Wenkang Xin

Wenkang Xin

Physicist at Oxford

I study how stellar bodies interact under gravity.

DPhil candidate, University of Oxford.

  • 2026 – DPhil in Astrophysics
  • 2025 – 2026 MMathPhys
  • 2022 – 2025 BA Physics
  • Short paper: Inclination diffusion in loss cones · arXiv
  • MMathPhys dissertation: 2D loss cone theory for TDE rates · arXiv
  • Jardine Scholarship: Supporting DPhil in Astrophysics at Oxford

Research Interests

I work at the intersection of general relativity and stellar dynamics, focusing on how stars and black holes interact across different extremes of gravity. Topics include tidal disruption events and perturbation theory for galactic seismology. I develop both analytic frameworks and numerical tools to study these phenomena.

About Me

I studied in Singapore for my pre-university education, where I completed the O- and A-Levels. Then I went on for the Oxford undergraduate course in Physics and transferred to the Master of Mathematical and Theoretical Physics (MMathPhys) programme for my fourth year.

I play video games competitively, and I serve as the captain for Counter-Strike team of the Oxford University Esports Society. I also enjoy brewing pour-over coffee.

Reading room of the Observatory Library at Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.
Reading room of the Observatory Library at Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.