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Below is a brief version of my Curriculum Vitae.


Updated October 2026

Ziyan Xu

Research Experience

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow
2025 - present
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • "Impact of dust evolution in new planet formation paradigm (PLANDEVOL)" (with Anders Johansen)
Post-doctoral Researcher
2024 - 2025
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • "Pebble accretion and volatile transport in convective envelopes of protoplanets" (with Anders Johansen)
Post-doctoral Researcher
2021 - 2024
Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, France
  • "Implementation of local spherical collapsing box in Athena++" (with Guillaume Laibe & Elliot Lynch)
  • "Dust dynamics and planetesimal formation in dust rings in turbulent protoplanetary disks" (with Xue-Ning Bai)
Ph.D Researcher
2015 - 2021
Peking University, Beijing, China
  • "Probing protoplanetary disk wind with absorption line spectroscopy" (Advisor: Gregory Herczeg)
  • "Dust settling and clumping in MRI turbulent protoplanetary disks" (Advisor: Xue-Ning Bai)
Student Intern
2014 - 2015
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
  • "The effect of MRI turbulence on pebble accretion - data analysis" (Advisor: Ruth Murray-Clay)
Student Researcher
2014 - 2015
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, MA
  • "The effect of MRI turbulence on pebble accretion - simulation setup" (Advisor: Xue-Ning Bai)

Education

Ph.D. in Astrophysics
2015 - 2021
Peking University, Beijing, China
  • Advisor: Gregory Herczeg
  • Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics
B.S. in Astronomy
2010 - 2015
Peking University, Beijing, China
  • Specialization: Astrophysics
  • Department of Astronomy

Publications

Eriksson L. E. J., Xu Z., Lim J., Yang C.-C.,Huang P., & Mac Low M.-M. 2026, "Conditions for planetesimal formation via the streaming instability persist under turbulence driven by magnetorotational instability", A&A, 714, A65

Wang H. S., Johansen A., Xu Z., et al. 2026, "Volatile depletion in rocky planets as a chemical fingerprint of hybrid accretion", Nature Astronomy

Cui C. et al. (including Xu Z.) 2025, "Dust Growth in ALMA Rings. II. Dusty Rossby Wave Instability", ApJ, 986, 86

Xu Z., Lynch E. M., & Laibe, G. 2024, "Local spherical collapsing box in ATHENA++: Numerical implementation and benchmark tests", A&A, 689, A96

Fang M. et al. (including Xu, Z.) 2023, "High-resolution [O I] line spectral mapping of TW Hya supportive of a magnetothermal wind", Nature Astronomy, Volume 7, p. 905-912

Xu Z. & Bai X.-N., 2022, "Turbulent Dust-trapping Rings as Efficient Sites for Planetesimal Formation", ApJL, 937, 4

Espaillat C. C. et al. (including Xu Z.) 2022, "The ODYSSEUS Survey. Motivation and First Results: Accretion, Ejection, and Disk Irradiation of CVSO 109", AJ, 163, 114

Xu Z. & Bai X.-N., 2022, "Dust Settling and Clumping in MRI-turbulent Outer Protoplanetary Disks", ApJ, 924, 3

Xu Z., Herczeg G. J., et al., 2021, "Probing Protoplanetary Disk Winds with C II Absorption", ApJ, 921, 181

Lee Y.-H. et al. (including Xu Z.) 2021, "The JCMT Transient Survey: Four-year Summary of Monitoring the Submillimeter Variability of Protostars", ApJ, 920, 119

Xu Z., Bai X.-N., & Murray-Clay R. A. 2017, "Pebble Accretion in Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks", ApJ, 847, 52

Selected Conference Presentations

From Envelopes to Atmospheres13–15 October 2026Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Contributed talk, "Pebble Accretion in Convective Envelopes: The Role of Dust Size and Aerodynamic Drag"
Discs on the Exe: From protostellar discs to debris discs and planets27–31 July 2026Exeter, UK
  • Contributed talk, "Runaway planetesimal formation in turbulent dust rings driven by a dust growth–concentration feedback loop"
SPiCE 2: Simulating Physics in Celestial Ecosystems16–20 March 2026Lyon, France
  • Invited talk, "Dust Evolution in Multiple Planet Formation Processes"
Flatiron Workshop on Hydrodynamic and Dusty Turbulence in Protoplanetary Disks23–25 February 2026New York, NY, USA
  • Contributed talk, "Feedback-regulated Dust Diffusion and Runaway Planetesimal Formation in Turbulent Disk Rings"
From Galaxies to Planets: An Elemental Journey9–13 February 2026Ringberg Castle, Germany
  • Invited talk, "Pebble Accretion and Volatile Transport in Convective Envelopes of Protoplanets"
International Conference on Exoplanets and Planet Formation (EPF 2025)8–12 December 2025Shanghai, China
  • Poster, "Pebble Accretion and Volatile Transport in Convective Envelopes of Protoplanets"
  • Poster, "Feedback-Regulated Dust Diffusion and Runaway Planetesimal Formation in Protoplanetary Disk Rings"
Planet Formation & Migration near the Inner Edge of DisksApril 2025UC Santa Barbara, CA
  • Joint review talk, "Modeling the Density and Thermal Structure near the Inner Rim"
Simulating Physics in Celestial EcosystemsApril 2024Sendai, Japan
  • Contributed talk, "Microphysics in Star & Protoplanet Formation with Local Simulations"
Athena++ WorkshopMay 2023New York, NY
  • Contributed talk, "Dust Coagulation in Athena++"
  • Poster, "Local Collapsing Boxes"
Protostars and Planets VIIApril 2023Kyoto, Japan
  • Poster, "Turbulent Dust-trapping Rings as Efficient Sites for Planetesimal Formation"
MIAPP WorkshopJune 2022Garching, Germany
  • Contributed talk, "Dust Dynamics and Planetesimal Formation in Ring-like Disk Substructures"
Lorentz Center WorkshopSeptember 2021Virtual
  • Contributed talk, "Dust Dynamics and Planetesimal Formation in Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks and Dust Rings"
National Conference of Planetary ScienceJune 2021Suzhou, China
  • Contributed talk, "Dust Dynamics and Implications for Planetesimal Formation in Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks"
Five Years after HL Tau: a New Era in Planet FormationDecember 2020Virtual
  • Poster, "Dust Dynamics and Planetesimal Formation in MRI Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks"
5th Workshop of the Network of Ultraviolet AstronomyOctober 2020Virtual
  • Contributed talk, "Probing Protoplanetary Disk Winds with FUV Absorption Lines"
Planet Formation WorkshopNovember 2019NAOJ Tokyo, Japan
  • Contributed talk, "Dust Settling and Clumping in MRI Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks"
Great Barriers in Planet FormationJuly 2019Palm Cove, Australia
  • Contributed talk, "Probing Protoplanetary Disk Wind with Absorption Line Spectroscopy"
  • Poster, "Dust Settling and Clumping in MRI Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks"
Formation & Evolution of Solar System & Exoplanetary SystemsJuly 2019Urumqi, China
  • Poster, "Dust Settling and Clumping in MRI Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks"
Astrochemistry 2018: Past, Present and FutureJuly 2018Caltech, CA
  • Poster, "C II Absorption Lines as a Possible Probe of Disk Photoevaporative Wind"
Exoplanets and Planet FormationDecember 2017Shanghai, China
  • Poster, "Pebble Accretion in Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks"
OWL Summer ProgramJuly 2017University of California, Santa Cruz, CA
  • Contributed talk, "Pebble Accretion in Turbulent Protoplanetary Disks"