| | Richard Henriksen |
Main
........................................... |
Research Interests
........................................... |
|
|
 |
| | Richard Henriksen | | --- Research Interests |
|
 |
|
I study the dynamical structure of cosmological dark matter halos from a
theoretical point of view. Dark matter can only be detected indirectly
through its gravitational effects, but it consistently appears as the most
massive component of the Universe. The more recently discovered dark
energy is the dominant energy component of the Universe but it does not
gravitate, and models for it are in their infancy. I use a combination of
theoretical analysis and numerical simulation to study the relaxation of
dark matter dominated systems. This work is currently being done in
conjunction with colleagues in Denmark and Spain, in addition to my team
at Queen's. I am trying to understand star formation and dark matter
sub-halo structure in terms of what might be called `ballistic
turbulence'. This is an N-body ensemble comprised of tidally interacting
hierarchically organized clumps of matter.
Finally the
magnetic-hydrodynamic interaction between a central star and a surrounding
disc is a major unsolved problem for which I construct simple models. This
also has application to star formation.
|
| |
|
