Emeriti Faculty

Arons cropped

Jon Arons

Professor of the Graduate School, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, Physics

Office:
265 Campbell Hall

Contact:
E:arons@astro.berkeley.edu

Specialty areas

Astrophysics,Black holes pulsars,Compact astrophysical objects,Cosmic rays,Ionized plasmas,Magnetic fields,Magnetized accretion disks,Neutron Stars,Planets.

Research Interests

I am fascinated by the physics of compact astrophysical objects, especially neutron stars. I am intrigued by the bizarre behavior of fully ionized plasmas, which mix long range electromagnetic forces with kinetic particle behavior. I merge these interests by studying the magnetospheres of neutron stars and their interactions with their environs, and their role in the acceleration of the highest energy cosmic rays. I also have interests in the magnetized accretion disks around black holes, whose physics has similarities to that of the outflows from rotation powered pulsars.  

Biography

Aside from my professional life as a teacher and researcher in Astrophysics and Plasma Physics, I enjoy cooking and playing the 'cello. I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 16, 1943, and lived there for 18 years; I received my B.A. in Physics from Williams College in 1965 and my Ph. D. in Astronomy from Harvard University  in 1970.   I was a postdoctoral Fellow at the Princeton University Observatory and the Institute for Advanced Study for 2 years before coming to Berkeley in 1972.