Xin's Story: I am originally from Guangzhou, a city in southern China. My passion for physics and astronomy was rooted in my middle school when I had the chance to look through a telescope for the first time. I was captivated by the beauty of the night sky and amazed at how physics can explain so much of the world around me. I attended a summer camp at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where for the first time, I got to simulate the stars and planets on the computer and worked on a project that modeled a rocket to Mars. It was also my first time meeting with U.S. astronomers and was inspired that I could join the path to becoming an astrophysicist! In 2018, I moved to the U.S. to study physics and earned by B.S. in Physics with a concentration in Astrophysics from Georgia Tech, along with a minor in Computer Science. I started doing research with David Ballantyne in my sophomore year on simulating the warm corona at the inner accretion disks. The 3 years of undergraduate research experience fueled my growing passion for understanding AGNs and accretion disks.
Xin's Interests: My research interests falls into transient phenomena, including Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) and accretion disks around massive black holes. My first year research here at the University of Michigan involved analysing the X-ray observations for a TDE. I discovered the potential outflows from the TDE and analyzed it's impact on the host galaxy's evolution. My current work focuses on AGN winds and outflows. These outflows are in the form of ionized gas and they span a wide range in properties. One crucial aspect of understanding the AGN winds involves deciphering their geometry and structures. Pervious observations using Chandra and XMM has shown absorption features from these outflows, but we don't have clear understanding of how they are launched, where they originate, and how they impact the host galaxy evolutions. With high-resolution XRISM spectra we are promised to revolutionize the study of these outflows. As a science team member of NGC 4151, I have analyzed the observations and detected clear evidence of multi-layers of outflows, including slower Warm Absorbers (WA), Very Fast Outflows (VFO), and Ultra-Fast Outflows (UFO). I'm excited to investigate the connections between these different types of outflows, explore their variability, and ultimately gain insights into how they are launched and how AGNs interact with their host galaxies. Outside of research, you may find me rock climbing on a wall, cooking food in a kitchen, flying a small Cessna in the sky, or playing piano in a studio room.
Xin's Advice for Future Astronomy Students: Stay open to exploring other disciplines. Often, ideas come from unexpected places—a talk or reading that seems unrelated to your current work could spark a new perspective. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes; they’re an important part of the learning process. Keep asking questions and never stop learning!
What's next for Xin? I have advanced to candidacy and have at least three more years of PhD life ahead of me at the University of Michigan. I am excited to continue my research on AGN winds in the early XRISM era.
