Lars Hernquist

Lars Hernquist (December 14, 1954) is a theoretical astrophysicist and Mallinckrodt Professor of Astrophysics at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. He is best known for his research on dynamical processes in cosmology and galaxy formation/galaxy evolution.^[1][2][3][4]

Lars Eric Hernquist
Nationality	American
Alma mater	California Institute of Technology
Known for	Hernquist Profile Illustris project
Awards	Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2020)
Scientific career
Fields	Astrophysics
Institutions	Harvard University Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian University of California, Santa Cruz
Thesis	Thermal and Magnetic Properties of Neutron Stars (1985)
Doctoral advisor	Roger Blandford

Career and research

Hernquist's research involves the dynamics of galaxies and the effect of a merger driven model for galaxy evolution. He is a world expert in simulating mergers of galaxies to demonstrate the expected appearance and morphology of the resulting body. He defined the "Hernquist Profile", which is an analytic expression for the distribution of dark matter in galaxies.^[5] Hernquist's research is largely computational with one of the world's largest supercomputers accessible for his research.^[6]

Awards

Hernquist was awarded the 2020 Gruber Prize in Cosmology jointly with Volker Springel, who together have made computer simulations "an indispensable tool for cosmologists, allowing them to test theories and locate fertile areas for further research."^[7]

References

1. Chown, Marcus (June 1, 1996). "Science : Tadpole galaxies are lightweights". New Scientist. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
2. "Astrophysicist Maps Out Our New Galaxy". ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
3. "Simulations Show How Growing Black Holes Regulate Galaxy Formation". ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
4. "Magellanic Clouds Are First-Time Visitors". ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
5. Hernquist, Lars (June 1990). "An Analytical Model for Spherical Galaxies and Bulges". Astrophysical Journal. 356: 359. Bibcode:1990ApJ...356..359H. doi:10.1086/168845. ISSN 0004-637X.
6. "Odyssey - PowerEdge M600 Cluster, Xeon E5410 2.3Ghz, Infiniband". www.top500.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
7. "2020 Gruber Cosmology Prize". gruber.yale.edu. Retrieved May 6, 2020.

External links

• Stellar scattering and the formation of exponential discs in self-gravitating systems Wu et al. Formula (1) is the Hernquist profile (for dark matter halo)