Priyamvada Natarajan

Priyamvada Natarajan's picture
Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics; Chair Astronomy; Chair Women Faculty Forum
STN 217
203-436-4833
Research Areas: 
Astrophysics & Cosmology
Research Type: 
Experimentalist
Current Projects: 

Gravitational Lensing, Clusters of Galaxies as Astrophysical Laboratories, Black Hole Physics, Binary Black Holes, Issues in Galaxy Formation, History & Philosophy of Science

Biographical Sketch: 

Priya Natarajan is a theoretical astrophysicist interested in cosmology, gravitational lensing and black hole physics. Specific questions that her work addresses are:

Cosmology

  • Substructure in cosmological models
  • Evolution and assembly of clusters
  • Cosmological constraints from clusters and lens statistics
  • Gamma-ray bursts as cosmological probes
  • Mapping dark matter
  • Probing the nature of dark energy with cluster strong lensing
  • Black Hole seed formation at high redshifts
  • Mass assembly history of black holes
  • Alignments of black hole spins
  • Black hole accretion
  • Warped accretion disks
  • High redshift pre-galactic disks
  • Direct formation of black hole seeds
  • Feedback processes: energy input from AGN and Supernovae
  • Issues in epistemology
  • Philosophy of Cosmology

Gravitational lensing by galaxies and clusters

Black holes

Accretion physics

Galaxy formation and feedback

History and Philosophy of Science

Department of Astronomy

Education: 
Ph.D., Cambridge University, 1998
Honors & Awards: 
  • 2022 Liberty Science Center ‘Genius Award’