Plasma Astrophysicist | HAPI Research Associate
We discovered a new resonant gravitational instability driven by the relative drift between baryons and dark matter after decoupling. When the projected dark matter drift is subsonic, baryon sound waves resonate with Doppler‑shifted dark matter modes, producing exponential growth that exceeds the intrinsic dark matter growth rate. The instability operates on short timescales (years to Myr) across all scales – from planets to galaxy clusters – and naturally explains long‑standing puzzles: the persistence of spiral arms in galaxies, the heating of the intracluster medium (cooling flow problem), turbulence in molecular clouds, and high‑frequency solar oscillations. It also introduces a collisionless drag that may alleviate the Hubble and σ8 tensions and offers direct observational tests via seismic vibrations (Earth, Moon, ice sheets) and pulsar timing arrays.
First comprehensive analysis of a new instability that alters the standard picture of gravitational structure formation, unifying subsonic enhancement and supersonic suppression of baryon perturbations.
arXiv:2604.22665 & Submitted to ApJFrom driving spiral arms in galaxies to heating the intracluster medium and seeding Population III stars – the instability provides a new lens on dark matter–baryon interactions across all scales.
My research here focuses on understanding the microphysics of cosmic ray transport and their significant impact on astrophysical environments, from the interstellar medium to galaxy clusters.
Discovered a novel CR-driven instability that grows significantly faster than previously known instabilities, with profound implications for CR transport and electron acceleration.
Paper 1 (ApJ) Paper 2 (JPP Letter)Developing predictive frameworks for nonlinear saturation mechanisms of CR driven instabilities which dectate their transport.
Read Paper (ApJ)Developing predictive frameworks for CR transport that move beyond quasi-linear theory limitations, incorporating nonlinear saturation effects in realistic astrophysical conditions.
Investigating how CRs drive galactic winds, regulate star formation, and contribute to anomalous ionization in molecular clouds through advanced plasma simulations.
Investigating electron and ion acceleration mechanisms in astrophysical shocks, from supernova remnants to intracluster medium, with emphasis on the role of plasma instabilities.
By changing the Alfvénic Mach number, MA, we show that the shocks where intermediate-scale instability operates have a much higher electron acceleration efficiency compared to high MA shocks, i.e., MA > 10.
Read Paper (ApJ)Study of how mass ratio variations affect shock dynamics and particle acceleration.
Read Paper (ApJL) View SimulationUsing particle-in-cell simulations, we investigated how ion magnetization (σi) affects parallel electron-ion collisionless shocks and found that strongly magnetized shocks (σi > 1) exhibit lower compression ratios and suppressed particle acceleration while maintaining stability, whereas weakly magnetized shocks drive instabilities and generate suprathermal particles through shock-drift acceleration.
Read Paper (ApJ) View SimulationSystematically studying how magnetic field orientation affects electron acceleration efficiency in non-relativistic shocks.
Investigating electron acceleration in low Mach number shocks relevant to structure formation in the intracluster medium.
As the primary developer of the SHARP code, I've created a highly accurate plasma dynamics simulator that enables previously intractable simulations of astrophysical plasmas.
Implemented up to 5th-order spline interpolation for field gathering and particle scattering, achieving three-order-of-magnitude improvement in energy conservation.
Read Paper (ApJ)Integrated kinetic, ideal fluid, and Landau-fluid plasma descriptions in a unified framework for multi-scale astrophysical simulations.
Read Paper (JPP)I investigate the nonlinear evolution of beam-plasma instabilities in diverse astrophysical environments, ranging from solar radio bursts to the intergalactic medium (IGM).
Specifically, within the IGM, these instabilities are critical for constraining the strength of intergalactic magnetic fields and may be responsible for substantial heating in the large, empty regions known as cosmic voids.
Investigating the nonlinear saturation mechanisms of beam-plasma instabilities and their impact on cosmic magnetic field origins.
Paper 1Using PIC simulations, we re-examine and invalidate all constraints on dark photon dark matter from its resonant conversion to plasmons in the early universe.
Complete list: Google Scholar