Arpit Arora — Astrophysicist

/ 01 — About

Hi, I'm Arpit.

Moore Foundation Fellow UW Astronomy Dark Matter

I am an astrophysicist and Moore Foundation Fellow at the University of Washington, working at the intersection of dark matter physics and galactic dynamics. Originally from New Delhi, India, I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania (2024) after receiving my B.S. from the University of Minnesota.

My research treats the Milky Way as a laboratory for dark matter. By combining zoomed cosmological hydrodynamical simulations with dynamical tools built for the disequilibrium regime, I model the asymmetric distribution of dark matter and probe alternative models — including self-interacting and atomic dark matter. I am currently focused on stellar streams and what they reveal about the distribution and particle properties of dark matter.

2024 — Moore Foundation Fellow, Postdoctoral Scholar · University of Washington

2024 Ph.D. Astrophysics · University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

2019 B.S. Physics & Astrophysics · University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

/ 02 — Research

Research Highlights

Using the Milky Way as a dark matter laboratory — combining cosmological simulations, dynamical modelling, and stellar tracers to illuminate how dark matter shapes our Galaxy and what its particle nature leaves behind.

Galactic Dynamics ApJ 2025

Shaping the Milky Way: Mergers & Cosmic Filaments

Dynamical models to characterize the disequilibrium distribution of dark matter in the Milky Way, tracing the interplay of merger history and large-scale cosmic filament accretion.

Read Paper

Stellar Streams In Prep

Stellar Streams in a Time-Evolving Milky Way

Evolution of stellar streams — tidal remnants of disrupted satellite galaxies — in realistic, time-dependent Milky Way potentials from zoomed cosmological hydrodynamical simulations.

In Preparation

Dark Matter Models ApJ 2024

Self-Interacting & Atomic Dark Matter

Probing alternative dark matter models — self-interacting and atomic dark matter — through their distinct observational signatures in the kinematics of Milky Way satellite galaxies and stellar stream morphology.

Read Paper

/ 03 — Publications

Selected Publications

Full list on SciX, ORCID, and Google Scholar.

SciX 0000-0002-8354-7356 Google Scholar

In Prep

Evolution of Stellar Streams in Realistic Time-Dependent Milky Way Potentials

In Preparation · Arora, A. et al.

In Prep

2025

Shaping the Milky Way: The Interplay of Mergers and Cosmic Filaments

The Astrophysical Journal · Arora, A. et al.

ApJ

2024

The Imprint of Dark Matter on the Galactic Acceleration Field

ApJ 974, 223 · Arora, A. et al.

ApJ

2024

LMC-driven Anisotropic Boosts in Stream–Subhalo Interactions

ApJ 974, 286 · Arora, A. et al.

ApJ

2022

On the Stability of Tidal Streams in Action Space

ApJ 939, 2 · Arora, A. et al.

ApJ

/ 04 — Tools & Visualizations

Interactive Science

Open tools for exploring the geometry and physics of stellar stream encounters and high-performance N-body simulation of tidal disruption.

Interactive 3D

Stream–Subhalo Impact Geometry

Interactive 3D visualization of the geometry of a dark matter subhalo impacting a stellar stream. Explore impact angle ψ, velocity angle θ, basis vectors, and relative velocities in real time via Plotly.

Launch Tool

Open Source

Nbody_streams

Run N-body simulations of stellar streams in isolation or in an external potential using highly efficient CUDA kernels — supporting both direct N-body and tree codes, plus analysis utilities.

View on GitHub

/ 05 — CV

Curriculum Vitae

Moore Foundation Fellow University of Washington Ph.D. UPenn 2024

My full CV includes a complete publication list, conference talks, teaching, and service activities.

Download CV (PDF)

/ 06 — Contact

Get in Touch

Always happy to discuss dark matter, stellar streams, simulations, or potential collaborations.