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Frederic Rasio

Joseph Cummings Professor of Physics

PhD, Cornell University, 1991

Fred Rasio's research spans a wide range of topics in theoretical astrophysics, including: exoplanets and planet formation; the dynamics of dense stellar systems (globular clusters, galactic nuclei, young star clusters); hydrodynamic stellar interactions (stellar collisions and mergers, binary coalescence, common envelope evolution); and relativistic astrophysics (neutron stars and black holes, gravitational waves, relativistic star clusters, radio pulsars). His most recent work has focused on the dynamics of tightly packed planetary systems, gravitational wave sources for laser-interferometer detectors (LIGO, LISA), and the formation of massive black holes through stellar dynamical processes.

Awards and Honors

  • Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1996-2000)
  • Elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (2006)
  • Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2018)
  • Brouwer Career Award of the American Astronomical Society (2019)
  • Elected Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society (2020)
  • Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2025)

Selected Publications

  • Dynamical Instabilities and the Formation of Extrasolar Planetary Systems. Rasio, F.A., & Ford, E.B. 1996, Science, 274, 954–956.
  • Dynamical Outcomes of Planet–Planet Scattering. Chatterjee, S., Ford, E.B., Matsumura, S., & Rasio, F.A. 2008, Astrophysical Journal , 686, 580–602.
  • Compact Object Modeling with the StarTrack Population Synthesis Code. Belczynski, K., Kalogera, V., Rasio, F.A., Taam, R.E., Zezas, A., Bulik, T., Maccarone, T.J., & Ivanova, N. 2008, Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 174, 223–260.
  • Binary Black Hole Mergers from Globular Clusters: Masses, Merger Rates, and the Impact of Stellar Evolution. Rodriguez, C.L., Chatterjee, S., & Rasio, F.A. 2016, Physical Review D, 93, id.084029.
  • Hot Jupiters from Secular Planet–Planet Interactions. Naoz, S., Farr, W.M., Lithwick, Y., Rasio, F.A., & Teyssandier, J. 2011, Nature, 473, 187–189.
  • Origins of Eccentric Extrasolar Planets: Testing the Planet–Planet Scattering Model. Ford, E.B., & Rasio, F.A. 2008, Astrophysical Journal, 686, 621–636.
  • Merging Black Hole Binaries in Galactic Nuclei: Implications for Advanced-LIGO Detections. Antonini, F., & Rasio, F.A. 2016, Astrophysical Journal, 831, 187.
  • Binary Black Hole Mergers from Globular Clusters: Implications for Advanced LIGO. Rodriguez, C.L., Morscher, M., Pattabiraman, B., Chatterjee, S., Haster, C., & Rasio, F.A. 2015, Physical Review Letters, 115, 051101.
  • Secular Dynamics in Hierarchical Three-Body Systems. Naoz, S., Farr, W.M., Lithwick, Y., Rasio, F.A., & Teyssandier, J. 2013, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 431, 2155–2171.
  • Secular Evolution of Hierarchical Triple Star Systems. Ford, E.B., Kozinsky, B., & Rasio, F.A. 2000, Astrophysical Journal, 535, 385–401.
  • Tidal Decay of Close Planetary Orbits. Rasio, F.A., Tout, C.A., Lubow, S.H., & Livio, M. 1996, Astrophysical Journal, 470, 1187.
  • Collapse of Primordial Gas Clouds and the Formation of Quasar Black Holes. Loeb, A., & Rasio, F.A. 1994, Astrophysical Journal, 432, 52.
  • Formation of Massive Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters. I. Mass Segregation and Core Collapse. G¨urkan, M.A., Freitag, M., & Rasio, F.A. 2004, Astrophysical Journal, 604, 632–652.
  • Black Holes: The Next Generation—Repeated Mergers in Dense Star Clusters and Their Gravitational-Wave Properties. Rodriguez, C.L., Zevin, M., Amaro-Seoane, P., Chatterjee, S., Kremer, K., Rasio, F.A., & Ye, C.S. 2019, Physical Review D, 100, 043027.
  • Post-Newtonian Dynamics in Dense Star Clusters: Highly Eccentric, Highly Spinning, and Repeated Binary Black Hole Mergers. Rodriguez, C.L., Amaro-Seoane, P., Chatterjee, S., & Rasio, F.A. 2018, Physical Review Letters, 120, 151101.
  • Illuminating Black Hole Binary Formation Channels with Spins in Advanced LIGO. Rodriguez, C.L., Zevin, M., Pankow, C., Kalogera, V., & Rasio, F.A. 2016, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 832, L2.
  • Stellar Collisions During Binary–Binary and Binary–Single Star Interactions. Fregeau, J.M., Cheung, P., Portegies Zwart, S.F., & Rasio, F.A. 2004, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 352, 1–19.
  • COSMIC Variance in Binary Population Synthesis. Breivik, K., Coughlin, S., Zevin, M., Rodriguez, C.L., Kremer, K., Ye, C.S., Andrews, J.J., Kurkowski, M., Digman, M.C., Larson, S.L., & Rasio, F.A. 2020, Astrophysical Journal, 898, 71.
  • Binary Mergers and Growth of Black Holes in Dense Star Clusters. O’Leary, R.M., Rasio, F.A., Fregeau, J.M., Ivanova, N., & O’Shaughnessy, R. 2006, Astrophysical Journal, 637, 937–951.
  • Black Hole Mergers in Galactic Nuclei Induced by the Eccentric Kozai-Lidov Effect. Hoang, B.-M., Naoz, S., Kocsis, B., Rasio, F.A., & Dosopoulou, F. 2018, Astrophysical Journal, 856, 140