Joel Zinn
Assistant Professor
Research Interests
- Asteroseismology
- Stellar Physics
- Galactic Archaeology
Unlike physical systems that can be produced and studied in the lab, stellar interiors would seem to be completely inaccessible to modern instruments. However, much of the physics occurring inside stars (nuclear reactions, energy transport, fluid dynamics, and magnetic fields), can be probed by observing the conditions of the stellar surface in combination with computer models. Asteroseismology currently offers the most accurate and precise accounts of stellar physics for large populations of stars thanks to the relationship between the physics of the stellar interior and pulsations observed on the stellar surface.
I use asteroseismology to test our understanding of stellar physics and evolution using stellar pulsations recorded by space-based missions like Kepler, K2, and TESS. Because the stellar surface also contains information about the gas it was born out of, asteroseismic ages then transform hundreds of thousands of stars observed in these missions into so many time capsules, scattered throughout the Milky Way. For this reason, asteroseismology has become an indispensable tool to study physics on an even larger scale: the physics that has shaped our Galaxy and its evolution. I am currently working on reconstructing the merger history of our Galaxy and am looking forward to applying asteroseismology to stars belonging to other galaxies entirely.
Education
- Ph.D., The Ohio State Unviersity, 2019
