Dong Lai/ T. D. Lee Professor (Visiting)
Astronomy and Astrophysics Division
N625 dong AT astro.cornell.edu
Educational Background
- 1991- 1994, Cornell University , Doctor
- 1988- 1991, Cornell University , Master
- 1983- 1988, University of Science and Technology of China , Bachelor
Work Experience
- 2008-Now, Cornell University, Professor of Astronomy, Benson and Mary Simon Professor
- 2002-2008, Cornell University, Associate Professor
- 1997-2002, Cornell University, Assistant Professor
- 1994-1997, Caltech, Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Interests
- Astrophysics of Exoplanets: dynamics, formation, protoplanetary disks, star-planet interactions.
- Compact Objects: neutron stars, black holes, white dwarfs, gravitational waves, neutrinos, condensed matter
- Astrophysical (particle and fluid) dynamics in general: celestial mechanics, waves, oscillations, instabilities
Honorary Distinctions
- 1988 Winner of China-U.S. Physics Examination & Application Program (CUSPEA)
- 1988 Sage Graduate Fellowship, Cornell University
- 1991 Liu Memorial Award for Academic Excellence, Cornell University
- 1994 - 1997 Richard C. Tolman Fellowship in Theoretical Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology
- 1998 - 2002 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, A.P. Sloan Foundation
- 2000 Chau Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Supervision, A&EP, Cornell University
- 2004 Oversea Outstanding Young Scientist, P.R. China
- 2016 Simons Fellow in Theoretical Physics, Simons Foundation
- 2020 Miller Visiting Professor, UC Berkeley
- 2021 Provost Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring, Cornell University
- 2024 Dirk Brouwer Award in Dynamical Astronomy, American Astronomical Society
Representative Papers And Monographs
- Lai, D. 2001,``Matter in Strong Magnetic Fields'',Review of Modern Physics, 73, 629-661
- Harding, A. K., Lai, D. 2006, ``Physics of Strongly Magnetized Neutron Stars'', Report of Progress of Physics, 69, 2631
- Lai, D., Tsang, D. 2009, ``Corotational Instability of Inertial-Acoustic Modes in Black Hole Accretion Discs and Quasi-Periodic Oscillations'', MNRAS, 393, 979-991
- Lai, D., Foucart, F., Lin, D.N.C. 2011, ``Evolution of Spin Direction of Accreting Magnetic Protostars and Spin-Orbit Misalignment in Exoplanetary Systems'', MNRAS, 412, 2790-2798
- Fuller, J., Lai, D. 2012, ``Dynamical Tides in Compact White Dwarf Binaries: Tidal Synchronization and Dissipation'', MNRAS, 421, 426-445
- Lai, D. 2012, ``DC Circuit Powered by Orbital Motion: Magnetic Interactions in Compact Object Binaries and Exoplanetary Systems'', ApJ, 757, L3
- Storch, N.I., Anderson, K.R., Lai, D. 2014, ``Chaotic Dynamics of Stellar Spin in Binaries and the Production of Misaligned Hot Jupiters'', Science, 345, 1317
- Wang, C., Lai, D. 2016, ``Axion-Photon Propagation in Magnetized Universe'', JCAP, 6, 006
- Xu, Wenrui, Lai, D. 2017, ``Resonant Tidal Excitation of Oscillation Modes in Merging Binary Neutron Stars: Inertial-Gravity Modes", Phys. Rev. D 96, 083005
- Zanazzi, J.J., Lai, D. 2018, ``Inclination Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks Around Eccentric Binaries'', MNRAS, 473, 603-615
- Liu, B., Lai, D. 2018, ``Black Hole and Neutron Star Binary Mergers in Triple Systems: Merger Fraction and Spin-Orbit Misalignment'', ApJ, 863, 68
- Munoz, D.J., Miranda, R., Lai, D. 2019, ``Hydrodynamics of circumbinary accretion: Angular momentum transfer and binary orbital evolution'', ApJ, 871, 84
- Vick, M., Lai, D., Anderson, K.R. 2019, ``Chaotic Tides in Migrating Gas Giants: Forming Hot and Transient Warm Jupiters via High-Eccentricity Migration'', MNRAS, 484, 5645-5668
- Liu, B., Lai, D., Wang, Y.-H. 2019,``Binary Mergers near a Supermassive Black Hole: Relativistic Effects in Triples'',ApJ Letters, 883, L7
- Li, Jiaru, Lai, D. 2020,``Planetary Spin and Obliquity from Mergers'', ApJ Letters, 898, L20
- Lai, Dong 2021,``Jupiter's Dynamical Love Number'',Planetary Science Journal, 2, 122
- Su, Yubo, & Lai, Dong 2022,``Dynamics of Colombo's Top: Tidal Dissipation and Resonance Capture, with Applications to Oblique Super-Earths, Ultra-Short-Period Planets and Inspiraling Hot Jupiters'' MNRAS, 509, 3301-3320
- O'Connor, C.E., Teyssandier, J., Lai, Dong 2022,``Secular chaos in white-dwarf planetary systems: origins of metal pollution and short-period planetary companions'', MNRAS, 513, 4178-4195
- Li, Jiaru, Lai, Dong, & Rodet, L.⋆ 2022, ``Long-term Evolution of Tightly-Packed Stellar Black Holes in AGN Disks: Formation of Merging Black-Hole Binaries via Close Encounters'', ApJ, 934, 154
- Li, Rixin, & Lai, Dong 2022, ``Hydrodynamical Evolution of Black-Hole Binaries Embedded in AGN Discs'',MNRAS, 517, 1602-1624
- Rodet, Laetitia, & Lai, Dong 2022, ``Eccentric debris belts reveal the dynamical history of the companion exoplanet'', MNRAS, 516, 5544-5554
- Lai, Dong 2023, ``IXPE Detection of Polarized X-rays from Magnetars and Photon Mode Conversion at QED Vacuum Resonance'', PNAS, 120, 17, e2216534120
- Lai, Dong, & Munoz, Diego J. 2023, ``Circumbinary Accretion: From Binary Stars to Massive Binary Black Holes'', Ann Review Astron. Astrophys.Chai 61, 517-560