Ziyan Xu

Welcome to my page! I am a post-doc researcher in astrophysics
at Center for Star and Planet Formation (StarPlan) in University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Updated April 2025

about me

I am currently a post-doc researcher at Center for Star and Planet Formation (StarPlan) in University of Copenhagen, working with Prof. Anders Johansen. I got my PhD degree in astrophysics in 2021, at Kavli Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Peking University (with Prof. Greg Herczeg and Prof. Xuening Bai), and worked as a postdoc researcher from 2021-2024 in CRAL, ENS de Lyon (with Prof. Guillaume Laibe).

I am particularly interested in studying protoplanetary disks surrounding young stars, which are believed to be the birthplaces of planets. My research interest focuses on studying dust dynamics and planet formation processes in protoplanetary disks using MHD simulations, as well as investigating physical processes involved in disk formation and evolution, including protostellar collapse and disk winds.



September 2024

Local Spherical Collapsing Box in Hydrodyamic Simulations

We implement a local model for a spherical collapsing or expanding gas cloud in the ATHENA++ magnetohydrodynamic code, providing a powerful framework for studying local physics and hydrodynamic instabilities during protostellar collapse.

November 2021

Absorption Lines as a Probe of Disk Wind

We analyze FUV absorption lines in HST surveys of 40 disk-hosting young stars, and detected wind absorption in most of them. Our wind models show that magnetized wind is needed to explain the absorption line profiles.