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Department of Physics

Astrophysics

Dr. Fuse and Alyssa Malespina ’18 examine the galaxy, NGC 4382, using data analyzed from the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Exploring the Universe

Dr. Fuse and Alyssa Malespina ’18 examine the galaxy, NGC 4382, using data analyzed from the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Observational astronomers acquire data across the electromagnetic spectrum on the positions, luminosities, and spectra of stars, planetary systems, and galaxies. Theoretical astrophysicists model the formation and evolution of such systems.

Astrophysics research at Rollins falls into two subfields—origins of solar systems and extragalactic astronomy. Dr. Fuse and his students perform numerical simulations with gravitational N-body codes to model the late-stage formation of gas giant moons and exoplanets. They use data from the Kepler telescope to identify the parameters of our simulations.

Dr. Fuse also studies isolated galaxies using observational and X-ray techniques. Specifically, he wants to determine the baseline of properties with which all galaxies are formed and how environment affects galaxies. He employs the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to track the multiwavelength properties of galaxies.