UCSB Astrophysics
Portrait of Lars Bildsten

§ 01People · Faculty

Lars Bildsten

Professor; Director, KITP

Lars Bildsten is a theorist who works on stellar astrophysics. His research has covered nuclear burning on neutron stars, neutron stars as gravitational wave sources, and accreting white dwarfs and their explosions, including Type Ia supernovae. This work draws on thermonuclear instabilities, nuclear reactions, combustion fronts and stellar oscillations. He also takes part in searches for optical transients.

In 2011, with Bill Paxton and others, he introduced MESA (Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics), an open source code for stellar structure and evolution.

He received his PhD from Cornell in 1991, was a fellow at Caltech, and was on the UC Berkeley faculty before joining UCSB and KITP in 1999. He has directed KITP since 2012. His honors include the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics (2017) and election to the National Academy of Sciences (2018).

§ 02Fig. 1

Where in the universe

Range 10 ly to 63 kly

Lars Bildsten, row of Fig. 1. The bar spans the light travel distances of the objects studied, 10 ly to 63 kly, on a logarithmic axis from the Solar System to the cosmic microwave background. Its color is the research theme. Dotted lines mark landmarks. Fig. 1 with every faculty member

§ 03Publications

Recent papers

The newest papers with Lars Bildsten as an author, from NASA ADS. Group members are in gold.

  1. 01Sep 2026arXiv
    3D Radiation Hydrodynamics of Blue Supergiant EnvelopesL. Ma, L. Bildsten, Y.-F. JiangStars & transients
    arXiv:2609.28656
  2. 02Feb 2026ApJL
    Type IIb Supernova Progenitors in 3D: Variability and Episodic Mass Loss Revealed by Radiation Hydrodynamics SimulationsJ. A. Goldberg, Y.-F. Jiang, L. Bildsten, M. CantielloStars & transients
    arXiv:2508.12486
  3. 03Jan 2026ApJ
    Aspherical Remnants of Triple and Quadruple Detonations in Binary White DwarfsL. J. Prust, L. Bildsten, S. J. BoosStars & transients
    arXiv:2511.14039
  4. 04Nov 2025ApJ
    Wakes from Companion Interactions in Type Ia Supernovae Nebular Emission Line ProfilesK. Simotas, L. Bildsten, L. J. PrustStars & transients
    arXiv:2507.06412
  5. 05Oct 2025ApJ
    Mass Loss and Subsequent Thermal Evolution of Surviving Helium White Dwarfs Shocked by Thermonuclear SupernovaeT. L. S. Wong, L. BildstenStars & transients
    arXiv:2508.12529
  6. 06Oct 2025ApJ
    The First Day of a Type Ia Supernova from a Double-degenerate BinaryG. Kumar, L. J. Prust, L. BildstenStars & transients
    arXiv:2507.19722
  7. 07May 2025MNRAS
    Stochastic low-frequency variability of 50 massive stars in the Cygnus OB associations and the Small Magellanic CloudM. G. Pedersen, L. BildstenStars & transients
    arXiv:2504.15861
  8. 08Mar 2025ApJ
    Ejecta Wakes from Companion Interaction in Type Ia Supernova RemnantsL. J. Prust, G. Kumar, L. BildstenStars & transients
    arXiv:2412.18226
  9. 09Sep 2024ApJ
    Shocking and Mass Loss of Compact Donor Stars in Type Ia SupernovaeT. L. S. Wong, C. J. White, L. BildstenStars & transients
    arXiv:2408.00125
  10. 10Aug 2024PASP
    An Infrared Census of R Coronae Borealis Stars II—Spectroscopic Classifications and Implications for the Rate of Low-mass White Dwarf MergersV. R. Karambelkar, M. M. Kasliwal, P. Tisserand, S. Anand, M. C. B. Ashley, L. Bildsten, G. C. Clayton, C. C. Crawford et al. (21 authors)Stars & transients
    arXiv:2407.08653

All papers by Lars Bildsten

Everyone in the group