Research

My Research

My research aims to build a comprehensive, physically grounded framework to understand how radiation, magnetic fields, turbulence, and cosmic rays regulate the interstellar medium (ISM) and drive star formation and galaxy evolution across cosmic time. 

I am leading the ITAMOS framework, an integrated multi-phase modeling ecosystem that combines three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics, detailed chemistry, and radiative transfer to self-consistently simulate ionized, atomic, and molecular gas.

My work has led to discoveries on cosmic-ray–driven CO destruction and CO-dark molecular gas, diagnostics of cloud–cloud collisions, the origin of [C II]  deficit in galaxy mergers, and the impact of α-enhanced chemistry and metallicity on molecular gas tracers.

Beyond scientific results, I play an active role in international collaborations and science diplomacy, founding the Olympian Symposium conference series and building research bridges between Europe and China.

Below is a summary of various research project I have been working on.

α-enhanced PDR chemistry

α-enhanced PDR chemistry

Astrochemistry has been widely developed as a power tool to probe the physical properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) in various conditions of our Galaxy, and in near and distant

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Determining the PDR properties using probability density functions

Determining the PDR properties using probability density functions

Determining the photodissociation region (PDR) properties of the interstellar medium (ISM), such as the atomic and molecular mass content, is of fundamental importance to understand the star-formation process. The advent

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Photodissociation region diagnostics

Photodissociation region diagnostics

To determine the physical properties and evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM), we need to model its chemical conditions, since these help set its heating & cooling rates and ionization

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Cosmic-ray induced destruction of CO

Cosmic-ray induced destruction of CO

Cosmic-rays are relativistic charged particles (and not "rays" in terms of electromagnetic radiation) and play an important role in regulating the chemistry at high column densities. These high column-densities are

Read more Cosmic-ray induced destruction of CO

Origin of the [CII]-deficit

Origin of the [CII]-deficit

The line of ionized carbon at 158μm, denoted as [CII], is one of the brightest lines originating from star-forming galaxies. Under typical environmental conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM), the

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Expansion of HII-regions

Expansion of HII-regions

Massive stars emit copious amount of photons that are able to ionize the atom of hydrogen in their nearby environment of the interstellar medium (ISM). This influence of UV radiation

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Fine-structure lines as diagnostic for cloud-cloud collision activity

Fine-structure lines as diagnostic for cloud-cloud collision activity

The dominant process for the galactic star formation is believed to be the collision between giant molecular clouds. The collision triggers the gravitational collapse of the merged clouds, creating star

Read more Fine-structure lines as diagnostic for cloud-cloud collision activity