Ira M. Wasserman

Professor of Astronomy and Chairman of the Department of Astronomy
Ph.D. 1978 (Harvard University)

Campus Address:
626 Space Sciences Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Phone: 607-255-5867

Specialty Areas: Theoretical Astrophysics

Research Projects: Long Term Variations in the Rotation of Neutron Stars, Cosmology

Biography: Ira Wasserman works on a broad array of topics in theoretical astrophysics, with particular emphases on relativistic astrophysics and cosmology. Over his career, his work has ranged from understanding observable effects of the extreme physics of the interiors neutron stars, to studying dark matter
and energy in cosmology. Recently, his work has focused on several areas: (i) Long term variation in the rotation of neutron stars, specifically neutron star precession and implications
for the physics of superfluids in their interiors.
(ii) Nonlinear mode coupling in rotating neutron stars, and the saturation of the r-mode instability driven by gravitational radiation. (iii) Astronomical manifestations
of remnants of string/brane inflation, particularly cosmic strings, and prospects of constraining models
for the early Universe observationally.

Selected Publications: - "Nonlinear Mode Coupling in Rotating Stars and the R-Mode Instability," with A.K. Schenk, P. Arras, E.E. Flanagan, and S.A. Teukolsky, Physical Review D, 65, 024001, 2002(gr-qc/0101092)

- "Saturation of the R-Mode Instability," with P. Arras, E.E. Flanagan, S.M. Morsink, A.K. Schenk,
and S.A. Teukolsky, Astrophysical Journal, 591, 1129, 2003 (astro-ph/0202345)

- "On the Degeneracy Inherent in Observational Determination of the Dark Energy Equation of State," Physical Review D, 66, 123511, 2002 (astro-ph/0203137)

- "On the Signature of Short Distance Scale in the Cosmic Microwave Background," with G. Shiu, Physics Letters B, 536, 1, 2002 (hep-th/0203113

- "Cosmological Constraints on Tachyon Matter," with G. Shiu, Physics Letters B, 541, 6, 2002 (hep-th/02050003)

- "Rolling Tachyon in Brane World Cosmology from Superstring Field Theory," with G. Shiu and S.H.H. Tye, Physical Review D, 67, 083517, 2003 (hep-th/0207119)

- "Formation of an Evanescent Proto-Neutron Star Binary and the Origin of Pulsar Kicks," with M. Colpi, Astrophysical Journal, 581, 1271, 2002 (astro-th/0207327)

- Precession of Isolated Neutron Stars II: Magnetic Fields and Type II Superconductivity," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,341, 1020, 2003 (astro-ph/0208378)

- "Observational Constraints On Cosmic String Formation During Brane Inflation," with L.Pogosian, S.H.H. Tye and M. Wyman, Physical Review D, 68, 023506, 2003 (hep-th/0304188)