Shangjia Zhang

Pupin Hall 1026

Columbia University

New York, NY, USA

Beyond the snapshot. I am a computational astrophysicist who studies how planets form. Breakthrough observatories such as ALMA, JWST, and extreme adaptive optics instruments now give us sharp images of planet-forming disks. Rings and gaps are ubiquitous. Some disks also show spirals, shadows, and warps. After more than a decade of these observations, we have more than snapshots. We can now see disks change over time. I build 3D simulations that evolve in time, with many dust sizes, multi-frequency radiation, and dust–gas coupling. How disks change and respond then tells us about the physics that shapes planet formation.

Two questions drive my research:

Which disk substructures are carved by planets, and which are not? I use these simulations to tell planetary from non-planetary origins of disk features.
What young planet population do disk surveys reveal? I infer planet masses and occurrence in DSHARP, Taurus, and other disk samples using suites of planet–disk simulations and machine learning.

Two methods make this possible. Supercomputing: large radiation-hydrodynamical simulations on modern CPUs and GPUs, including the new GPU code PASTA. Machine learning: I was among the first to infer planet masses directly from disk images with neural networks (PGNets). Next, I plan to use AI to make these complex models fast enough to compare with data.

I am an NHFP Sagan Fellow at Columbia University (2024–2027), hosted by Prof. Jane Huang, and an incoming Research Fellow at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics (2027–2028). I received my Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, working with Prof. Zhaohuan Zhu, and my B.S. from the University of Michigan, working with Prof. Lee Hartmann, after two years at Nanjing University.

My simulations use the radiation module of Athena++ and the new GPU code PASTA, both developed by Dr. Yan-Fei Jiang. See my research page for movies and highlights, or my full publication list and CV.

news

Oct 01, 2026	Upcoming: I will give the DAMTP Astrophysics Seminar at the University of Cambridge in November 2026.
Sep 15, 2026	Gave the Physics and Astronomy Colloquium at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Aug 20, 2026	Submitted Thermal Response of Dust and Gas to Shadows in Protoplanetary Disks I, with PhD student Xiaoyi Ma (KIAA, Peking University), to ApJ.
Jun 10, 2026	New paper led by Stanley Baronett, whom I co-advised at UNLV: a framework for frequency-dependent radiation transport in stellar-irradiated disks with Athena++.
Feb 15, 2026	Gave the Astrophysics Colloquium at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Dec 15, 2025	Our paper Shadow-induced Warps in Protoplanetary Disks is out in ApJL.

selected publications

ApJL

Shadow-induced Warps in Protoplanetary Disks

Shangjia Zhang, Zhaohuan Zhu, and Callum W. Fairbairn

Astrophysical Journal Letters, Dec 2025

DOI arXiv HTML

ApJL

3D Radiation-hydrodynamical Simulations of Shadows on Transition Disks

Shangjia Zhang and Zhaohuan Zhu

Astrophysical Journal Letters, Oct 2024

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2024ApJ...974L..38Z,
  author = {{Zhang}, Shangjia and {Zhu}, Zhaohuan},
  title = {{3D Radiation-hydrodynamical Simulations of Shadows on Transition Disks}},
  journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
  keywords = {Accretion, Protoplanetary disks, Radiative transfer, Hydrodynamical simulations, Radiative magnetohydrodynamics, 14, 1300, 1335, 767, 2009, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics},
  year = {2024},
  month = oct,
  volume = {974},
  number = {2},
  eid = {L38},
  pages = {L38},
  doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/ad815f},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...974L..38Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

ApJ

Thermal Structure Determines Kinematics: Vertical Shear Instability in Stellar Irradiated Protoplanetary Disks

Shangjia Zhang, Zhaohuan Zhu, and Yan-Fei Jiang

Astrophysical Journal, Jun 2024

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2024ApJ...968...29Z,
  author = {{Zhang}, Shangjia and {Zhu}, Zhaohuan and {Jiang}, Yan-Fei},
  title = {{Thermal Structure Determines Kinematics: Vertical Shear Instability in Stellar Irradiated Protoplanetary Disks}},
  journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
  keywords = {Accretion, Protoplanetary disks, Radiative transfer, Hydrodynamics, Radiative magnetohydrodynamics, Hydrodynamical simulations, 14, 1300, 1335, 1963, 2009, 767, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics},
  year = {2024},
  month = jun,
  volume = {968},
  number = {1},
  eid = {29},
  pages = {29},
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ad4109},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...968...29Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

