Assistant Professor
Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science
Northern Arizona University
Education:
Research Interests: Theoretical Astrophysics, Exoplanets, Accretion Disks, Planet Formation, Black Hole Binaries, Orbital Dynamics
Publications: ADS Google Scholar
Group Website Our group's research blog/website can be found here
Grace Farrell is an graduate student at Northern Arizona University interested in the solid mechanics of asteroids and in direct, finite-volume simulations asteroid impacts.
Aiden Kriel is graduate student at Northern Arizona University interested in the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic properties of embedded accreting protoplanets.
Alex Jaraba is an undergraduate student at Northern Arizona University interested in the dynamics of binary and multiple massive black hole dynamics within nuclear clusters.
Isabelle Bäuerle is an undergraduate student at Northern Arizona University interested in the secular evolution of hierarchical multiple systems, with a special focus on warm Jupiter and proto-hot Jupiter dynamics.
Noah Gordon is an undergraduate student at Northern Arizona University interested in the dynamics of gaseous eccentricity normal modes in protoplanetary disks.
Teaching: At NAU I have been teaching the following courses: AST 499/599 "Orbital Dynamics". (Spring 2025), AST-501 "Fundamentals of Planetary Science I" a.k.a. "Planet Formation" (Fall 2023),
Outreach:
Equity & Inclusion:
Currently, I am looking for students to join my research group. Some of the research topics being offered to prospective students are:
Dynamics & accretion in nuclear clusters.
I am looking to recruit students interested in the dynamics and evolution of accreting massive black hole binaries embedded in galactic nuclear clusters.
High-res 3D RHD of embedded planets.
I plan to develop high-resolution, three-dimensional computational models of proto-planet accretion. This project will characterize accretion and the planetary atmosphere through 3D numerical simulations with state-of-the-art tools, including radiation hydrodynamics, dust dynamics, and self-gravity via a hybrid FARGO3D + AREPO approach with improved boundary conditions.
Spin–orbit evolution with tides & rheology.
I am looking for students to work on the secular dynamics of oblique stars and planets, exploring the role of rheology and dynamical tides on spin evolution.
Few-body dynamics with external tides.
I am looking for a student interested in the dynamics of few bodies subject to large-scale potentials such as the Galactic tide or the tidal field of a galactic nuclear cluster.
Finite-volume solid mechanics on Voronoi meshes.
I am looking for students to develop a new finite-volume method to solve the equations of solid mechanics on a moving Voronoi mesh to simulate high-velocity impacts between asteroids and planets with realistic equations of state and stress tensors.
Email: Diego.Munoz at nau.edu
Address: Physical Sciences Building