Cristobal Petrovich

Cristobal Petrovich

I study the formation and dynamical evolution of planetary systems, with a focus on exoplanet dynamics, migration, tides, and orbital architectures.

CV

Cristobal Petrovich

Associate Professor of Astronomy
Indiana University Bloomington
📧 cpetrovi@iu.edu
🌐 www.cpetrovich.com

Research Interests

Exoplanet dynamics and the formation and evolution of planetary systems, including orbital migration, secular dynamics, planet–planet interactions, tidal evolution, and the architectures and demographics of exoplanet systems.

Academic Appointments

Indiana University Bloomington — Associate Professor, Astronomy Department (2024–present)

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile — Assistant Professor, Institute of Astrophysics (2020–2023)

University of Arizona — Bart J. Bok Postdoctoral Fellow (2019–2020)

Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) — CITA Postdoctoral Fellow & Gruber Foundation Fellow (2015–2019)

Education

Princeton University — Ph.D. Astrophysical Sciences (2015)
Advisor: Scott Tremaine

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
B.Sc. Astronomy (2008)

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Mathematical Engineering (2009)

Grants as Principal Investigator

  • NSF AST-2511257 (2025–2028)
    Explaining the Curious Orbits of Eccentric Warm Jupiters

  • FONDECYT Regular 1210425 (2021–2025)
    Inclination history of planetary systems

  • PAI Academia Installation Grant (2020–2023) Planet formation and evolution

Publications

  • 63 refereed papers (29 first-author or student-led)
  • ADS citations: 2700+
  • h-index: 28

Selected work includes studies of:

  • secular dynamics of planetary systems
  • high-eccentricity migration of giant planets
  • planet–disk interactions and resonance dynamics
  • gravitational wave sources from stellar dynamics

Mentoring

Supervised 18 students, leading to 17 publications (16 student-led).

Includes PhD, master’s, and undergraduate students from multiple institutions while at CITA, IU, and PUC.

Teaching

Courses taught include:

  • Solar System (Indiana University)
  • Exoplanets (Indiana University)
  • Astronomy Seminar (Indiana University)
  • Planetary and Stellar Dynamics (PUC)
  • Planets Across the Universe (PUC)

Professional Service

  • Reviewer for NASA, NSF, STFC, and FONDECYT programs
  • Referee for major journals including ApJ, AJ, MNRAS, A&A, and Nature Astronomy
  • Member of the American Astronomical Society and Division on Dynamical Astronomy
  • Committee member of the Division on Dynamical Astronomy

A full CV including publications and talks is available here.