About
I am an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Indiana University Bloomington.
My research aims to understand how planetary systems form and evolve, and what physical processes shape the remarkable diversity of exoplanetary architectures observed today.
I study the dynamical evolution of planetary systems, with an emphasis on:
- exoplanet dynamics
- planetary migration
- disk-planet interactions
- secular interactions and instabilities
- tidal evolution
I combine analytical theory and numerical simulations to connect the early stages of planet formation in disks with the long-term evolution of planetary systems.
Research
I am particularly interested in the dynamical pathways that shape planetary systems, including:
- orbital migration and orbital resonances
- high-eccentricity migration and tidal evolution
- disk–planet interactions linking protoplanetary disk morphologies to planetary architectures
- the long-term stability and chaotic evolution of multi-planet systems
More broadly, my work explores how gravitational interactions, dissipation, and initial conditions jointly determine the architectures and demographics of planetary systems, with connections to stellar and compact-object dynamics, including applications to gravitational-wave sources.
Background
Before joining Indiana University, I was an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Astrophysics at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. I held postdoctoral positions as a Bart J. Bok Fellow at the University of Arizona and as a Gruber Foundation and CITA Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics.
I received my Ph.D. in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University, where I worked on planet formation and orbital dynamics. Prior to that, I completed undergraduate degrees in astronomy and engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where I studied the thermal evolution of neutron stars.
I grew up in the Chilean Patagonia, one of the southernmost regions of the American continent, and my academic path has gradually taken me northward.
Links
Contact
Department of Astronomy
Indiana University Bloomington