崔灿的学术主页

01About

I am an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Deep Space Exploration, Nanjing University. My research focuses on protoplanetary discs and planet formation, combining numerical simulations and analytical theory.

I received my B.S. in Astronomy and Physics from Pennsylvania State University, Part III at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, and Ph.D. at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory with Professor Feng Yuan. I then held postdoctoral positions at DAMTP, University of Cambridge, and University of Toronto.

02Appointments & Education

2025–
Assistant ProfessorInstitute of Deep Space Exploration
Nanjing University
2023–2024
Postdoctoral ResearcherDepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics
University of Toronto
2020–2023
Postdoctoral ResearcherDAMTP
University of Cambridge
2016–2020
Ph.D. AstrophysicsAdvisor: Professor Feng Yuan
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
2014–2015
M.S. Part III AstrophysicsInstitute of Astronomy
University of Cambridge
2010–2014
B.S. Astronomy & B.S. Physics, minor MathematicsHonors & Distinction
Pennsylvania State University

03Research

Turbulence in weakly ionized discs

What stirs the gas where planets form

Outer discs are dense, cold and poorly ionized, so Ohmic resistivity, ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect all weaken the magnetorotational instability and leave room for a purely hydrodynamic competitor, the vertical shear instability (VSI). I work out the linear theory of the VSI as an outwardly travelling wave, show how its body and corrugation modes saturate through a parametric instability, measure the radial wavelengths that disc-kinematics observations would need to resolve, and run global three-dimensional simulations with Athena++ to ask which mechanism — MRI or VSI — actually sets the turbulence at tens of au.

vertical shear instabilityambipolar diffusionHall effectdisc windsAthena++
Related papers
2024Vertical shear instability with partially reflecting boundary conditionsWu, Yu & Cui · MNRAS 534, 948 2024On corrugation mode radial wavelengths of the VSIDang, Cui & Barraza-Alfaro · MNRAS 529, 918 2022Turbulence in outer protoplanetary discs: MRI or VSI?Cui & Bai · MNRAS 516, 4660 2022Wavelike nature of the vertical shear instabilitySvanberg, Cui & Latter · MNRAS 514, 4581 2022Saturation of the VSI via parametric instabilityCui & Latter · MNRAS 512, 1639 2021Global 3D simulations of outer discs with ambipolar diffusionCui & Bai · MNRAS 507, 1106 2021The vertical shear instability in magnetized discsCui & Lin · MNRAS 505, 2983 2020Global VSI simulations with non-ideal MHD effectsCui & Bai · ApJ 891, 30
Substructure, vortices & dust

From rings and gaps to planetesimals

ALMA has turned discs into resolved objects full of rings, gaps and asymmetries. I study the Rossby wave instability in magnetized and weakly ionized discs — the vortices it produces are efficient dust traps — together with the drift and settling of grains in a magnetized flow, connecting instability theory to the substructures that are actually observed.

Rossby wave instabilityvorticesdust trappingdisc substructureALMA
Related papers
2025Rossby wave instability in weakly ionized discs — II. Radial B-fieldsCui & Wang · MNRAS 539, 3823 2025Rossby wave instability in magnetized discs — I. Azimuthal or vertical B-fieldsCui, Tripathi, Yu, Lin & Youdin · MNRAS 537, 1973 2024Dust dynamics in Hall-effected discs — I. Background drift Hall instabilityWu, Lin, Cui, Krapp, Lee & Youdin · ApJ 962, 173
Accretion flows & winds

Outflows from black hole accretion flows

Earlier work, from my doctoral research, followed the large-scale dynamics of winds launched by hot accretion flows around black holes, in both hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics — the same fluid-dynamical toolkit, applied several orders of magnitude up in scale.

hot accretion flowsoutflowsMHD
Related papers
2020Winds from black hole accretion flows — II. MagnetohydrodynamicsCui & Yuan · ApJ 890, 81 2020Winds from black hole accretion flows — I. HydrodynamicsCui, Yuan & Li · ApJ 890, 80

04Publications

The complete list is @ ADS library.

