I am broadly interested in the formation, evolution, and dynamics of planetary systems, accretion disks, and compact objects.
How does dust in protoplanetary disks collapse into planetesimals kilometers to hundreds of kilometers across, and what sets their masses, sizes, and binarity? Our simulations predicted the answers — and Kuiper Belt objects in the Solar System bear them out.
How do solids and planets grow and move inside their natal gas disks? Our simulations explore a planet's life in the disk — from dust trapped at the inner edge, to accreting planets that can reverse their own migration, to the circumplanetary disks around them.
Most close-in sub-Neptunes appear to be born in resonant chains that break apart on timescales of ~100 Myr. Our N-body simulations show that the ensuing collisions sculpt the orbital architectures of mature planetary systems.
AGN disks may be assembly lines for the binary black hole mergers detected in gravitational waves by LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA. Our simulations of embedded binaries reveal when gas hardens — or widens — their orbits.