David Merritt
Encyclopedia
David Merritt is an American astrophysicist and professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology
in Rochester
, New York
. He received his PhD in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University
and held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Berkeley
and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
in Toronto
. His fields of specialization include dynamics and evolution of galaxies
, supermassive black hole
s, and computational astrophysics.
David Merritt is a former Chair of the Division on Dynamical Astronomy
of the American Astronomical Society
. He is a founding member of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation
at RIT.
His scientific contributions include Osipkov-Merritt model
s, black hole spin flips, the Leonard-Merritt mass estimator
, the MBH-
relation
, stellar systems with negative temperatures, and rotational Brownian motion
.
With Rainer Spurzem
he designed and built gravitySimulator
, a novel supercomputer for solving the gravitational N-body problem
.
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
in Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He received his PhD in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
The Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics is a national research institute funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, located at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. His fields of specialization include dynamics and evolution of galaxies
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
, supermassive black hole
Supermassive black hole
A supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole in a galaxy, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. Most, and possibly all galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers.Supermassive black holes have...
s, and computational astrophysics.
David Merritt is a former Chair of the Division on Dynamical Astronomy
Division on Dynamical Astronomy
The Division on Dynamical Astronomy is a branch of the American Astronomical Society that focuses on the advancement of all aspects of dynamical astronomy, including celestial mechanics, solar system dynamics, stellar dynamics, as well as the dynamics of the interstellar medium and galactic...
of the American Astronomical Society
American Astronomical Society
The American Astronomical Society is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC...
. He is a founding member of the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation
Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation
The Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation is a research center at the Rochester Institute of Technology. It comprises faculty, postdoctoral research associates and students working in the areas of computational general relativity, gravitational waves, relativistic astrophysics, and...
at RIT.
His scientific contributions include Osipkov-Merritt model
Osipkov-Merritt model
Osipkov–Merritt models are mathematical representations of spherical stellar systems...
s, black hole spin flips, the Leonard-Merritt mass estimator
Leonard-Merritt mass estimator
The Leonard–Merritt mass estimator is a formula for estimating the mass of a spherical stellar system using the apparent positions and proper motions of its component stars. The distance to the stellar system must also be known....
, the MBH-
relationM-sigma relation
The M-sigma relation is an empirical correlation between the stellar velocity dispersion \sigma of a galaxy bulge and the mass M of the supermassive black hole atthe galaxy's center.The relation can be expressed mathematically as...
, stellar systems with negative temperatures, and rotational Brownian motion
Rotational Brownian motion (astronomy)
In astronomy, rotational Brownian motion refers to the random walk in orientation of a binary star's orbital plane, induced by gravitational perturbations from passing stars.-Theory:...
.
With Rainer Spurzem
Rainer Spurzem
Rainer Spurzem is a German astronomer at the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut in Heidelberg, Germany. His speciality is the N-body simulation of galaxies and star clusters....
he designed and built gravitySimulator
GravitySimulator
gravitySimulator is a novel supercomputer that incorporates special-purpose GRAPE hardware to solve the gravitational N-body problem. It is housed in the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation at the Rochester Institute of Technology...
, a novel supercomputer for solving the gravitational N-body problem
N-body problem
The n-body problem is the problem of predicting the motion of a group of celestial objects that interact with each other gravitationally. Solving this problem has been motivated by the need to understand the motion of the Sun, planets and the visible stars...
.
Books by David Merritt
- Merritt, D. (ed.) (1989). Dynamics of Dense Stellar Systems. 251 pages. Cambridge University Press.
- Merritt, D. (ed.) (1999). Galaxy Dynamics. 164 pages. Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
Popular Articles by David Merritt
- Ferrarese, L. and Merritt, D. (2002). Supermassive Black Holes. Physics World, June 2002, p. 41.