Astrophysics

Dr. Dexheimer is a theoretical astrophysicist.  She specializes in the study of finite temperature/density matter.  Her research focus has been on the properties and dynamics of neutron stars and proto-neutron stars.  In such dense bodies, particles different from the ones present in atomic nuclei, the nucleons, become important. These particles can be hyperons, that contain non-zero strangeness, or broader resonances. There can also be different states of matter inside neutron star, such as meson condensates and, if the density is high enough to deconfine the nucleons, quark matter.