Stars usually keep a polite distance from one another. In the crowded cores of star clusters and near the centers of galaxies, they do not: they graze, collide, and sometimes merge into entirely new objects.
My research students and I recreate those collisions with hydrodynamic simulations on supercomputers, a corner of computational astrophysics. Our work helps explain oddball stars and exotic systems that telescopes actually observe, from rejuvenated "blue stragglers" to X-ray binaries and stars torn apart by black holes. We also build and share open-source tools for this work, including the StarSmasher hydrodynamics code and collAIder, a machine-learning model of collision outcomes.
I teach physics and astronomy at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where undergraduates are involved in every part of this research.
Research
How we simulate stellar collisions, and the software we build.
Publications
Featured and recent papers, plus a jump to the full list on NASA ADS.
About Me
My background and career, plus a little about life outside physics.
Contact
The best way to reach me is by email at jalombar at allegheny dot edu. My office is Carr Hall 117, and my office phone is eight one four, three three two, two nine seven five. Prospective students are always welcome to get in touch.