Hui Li
hli [at] lanl.gov
Hui’s research spans from astrophysical fluids and plasmas to laboratory plasma experiments, in both low and high energy density environments. He has used tools in fluid and magnetohydrodynamics, hybrid and full kinetic simulations. He also works closely with observers and experimentalists. Hui also promotes plasma astrophysics among various communities.
Hui has mentored many postdocs (40+) and students (10+) over the past 25+ years. If you are interested in working in plasma astrophysics and astrophysical disks and planets, please send your CV plus publications with a brief interest statement.
T-2, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM 87507
Research Highlight
Click each photo below for details.
Astrophysical Disk, Dust Dynamics and Planet Formation
Rossby Wave Instability (RWI) and eccentric mode instability in disks, planet disk interactions, planet migration and coupled gas + Dust Dynamics (including feedback and dust size coagulation) in Protoplanetary Disks, vortex dynamics and ring formation, with applications to ALMA observations.
Current-carrying Magnetically Regulated Jets in stratified background medium (such as a turbulent ICM). Radiation from such jets (TeV flares, optical and radio polarization, spatial maps) can be compared with observations.
AGN (and radio galaxies) can provide strong feedback to ICM and seed the ICM with magnetic fields. Turbulence in ICM can further amplify these fields. Morphology of jets/lobes constrain the nature of these jets on global scales.
The free energy in collisionless plasmas can often exchange among flow, thermal, energetic, and magnetic components in a "self-organized" fashion, often with turbulence. Processes of turbulence, magnetic reconnection, and transport need to be studied together.
High-energy density plasmas produced by powerful lasers such as Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) offers a unique environment to study the self-generation of magnetic field, turbulent dynamo, and charged particle transport.
Imagine (massive) stars, neutron stars and black holes (stellar mass to intermediate mass) embedded inside the AGN disks. Their joint dynamics with the AGN disk flow could produce binaries, mergers, jets/winds, heating of the AGN disk and new astrophysical transients.