration of particles in shocks produced during galaxy mergers; and proving (or dis-proving) the existence of two-temperature plasmas around supermassive black holes.



Research resume