ApJ

Porous Dust Particles in Protoplanetary Disks: Application to the HL Tau Disk

Shangjia Zhang, Zhaohuan Zhu, Takahiro Ueda, Akimasa Kataoka, Anibal Sierra, and 2 more authors

Astrophysical Journal, Aug 2023

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2023ApJ...953...96Z,
  author = {{Zhang}, Shangjia and {Zhu}, Zhaohuan and {Ueda}, Takahiro and {Kataoka}, Akimasa and {Sierra}, Anibal and {Carrasco-Gonz{\'a}lez}, Carlos and {Mac{\'\i}as}, Enrique},
  title = {{Porous Dust Particles in Protoplanetary Disks: Application to the HL Tau Disk}},
  journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
  keywords = {Interstellar dust extinction, Planet formation, Protoplanetary disks, Millimeter astronomy, Optical constants (Dust), Submillimeter astronomy, Spectral index, Radio astronomy, Polarimetry, Astrophysical dust processes, Dust composition, Dust continuum emission, 837, 1241, 1300, 1061, 2270, 1647, 1553, 1338, 1278, 99, 2271, 412, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics},
  year = {2023},
  month = aug,
  volume = {953},
  number = {1},
  eid = {96},
  pages = {96},
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/acdb4e},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...953...96Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

ApJ

Substructures in Compact Disks of the Taurus Star-forming Region

Shangjia Zhang, Matt Kalscheur, Feng Long, Ke Zhang, Deryl E. Long, and 3 more authors

Astrophysical Journal, Aug 2023

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2023ApJ...952..108Z,
  author = {{Zhang}, Shangjia and {Kalscheur}, Matt and {Long}, Feng and {Zhang}, Ke and {Long}, Deryl E. and {Bergin}, Edwin A. and {Zhu}, Zhaohuan and {Trapman}, Leon},
  title = {{Substructures in Compact Disks of the Taurus Star-forming Region}},
  journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
  keywords = {Protoplanetary disks, Planetary-disk interactions, Exoplanet systems, 1300, 2204, 484, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics},
  year = {2023},
  month = aug,
  volume = {952},
  number = {2},
  eid = {108},
  pages = {108},
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/acd334},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...952..108Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

MNRAS

PGNets: planet mass prediction using convolutional neural networks for radio continuum observations of protoplanetary discs

Shangjia Zhang, Zhaohuan Zhu, and Mingon Kang

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Mar 2022

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2022MNRAS.510.4473Z,
  author = {{Zhang}, Shangjia and {Zhu}, Zhaohuan and {Kang}, Mingon},
  title = {{PGNets: planet mass prediction using convolutional neural networks for radio continuum observations of protoplanetary discs}},
  journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  keywords = {hydrodynamics, waves, planet-disc interactions, protoplanetary discs, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, Computer Science - Machine Learning},
  year = {2022},
  month = mar,
  volume = {510},
  number = {3},
  pages = {4473-4484},
  doi = {10.1093/mnras/stab3502},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022MNRAS.510.4473Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

ApJ

Self-consistent Ring Model in Protoplanetary Disks: Temperature Dips and Substructure Formation

Shangjia Zhang, Xiao Hu, Zhaohuan Zhu, and Jaehan Bae

Astrophysical Journal, Dec 2021

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2021ApJ...923...70Z,
  author = {{Zhang}, Shangjia and {Hu}, Xiao and {Zhu}, Zhaohuan and {Bae}, Jaehan},
  title = {{Self-consistent Ring Model in Protoplanetary Disks: Temperature Dips and Substructure Formation}},
  journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
  keywords = {1300, 1335, 1647, 1241, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics},
  year = {2021},
  month = dec,
  volume = {923},
  number = {1},
  eid = {70},
  pages = {70},
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ac2c82},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021ApJ...923...70Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

MNRAS

The effects of disc self-gravity and radiative cooling on the formation of gaps and spirals by young planets

