Tidal Disruption Events

I’m broadly interested in tidal disruption events (TDEs) and how they light up when a star gets too close to a supermassive black hole.

• Coronal TDEs / ECLEs: highly ionized iron lines that may appear when a bright flare shines on nearby gas.
• Why some TDEs are X-ray bright (and others are not): what controls whether we see the flare directly or mostly in optical/UV light.
• Spectral diversity: why some events show helium-dominated spectra, while others look more hydrogen-rich.
• Partial / repeating disruptions: cases where the star may survive the first passage and the system can flare more than once.
• CrL-TDE QPE links: whether a one-time disruption can evolve into recurring, quasi-periodic eruptions.
• TDEs vs AGN variability: how to tell a short-lived disruption apart from “normal” black-hole activity in galactic nuclei.
• Jets and extreme events: why a small fraction of TDEs launch relativistic jets and produce very high-energy emission.

Binary Systems & Compact Objects

I’m also fascinated by compact objects and the transients produced by neutron stars and black holes.

• Black holes and neutron stars: their formation, extreme environments, and how we can learn about them through short-lived transients.
• NS–BH mergers: when a neutron star is disrupted (vs swallowed) and how that changes the expected signals.
• Kilonovae: the glow from neutron-star mergers and what it reveals about heavy-element production.
• Jets and afterglows: how gamma-ray bursts and afterglows depend on jet structure and viewing angle.
• Post-merger remnants: how long a massive neutron star survives and how that shapes the ejecta and emission.
• FRBs and magnetars: what powers fast radio bursts and what environments they prefer.

Galaxy

I’m also interested in what host galaxies can tell us about where nuclear transients happen and why.

• Preferred TDE hosts: the tendency for many TDEs to appear in compact or recently quenched galaxies.
• Link to galaxy history: how star-formation history and central structure might affect the chance of a TDE.
• Dust and hidden activity: how gas and dust can change what a nuclear flare looks like across wavelengths.
• Impact on the surroundings: whether a short flare can leave a noticeable imprint on gas near the galaxy center.
• Little Red Dots (JWST): very compact, dusty high-redshift galaxies that may host fast-growing black holes.

AI for Astronomy

I’m also curious about how AI can help astronomers discover and understand rare events in the era of surveys and also case study. I’m learning ML right now and hope to explore it more during my PhD.