2025
  1. Rossby wave instability in weakly ionized protoplanetary discs — II. Radial B-fields
    C. Cui, Z. Wang
    MNRAS 539, 3823doi
  2. Rossby wave instability in magnetized protoplanetary discs — I. Azimuthal or vertical B-fields
    C. Cui, A. Tripathi, C. Yu, M.-K. Lin, A. Youdin
    MNRAS 537, 1973doi
2024
  1. Vertical shear instability with partially reflecting boundary conditions
    Y. Wu, C. Yu, C. Cui
    MNRAS 534, 948doi
  2. On corrugation mode radial wavelengths of the vertical shear instability
    Y. Dang, C. Cui, M. Barraza-Alfaro
    MNRAS 529, 918doi
  3. Dust dynamics in Hall-effected protoplanetary discs. I. Background drift Hall instability
    Y. Wu, M.-K. Lin, C. Cui, L. Krapp, Y.-N. Lee, A. N. Youdin
    ApJ 962, 173doi
2022
  1. Turbulence in outer protoplanetary discs: MRI or VSI?
    C. Cui, X.-N. Bai
    MNRAS 516, 4660doi
  2. Wavelike nature of the vertical shear instability in global protoplanetary discs
    E. Svanberg, C. Cui, H. N. Latter
    MNRAS 514, 4581doi
  3. The saturation of the VSI in protoplanetary discs via parametric instability
    C. Cui, H. N. Latter
    MNRAS 512, 1639doi
2021
  1. Global three-dimensional simulations of outer protoplanetary discs with ambipolar diffusion
    C. Cui, X.-N. Bai
    MNRAS 507, 1106doi
  2. On the vertical shear instability in magnetized protoplanetary discs
    C. Cui, M.-K. Lin
    MNRAS 505, 2983doi
2020
  1. Global simulations of the vertical shear instability with non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic effects
    C. Cui, X.-N. Bai
    ApJ 891, 30doi
  2. Large-scale dynamics of winds originating from black hole accretion flows. II. Magnetohydrodynamics
    C. Cui, F. Yuan
    ApJ 890, 81doi
  3. Large-scale dynamics of winds originating from black hole accretion flows. I. Hydrodynamics
    C. Cui, F. Yuan, B. Li
    ApJ 890, 80doi

05Teaching

Fall 2026
Planet FormationGraduate course
Nanjing University
Spring 2026
ColloquiumInstitute seminar series
Nanjing University
2025 Spring, Fall
Fluid DynamicsGraduate course
Nanjing University
Fall 2023, Spring 2024
AST 424 Introduction to Astrophysical ResearchResearch supervisor
Toronto
Lent 2022, 2023
Part IB Fluid DynamicsSupervisions
Cambridge

06Group

Graduate students
Li Zhuofan 李卓帆
2026–
Li Minghan 李明翰
2026–
Liu Qiuyi 柳秋怡
2025–
Ma Xiaoyi 马潇依
2024– · Peking University
Undergraduate students
Pu Wenxin 蒲文心
2025– · 大创
Pu Yangjun 濮阳竣
2025– · Thesis

07Invited Conference/Workshop Talks

2026
Hydrodynamic and Dusty Turbulence in Protoplanetary DisksCenter for Computational Astrophysics
New York
2025
Planets on the EdgeKavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
Santa Barbara
2025
Astrophysical WavesInstitute for Advanced Study
Princeton
2024
Planetesimals and Planets Workshop
Suzhou
2023
Core2disk III
Paris
2023
MHD Flows in Young Circumstellar Disks
Munich
2023
2nd Athena++ WorkshopFlatiron Institute
New York
2022
Vertical Shear Instability in Protoplanetary Disks
Remote
Gas dynamics in protoplanetary discs Watch on YouTube