Recently, National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) announced the results of its 2025 project evaluations. Professor Wu Xin from School of Mathematics, Physics and Statistics at SUES has been awarded a General Program Grant for his project titled “Periodic Orbits, Quasi-Periodic Oscillations, and Chaotic Motion in Strong Gravitational Systems” (Project No. 12573077).
Project Overview
In the past decade, the successful detection of gravitational waves and the release of the first black hole shadow images have ignited a global surge of interest in black hole physics. The construction of gravitational waveform templates and the theoretical modeling of black hole shadows ultimately depend on understanding the dynamics of particle and photon orbits in strong gravitational fields.
Building upon this international frontier, Professor Wu’s project aims to apply celestial mechanics theories and methods to study the orbital dynamics and physical properties of compact astrophysical objects such as black holes and neutron stars. The research will analyze space telescope observations to identify high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in systems such as X-ray binaries, and employ Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) statistical methods to constrain the parameters and magnetic field strengths of magnetized rotating black holes. The project seeks to characterize periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic orbits of charged particles and photons near black holes, and to reveal their implications for gravitational waveforms, black hole shadows, and astrophysical jets. This research holds significant scientific importance. It is expected to shed light on the link between orbital dynamics and high-energy physical processes, test the effects of curved spacetime under strong gravity, and deepen our understanding of compact star physics, accretion disk properties, and jet formation mechanisms. Furthermore, the results will provide valuable theoretical references for future gravitational wave detection and promote interdisciplinary development among computational mathematics, nonlinear dynamics, relativistic celestial mechanics, and astrophysics.
About Professor Wu Xin
Professor Wu Xin is a Distinguished Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at SUES. He joined SUES in 2020 as a high-level talent recruit and is a recipient of the State Council Special Government Allowance. He serves as a member of the Astronomy Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, a review expert for the NSFC, and a member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Professor Wu’s research focuses on relativistic celestial mechanics, spanning from the development of post-Newtonian theoretical frameworks and algorithms to the study of celestial orbital dynamics. He has published over 100 SCI-indexed papers and has led eight NSFC-funded projects, including one Key Project. His contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Second Prize of the Shanghai Natural Science Award (1st place), the First Prize of the Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Award (2nd place), the Outstanding Contribution Award from the Chinese Astronomical Society on its 90th Anniversary, and the title of National Excellent Scientific and Technological Worker.
Date of Release: September 1st , 2025
Issued by: School of Mathematics, Physics and Statistics
