​Research Interest
I am interested in a wide range of astrophysical topics. At Trottier Space Institute at McGill, I focus on the formation condition of Earth-like terrestrial planets, magma ocean, volatile accretion and evolution, and atmospheric profile modeling. Previously at UCLA, I am interested in compact object binaries, three-body systems, and gravitational wave astronomy.
Constraining the Earth Formation through Solar Nebular Imprints with Deep Mantle
The primordial solar nebula is preserved within the deep mantle (the Ocean Island Basalt), via the exchange volatile exchange between the nebula and the molten magma ocean. The accreted primordial atmosphere will be continuously ingassed into the Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE) as the nebula dissipates over time. Eventually, the solidified magma ocean will outgas most of the volatiles and the proto-cores would undergo Giant Impact.
By assuming a 99% to 99.9% degassing rate during mantle solidification. We can constrain the parameter spaces that lead to the initial Neon content during primordial nebula accretion. For two 0.5 Earth Mass objects to form, the embryos would need to accrete while the nebula density is still dense enough, and about 4-5Myrs after the birth of the Sun. Subsequently, those embryos will sit around for cool and undergo Giant Impact when the gas within the disk is dispersed enough to allow orbital crossing ( ~30 - 40 Myrs).
Gravitational-Wave Signature of Compact Object Binaries in the Galactic Center
Figure 5 from Wang. et al (2021), showing the number of potential visible Black Hole Binaries using the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) with a background metalicity of 0.003 (left) or 0.02 (right).
In this project, I generated a population synthesis of a million systems using a binary evolution code, Compact Object Synthesis, and Monte Carlo Investigation Code (COSMIC), which accounts for parameters such as stellar wind and common envelope. By investigating the dynamics of those binaries under the gravitational influence of a supermassive black hole, we provided a proof-of-concept of the potential number of visible sources due to compact object binaries via the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and LIGO/Virgo. Expanding beyond previous studies, we have shown that black hole binaries and white dwarf binaries are the most prominent sources of GW via the Eccentric Kozai-Lidov-induced merger channel.