WELCOME! to the web site of Phil Armitage at the University of Colorado in Boulder. My research in theoretical and computational astrophysics focuses on the formation and early evolution of extrasolar planetary systems, and the astrophysics of black holes. Specific topics of current interest include electromagnetic counterparts to black hole mergers, the dynamical evolution of planetary systems, and the global development of the magnetorotational instability. My teaching includes a range of primarily upper division undergraduate and graduate classes.
Simulation of disk fragmentation in the Galactic Center (Alexander et al. 2008). A movie rendered from these simulations is also available.
I am currently working with APS graduate student Anna Hughes, and with postdocs Kris Beckwith and Jake Simon. Past members of my group include former students Dimitri Veras (now a postdoc in Cambridge, UK) and Jared Workman (Rochester), and postdoc Ken Rice (now on the faculty at the University of Edinburgh).
Beyond work, my interests include hiking, running and triathlon, and landscape photography, mostly from the National Parks and wilderness areas of North America.
Recent papers
Global variation of the dust-to-gas ratio in evolving protoplanetary discs, A.L.H. Hughes & P.J. Armitage, MNRAS, in press
Emergent mesoscale phenomena in magnetized accretion disc turbulence, J.B. Simon, K. Beckwith & P.J. Armitage, MNRAS, in press
Debris disks as signposts of terrestrial planet formation. II Dependence of exoplanet architectures on giant planet and disk properties, S.N. Raymond, P.J. Armitage, A. Moro-Martin, et al., A&A, in press
Convergence of SPH simulations of self-gravitating accretion discs, W.K.M. Rice, D.H. Forgan & P.J. Armitage, MNRAS, 420, 1640 (2012)
Hydrodynamic outcomes of planet scattering in transitional discs, N. Moeckel & P.J. Armitage, MNRAS, 419, 366 (2012)
The butterfly effect in the extreme-mass ratio inspiral problem, P. Amaro-Seoane, P. Brem, J. Cuadra & P.J. Armitage, ApJL, 744, L20 (2012)
Dynamics of protoplanetary disks, P.J. Armitage, ARA&A, 49, 195 (2011)
Astrophysics of planet formation
A graduate level textbook, derived but expanded from my Lecture notes on planet
formation
Phil Armitage
Professor, APS
BA: Physics & Theoretical Physics, Cambridge
Ph.D.: Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge (supervisor Cathie Clarke)
Fellow, JILA