I am an astrophysics Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University broadly interested in the physical mechanisms that produce astrophysical transients such as quasi-periodic eruptions, partial-tidal disruption events, and white dwarf merger remnants. My thesis is focused on the fate of stars near supermassive black holes.

I am also very interested in teaching and public outreach. During undergrad, I was on the leadership team for CU-STARs (Science, Technology, and Astronomy Recruits). In Spring 2023, I TA’ed AST 403/PHY 402 Stars and Star Formation. More recently, I served on the Summer Science Program (SSP) Connect Committee for 2 years, and have been a Connect Mentor for the past 5 years for young SSP alumni during their final year of high school.

Education

2023- Ph.D. in Astrophysics, Princeton University
2021-2023 M.A. in Astrophysics, Princeton University
2018-2021 B.A. in Astrophysics, CU Boulder

Publications

“Star-Disk Collisions: Implications for QPEs and Other Transients Near Supermassive Black Holes”
Yao, P. Z., Quataert, E., Jiang, Y-F., Lu, W., White, C. J. (2024, ApJ)

“Expansion Properties of the Young Supernova Type Iax Remnant Pa 30 Revealed”
Cunningham, T., Caiazzo, I., et al., including Yao, P. Z. (2024, ApJ)

“The Origin of the Consistent Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function Bright-end Cutoff”
Yao, P. Z., Quataert, E. (2023, ApJ)

“Negative Lags on the Viscous Timescale in Quasar Photometry and Prospects for Detecting More with LSST”
Secunda, A, Greene, J. E., Jiang, Y-F., Yao, P. Z., Zoghbi, A (2023, ApJ)

“Observational Signatures of Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf Merger Remnants”
Yao, P. Z., Quataert, E. (2023, MNRAS)

“A Negative Long Lag from the Optical to the UV Continuum in Fairall 9”
Yao, P. Z., Secunda, A., Jiang, Y-F., Greene, J. E., Villar, A. (2023, ApJ)

“Radiation GRMHD simulations of M87: funnel properties and prospects for gap acceleration” 
Yao, P. Z., Dexter, J., Chen, A. Y., Ryan, B., Wong, G. (2021, MNRAS)