Physics of neutron stars and giant planets

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Neutron stars are extreme astrophysical objects, 300,000 times as massive as the Earth and yet the size of a small city. They offer a unique laboratory to study matter under conditions of high density, temperature and magnetic fields: conditions that cannot be achieved in terrestrial laboratories. Similarly, the hundreds of giant planets now known to orbit nearby stars offer us a way to study the formation and evolution of planets beyond those in our own Solar System. This research program involves theoretical work on physical processes occurring inside neutron stars and giant planets which addresses the many observations we now have of these objects. This research will help us learn what neutron stars are made of and how giant planets form and evolve.