Research

An up-to-date list of my publications can be obtained here NASA ADS.

My research group studies a variety of astrophysical phenomena related to stellar fluid dynamics and binary evolution, including:  

• Tides in coalescing neutron star binaries and their impact on the gravitational-wave signal of the inspiral.
• Dynamical tides in stellar binaries and post-main sequence stars.
• Orbital evolution of short-period exoplanets (hot Jupiters).
• Thermonuclear burning on the surfaces of accreting neutron stars (X-ray bursts).
• Asteroseismology.

Tidal physics: Despite decades of intense observational and theoretical study, the physical mechanism for tidal dissipation remains poorly understood in many systems. Physically motivated theories of tides are crucial for understanding the origin of close binaries, their orbital evolution, and the tidal heating and spin evolution of the components. Theories of tidal dissipation find application in a broad range of astrophysics, from the survival of exoplanets, to the circularization of stellar binaries, to the fate of compact binaries that are strong gravitational-wave sources. My research group aims to advance the field of tidal dynamics through first-principle calculations of tidal dissipation.

Other areas of interest: While tidal physics is a major focus of our research, we also work on a variety of other astrophysics problems. In addition to stellar fluid dynamics and asteroseismology, I have a long-standing interest in X-ray burst physics and stellar explosions. Our research incorporates a broad range of astrophysical processes and techniques, including stellar modeling, computational fluid dynamics, nonlinear wave mechanics, thermonuclear burning and nucleosynthesis, and gravitational-wave data analysis.

PhD students:

• Ishaan Varshney (UTA)
• Shaan Patel (UTA)
• Mohammed Mourabit (UTA)
• Hang Yu (graduated MIT June 2019)
• Keaton Burns (graduated MIT June 2018)
• Reed Essick (graduated MIT June 2017)