Shangjia Zhang and Zhaohuan Zhu

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Apr 2020

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2020MNRAS.493.2287Z,
  author = {{Zhang}, Shangjia and {Zhu}, Zhaohuan},
  title = {{The effects of disc self-gravity and radiative cooling on the formation of gaps and spirals by young planets}},
  journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  keywords = {hydrodynamics, waves, planet-disc interactions, protoplanetary discs, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics},
  year = {2020},
  month = apr,
  volume = {493},
  number = {2},
  pages = {2287-2305},
  doi = {10.1093/mnras/staa404},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020MNRAS.493.2287Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

ApJL

One Solution to the Mass Budget Problem for Planet Formation: Optically Thick Disks with Dust Scattering

Zhaohuan Zhu, Shangjia Zhang, Yan-Fei Jiang, Akimasa Kataoka, Tilman Birnstiel, and 8 more authors

Astrophysical Journal Letters, Jun 2019

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{2019ApJ...877L..18Z,
  author = {{Zhu}, Zhaohuan and {Zhang}, Shangjia and {Jiang}, Yan-Fei and {Kataoka}, Akimasa and {Birnstiel}, Tilman and {Dullemond}, Cornelis P. and {Andrews}, Sean M. and {Huang}, Jane and {P{\'e}rez}, Laura M. and {Carpenter}, John M. and {Bai}, Xue-Ning and {Wilner}, David J. and {Ricci}, Luca},
  title = {{One Solution to the Mass Budget Problem for Planet Formation: Optically Thick Disks with Dust Scattering}},
  journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},
  keywords = {opacity, planets and satellites: formation, protoplanetary disks, radiative transfer, scattering, submillimeter: planetary systems, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics},
  year = {2019},
  month = jun,
  volume = {877},
  number = {2},
  eid = {L18},
  pages = {L18},
  doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/ab1f8c},
  archiveprefix = {arXiv},
  primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP},
  adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019ApJ...877L..18Z},
  adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System},
}

ApJL
The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). VII. The Planet-Disk Interactions Interpretation

Shangjia Zhang, Zhaohuan Zhu, Jane Huang, Viviana V. Guzmán, Sean M. Andrews, and 10 more authors

Astrophysical Journal Letters, Dec 2018

Abs DOI arXiv Bib HTML

The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP) provides a large sample of protoplanetary disks with substructures that could be induced by young forming planets. To explore the properties of planets that may be responsible for these substructures, we systematically carry out a grid of 2D hydrodynamical simulations, including both gas and dust components. We present the resulting gas structures, including the relationship between the planet mass, as well as (1) the gaseous gap depth/width and (2) the sub/super-Keplerian motion across the gap. We then compute dust continuum intensity maps at the frequency of the DSHARP observations. We provide the relationship between the planet mass, as well as (1) the depth/width of the gaps at millimeter intensity maps, (2) the gap edge ellipticity and asymmetry, and (3) the position of secondary gaps induced by the planet. With these relationships, we lay out the procedure to constrain the planet mass using gap properties, and study the potential planets in the DSHARP disks. We highlight the excellent agreement between observations and simulations for AS 209 and the detectability of the young solar system analog. Finally, under the assumption that the detected gaps are induced by young planets, we characterize the young planet population in the planet mass–semimajor axis diagram. We find that the occurrence rate for >5 MJ planets beyond 5–10 au is consistent with direct imaging constraints. Disk substructures allow us to probe a wide-orbit planet population (Neptune to Jupiter mass planets beyond 10 au) that is not accessible to other planet searching techniques.
@article{2018ApJ...869L..47Z, author = {Zhang, Shangjia and Zhu, Zhaohuan and Huang, Jane and Guzmán, Viviana V. and Andrews, Sean M. and Birnstiel, Tilman and Dullemond, Cornelis P. and Carpenter, John M. and Isella, Andrea and Pérez, Laura M. and Benisty, Myriam and Wilner, David J. and Baruteau, Clément and Bai, Xue-Ning and Ricci, Luca}, title = {{The Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP). VII. The Planet-Disk Interactions Interpretation}}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal Letters}, keywords = {hydrodynamics, planet{\textendash}disk interactions, planets and satellites: detection, planets and satellites: formation, protoplanetary disks, submillimeter: planetary systems, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics}, year = {2018}, month = dec, volume = {869}, number = {2}, eid = {L47}, pages = {L47}, doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/aaf744}, archiveprefix = {arXiv}, primaryclass = {astro-ph.EP}, adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ApJ...869L..47Z}, adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System}, publisher = {The American Astronomical Society}, }