Research

Research Themes

My work is centered on theoretical astrophysics, with an emphasis on problems where a relatively clean physical model can still make contact with real observables. I am especially interested in how planetary systems form, how small bodies preserve dynamical history, and how unusual objects can reveal the broader physics of planet formation.

The themes that currently organize most of my work are giant planet formation, interstellar objects, and the orbital and physical evolution of small bodies. Across those topics, I use analytical theory, numerical modeling, and physically motivated scaling arguments to ask which features of a system are robust and which are sensitive to uncertain microphysics.

Current Projects

Circumplanetary disks and giant planet formation. I study the structure and radiative signatures of circumplanetary disks, including how their thermodynamics and geometry affect what future observations can infer about forming planets.

Interstellar objects and their histories. I work on the physical interpretation of interstellar visitors, especially what their kinematics, thermal evolution, and volatile behavior can tell us about the environments where they formed.

Small-body dynamics and dark comets. I am interested in how nongravitational accelerations, orbital architectures, and long-term dynamical evolution can be used to reconstruct the origins and physical states of small bodies in the Solar System.

Formation pathways across planetary systems. More broadly, I am interested in distinguishing between different formation channels for planets and substellar companions, and in identifying which observable signatures survive well enough to make those distinctions meaningful.

Open Questions

• Which signatures most reliably distinguish different giant-planet formation pathways?
• What can interstellar objects reveal about the demographics and chemistry of other planetary systems?
• How much hidden physics is encoded in the orbital histories of dark comets and related small bodies?
• Which simplified theoretical models remain predictive when translated into real observations?

I am especially drawn to problems where a compact theoretical calculation can sharpen how we interpret data, motivate future observations, or reframe a broader astrophysical question.