Dynamics and Impacts Brummell, Fortney, Garaud, Glatzmaier, Laughlin, Lin

Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
The interiors of gas giants and stars transfer their internal energy by a mixture of convective and radiative processes. Clues to these processes may be gleaned from the behaviour of the visible, near-surface layers. Brummell, Fortney, Garaud and Glatzmaier model various aspects of these fluid dynamical phenomena, typically using supercomputers.

Orbital and Accretion Dynamics
Lin and Laughlin are interested in the orbital dynamics of planetary systems, in particular the generation of orbital resonances and the long-term stability of planetary orbits. Garaud and Lin study the accretionary process, from the initial protoplanetary disk to the late-stage giant impact stage.

Impacts
Giant impacts occur frequently during the final stages of accretion. Asphaug and Korycansky have modelled various aspects of these large impacts, in particular the collision which formed the Moon, and the impact which blasted the crust off half the Martian surface.