Kai Cai

Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556
Work Phone: (574)631-271x; Cell Phone: (513) 307-2544; Email: kcai'at'nd.edu

Education

Ph.D. in Astrophysics , August 2006, Dept. of Astronomy, Indiana University Bloomington
Advisor: Dr. Richard H. Durisen
Dissertation Title: 3D Hydrodynamics Simulations of Gravitational Instabilities in Young Protoplanetary Disks

M. A. in Astronomy, May 2002, Indiana University

B. Sc. in Astrophysics, July 1999, Peking University Beijing, China

Position

CITA National Postdoctoral Fellow based at McMaster University: October 2006 -- August 30, 2008
mentor: Dr. Ralph E. Pudritz

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Notre Dame: September 2008 --
Current mentor: Dr. Dinshaw Balsara

Professional Interests

Astrophysical fluid dynamics, more specifically:

Circumstellar disk;
Formation and evolution of planetary systems;
Protostellar jets and outflows

· Young open clusters

· Astrobiology: Origin of life, life on other planets

Experience

Research Experience

Statistics of Herbig-Haro objects and molecular outflows with Prof. Y. Wu at PKU: Spring 1999
Research Assistant for Dr. Richard H. Durisen, Summer 2003 - August 2006, working on protoplanetary disk simulations
Binary Mass Ratios in Young Open Clusters: with Dr. R. H. Durisen and Dr. C. P. Deliyannis
3D Protostellar jet simulations: with Dr. R. E. Pudritz and Dr. R. Ouyed

Teaching Experience

Instructor for A105 in IU Astronomy Department: Summer 2002
Assistant instructor for

A201 (General Astronomy I) Fall 1999
A202 (General Astronomy II) Spring 2000
A451 (Stellar Astrophysics) Fall 2000
A202 Spring 2001
A201 Fall 2001
A100 (The Solar System) and A105 (Stars and Galaxies) Spring 2002
A451 (Stellar Astrophysics) Fall 2002
A100 and A105 Spring 2003

Professional Services

Organizing Astrobiology discussion group at McMaster (July 2007 - August 2008)
Reviewing Astrophysical Journal article

Refereed Publications

Cai, K., Staff, J.E., Niebergal, B.P., Pudritz, R.E., & Ouyed, R., Large Scale Three-dimensional Magnetohydrodynamics Simulations of Protostellar Jets, in preparation
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Boley, A.C., & Pickett, M.K., Mejía, A.C., The Thermal Regulation of Gravitational Instabilities in Protoplanetary Disks IV: Simulations with Envelope Irradiation. ApJ 673, 1138 (arXiv:0706.4046)
Cai, K., Durisen, R. H., & Deliyannis, C. P., Photometric Determination of Binary Mass Ratios in the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS) Using Theoretical Isochrones, ApJ, in prep. (2/3 drafted)
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Michael, S., Boley, A.C., Mejía, A.C., Pickett, M.K., & D'Alessio, P., The Effects of Metallicity and Grain Size on Gravitational Instabilities in Protoplanetary Disks, (2005) ApJ 636, L149 (astro-ph/0508354)
Boley, A.C., Mejía, A.C., Durisen, R. H., Cai, K., Pickett, M.K. & D'Alessio, P., The Thermal Regulation of Gravitational Instabilities in Protoplanetary Disks III: Simulations with Radiative Cooling and Flux-Limited Diffusion (2006) ApJ, 651, 517
Mejía, A.C., Durisen, R.H., Pickett, M.K., Cai, K., The Thermal Regulation of Gravitational Instabilities in Protoplanetary Disks II. Extended Simulations With Varied Cooling Rates (2005) ApJ, 619, 1098
Durisen, R.H., Cai, K., Mejía, A.C., & Pickett, M.K., A Possible Hybrid Scenario for Gas Giant Planet Formation in Rings. (2005) Icarus, 173, 417
Wu, J-W., Wu, Y-F, Wang, J-Z, Cai, K., A Study of the Energy Sources of Herbig-Haro Objects (2002) ChJAA, 2, p33

Conference Proceedings and Poster Presentations

Cai, K., Staff, J.E., Niebergal, B.P., Pudritz, R.E., Ouyed, R., Large-scale 3D Simulations of Protostellar Jets: Long-term Stability and Jet Rotation, Protostellar Jets in Context, Rhodes, Greece, July 2008
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Zhu, Z., The Effects of Stellar Irradiation on Gravitational Instabilities in Protoplanetary Disks, Origin and Evolution of Planets 2008, Ascona, Switzerland, June 29 - July 4, 2008
Cai, K., Staff, J.E., Niebergal, B.P., Pudritz, R.E., Ouyed, R., Large Scale Three-dimensional Magnetohydrodynamics Simulations of Protostellar Jets, American Astronomical Society Meeting 210, #83.01, May 2007
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Boley, A.C., & Pickett, M.K., 3D Hydrodynamics Simulations of Gravitational Instabilities in Irradiated Protoplanetary Disks, From Stars to Planets, Gainesville, Florida, April 2007
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Michael, S., Boley, A.C., Mej?a, A.C., Pickett, M.K., & D'Alessio, P., The Effects of Metallicity and Grain Size on Gravitational Instabilities in Protoplanetary Disks, PPV, Hawaii, October 24-28, 2005
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Mejía, A.C., Pickett, M.K. Boundary Conditions of Radiative Cooling in Gravitationally Unstable Protoplanetary Disks, CDJO2004, Banff, Canada, July 2004
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Mejía, A.C. Boundary Conditions of Radiative Cooling in Gravitationally Unstable Protoplanetary Disks, American Astronomical Society Meeting 204, #62.19
Cai, K., Mejía, A.C., Durisen, R.H., & Pickett, M.K. Cooled Protoplanetary Disks with Sustained Gravitational Instabilities. Gordon Research Conference: Origins of Solar Systems. Bristol, RI, June 2003
Cai, K., Durisen, R.H., Deliyannis, C.P., Photometric Determination of Binary Mass Ratios in the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS) Using Theoretical Isochrones, American Astronomical Society Meeting 202, #27.04 Nashville, TN, May 2003
Cai, K., Durisen, R. H., Deliyannis, C. P., Photometric Determination of Binary Mass Ratios in the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS) Using Theoretical Isochrones, in: Stellar astrophysics - a tribute to Helmut A. Abt. Sixth Pacific Rim Conference, Xi'an, China, 11-17 July 2002. Edited by K. S. Cheng, K. C. Leung and T. P. Li, Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Vol. 298, p. 289 - 292

Grants & Honors

Membership

American Astronomical Society: member since 2002, Division on Dynamical Astronomy (DDA) member

Created by Kai Cai :::: Last updated: September 2008
Comments to kcai'at'nd.edu
URL: http://www.nd.edu/~kcai/CV.html