Astrophysics and Cosmology

Researchers in the Physics Department are involved in observations, simulations, and theoretical studies of the structure and evolution of our Universe. We are searching for dark matter, probing the expansion of the Universe, and developing new instruments for the next generation of telescopes.

For further information, see the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Wright Lab, the Yale Department of Astronomy, and the Yale Center for Research Computing.

Experiments and Experimental Facilities

National and International Facilities

Yale astronomers are routinely awarded time on NASA and ESA space-based telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Kepler, the X-ray telescopes CHANDRA and RXTE, the infrared Spitzer and Herschel telescopes, and the gamma-ray telescope Fermi. There is significant scientific synergy between these space-based missions and Yale’s ground-based telescopes. In addition, Yale astronomers frequently utilize the facilities available at the national and international optical and radio observatories, including Kitt Peak, Gemini, ALMA and Arecibo.

Yale astrophysicists are also routinely awarded computing time on the High-Performance Computing (HPC) Facilities provided by DOE, NASA, and NSF. Yale astrophysicists conduct theoretical and computational research by using both national and local HPC resources provided by the Yale Center for Research Computing. There is also significant scientific synergy among physicists, astronomers, computer scientists, data scientists, and applied mathematicians on computation, modeling, and data analyses.

Faculty

	Charles Bailyn A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of Astronomy and Physics KT 531 charles.bailyn@yale.edu 203-432-3022 Research Website	Experimentalist Current Projects: Observations of stellar mass blackholes, SMARTS consortium
	Charles Baltay Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Physics WL 213 charles.baltay@yale.edu +1 (203) 432-3386 Research Website	Experimentalist Current Projects: Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), Quasar Equatorial Survey Team (QUEST) Camera
	Paolo Coppi Professor of Astronomy KT 453 paolo.coppi@yale.edu 203-432-3014 Research Website	Experimentalist Current Projects: High-Energy Plasma/Radiation Processes, Cosmological VHE Particle Propagation, Blazars and VHE Astronomy, Black Hole/Neutron Star Binaries, Early Star and Structure Formation, Gas-Mediated Black Hole Mergers, QUEST Large Area Driftscan Survey, Yale=Catan Deep X-Ray/Optical/NIR Survey
	Marla Geha Professor of Astronomy and of Physics STN 215 marla.geha@yale.edu +1 (203) 432-5796 Research Website	Experimentalist Current Projects: Dwarf Galaxies and Near Field Cosmology
	Larry Gladney Phyllis Wallace Dean of Diversity and Faculty Development in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Physics Warner House 301 larry.gladney@yale.edu 203-432-6814	Experimentalist
	Steve Lamoreaux Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics SPL 61 / WL-EAL 326 steve.lamoreaux@yale.edu 203-432-5276 Research Website	Experimentalist Current Projects: Haloscope At Yale Sensitive to Axion CDM (HAYSTAC), Electric dipole moment, Casimir effect
	Konrad Lehnert Eugene Higgins Professor of Physics SPL 68A konrad.lehnert@yale.edu	Experimentalist
	Reina Maruyama Professor of Physics and Astronomy WL 209 reina.maruyama@yale.edu 203-432-3362 Research Website Pronouns: She/her/hers	Experimentalist Current Projects: Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE), IceCube Neutrino Obervatory, CUORE Upgrade with Particle IDentification (CUPID), ATLAS, COSINE-100, DM-Ice, Haloscope At Yale Sensitive To Axion CDM (HAYSTAC)
	Chiara Mingarelli Assistant Professor KT 445 chiara.mingarelli@yale.edu	Theorist Current Projects: NANOGrav Collaboration
	Daisuke Nagai Professor of Physics and of Astronomy KT 451 daisuke.nagai@yale.edu 203-909-4266 Research Website He/him/his	Theorist Current Projects: Theoretical & Computational Cosmology: Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Galaxy Clusters, Galaxy Formation & Evolution, Cosmological Simulations, Data Science
	Priyamvada Natarajan Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics; Chair Astronomy; Chair Women Faculty Forum STN 217 priyamvada.natarajan@yale.edu 203-436-4833 Research Website	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
	Laura Newburgh Associate Professor of Physics WL 210 laura.newburgh@yale.edu 203-432-9168 Research Website She/her/hers	Experimentalist Current Projects: 21cm Radio Instrumentation to measure Large Scale Structure and Dark Energy - Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), The Hydrogen Intensity Mapping and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) Early Universe Cosmology: The Cosmic Microwave Background - Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), Simons Observatory
	Nikhil Padmanabhan Associate Professor of Physics KT 449 nikhil.padmanabhan@yale.edu 203-432-9950	Theorist
	Meg Urry Israel Munson Professor of Physics KT 533 meg.urry@yale.edu +1 (203) 432-5997 Research Website She/her/hers	Theorist & Experimentalist Current Projects: Hidden Supermassive Black Holes, AGN host galaxies, Unification of AGN, Supermassive Black Holes in AGN and the “Grand Unification” Hypothesis, Blazars, Kiloparsec-scale jets
	Frank van den Bosch Professor STN 320 frank.vandenbosch@yale.edu +1 (203) 432-0196 Research Website	Theorist Current Projects: Dynamical Friction, Galaxy Assembly Bias and Galactic Conformity, Precision Cosmology with Galaxies, Statistics of Dark Matter Substructure, Coming of Age in the Dark Sector, Constraining Halo Mass with Satellite Kinematics
	Pieter van Dokkum Sol Goldman Family Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics KT 537 pieter.vandokkum@yale.edu +1 (203) 432-3019 Research Website	Experimentalist Current Projects: 3D-HST, COSMOS-DASH, Dragonfly