Professor
I am currently studying the physics of gravitational collapse. My interest is specifically in astrophysical systems (young globular clusters and elliptical galaxies) in which the dynamics of the constituent stars is essentially collisionless, so that the system is not constrained to evolve towards the Boltzmann distribution. Questions of fundamental physical significance include the nature and uniqueness of the ultimate steady state distribution produced by "violent relaxation" during the collapse, and how such systems manage to acquire (approximate) constants of motion.
Revised September 28, 1995