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I am now working with Dr. Ortwin Gerhard on modeling stellar systems using NMAGIC code. I am now working on modeling the remote cluster NGC2419. I am also interested in predicting observables of galaxies from cosmological simulations (using NMAGIC). I did my PhD on alternative gravity like MOND.
The line-of-sight velocity dispersion of NGC2419, predicted from series of models in Standard Gravity, with specified anisotropy.
Galaxies are natural laboratories for testing the fundamental physics on the nature of dark matter. MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) is a young theory that tries to explain the missing mass problem in galaxies and galaxy rotation curves by a non-linear modification of the Newton's second law instead of invoking Cold Dark Matter (CDM). While there are several versions of how MOND extrapolates to the large scales, the original Bekenstein-Milgrom version of MOND is fully predictive and works very well on galaxy scales. While there is no consensus on the nature of the missing mass, precious few simulations are done to test the MOND framework. Little work has been done to explore this theory beyond fitting the rotation curves and Tully-Fisher relation of isolated disc galaxies. Previously little is known of MONDian elliptical galaxies accelerating in any galaxy cluster. A defining feature of MOND is that internal dynamics of the galaxy depends on the overall acceleration of the galaxy. The existence of cuspy triaxial equilibrium for elliptical galaxies is the minimal requirement for MOND.
I have been working on
(1) escape speeds from spiral galaxies -- especially on comparing the potentials of the Milky Way Galaxy in the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) and MOND frameworks,
(2) constructing equilibrium elliptical galaxies by Schwarzschild's approach, and then testing the stability and evolution of galaxies by N-body simulations.
A picture of my former group. Galaxies are lopsided when embedded in external fields.