John Peterson

NOTE: E-mail addresses end with @purdue.edu

Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Group:

Faculty

Office:

PHYS 256

Phone:

(765) 494-5193

E-mail:

peters11

Website:

[Homepage]

Peterson Group Website » 

Education

• B.A., Physics, University of Chicago, 1997
• M.A., Physics, Columbia University, 1999
• M.Phil., Physics, Columbia University, 2000
• Ph.D., Physics, Columbia University, 2003

Professional History

• 2012 - Associate Professor, Purdue University
• 2006-2012 Assistant Professor, Purdue University
• 2003-2006 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Stanford University/SLAC
• 1997-2003 Graduate Research Assistant, Columbia University

• Integrated Observational Studies of Clusters of Galaxies
• Observational Cosmology: Studies of Dark Energy and Dark Matter
• Optical Astrophysics Simulation
• The Photon Simulator (PhoSim) code
• Rubin Observatory
• Gravitational Lensing of Clusters and Large Scale Structure
• High Resolution X-ray Spectroscopy
• X-ray Emission from Clusters of Galaxies
• Cooling Flows in Clusters of Galaxies
• Surveys of Clusters of Galaxies
• The Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray Observatories
• Optical and X-ray Astrophysics Instrumentation
• The X-ray Monte Carlo (XMC) code
• Advanced Multivariate Monte Carlo Data Analysis Techniques

Selected Refereed Publications

1. “Weak Lensing Analysis of A115, A2219, and A2261: Detection of Galaxy Groups and Filaments around Clusters”, Dutta, A. et al. 2025, PASP 137, 6.
2. “Weak Lensing Analysis of A2390 Using Short Exposures,” Dutta, A. et al. 2024, ApJ 977, 87.
3. “Forced Measurement of Astronomical Sources at Low Signal-to-Noise”, Dutta, A., Peterson, J. R., Sembroski, G. 2024, ApJ 168, 61.
4. "Self-Consistent Atmosphere Representation and Interaction in Photon Monte Carlo Simulations”, Peterson, J. R. et al. 2024, ApJ 964, 124.
5. "Sensor Distortion Effects in Photon Monte Carlo Simulations", J. R. Peterson et al. 2020, ApJ 889, 182.
6. "Deformation of Optics for Photon Monte Carlo Simulations", J. R. Peterson et al. 2019, ApJ 873, 98.
7. “Adaptive Grid Lens Modeling of the Cosmic Horseshoe Using Hubble Space Telescope Imaging”, Cheng, J. et al. 2019, ApJ 872, 185, 17 pp.
8. "Simulation of Astronomical Images from Optical Survey Telescopes using a Comprehensive Monte Carlo Approach", J. R. Peterson et al. 2015, ApJS 218, 14.
9. "Characterization of Intracluster Medium Temperature Distributions of 62 Galaxy Clusters with XMM-Newton", K. Frank et al. 2013, ApJ 764, 46.
10. "Evidence for Nonlinear Growth of Structure from an X-Ray-Selected Cluster Survey using a Novel Joint Analysis of the Chandra and XMM-Newton Archives", J. R. Peterson et al. 2009, ApJ 707, 878.
11. "X-ray Spectroscopy of Cooling Clusters", J. R. Peterson & A. C. Fabian 2006, Physics Reports 427, 1.
12. "Smoothed Particle Inference: A Kilo-Parametric Method for X-ray Cluster Modeling", J. R. Peterson, P. Marshall, & K. Andersson 2007, ApJ 655, 109.
13. "Multivariate Monte Carlo Methods for the Reflection Grating Spectrometer on XMM-Newton", J. R. Peterson, J. G. Jernigan, & S. M. Kahn 2004, ApJ 615, 545.
14. "High Resolution X-ray Spectroscopic Constraints on Cooling-Flow Models for Clusters of Galaxies", J. R. Peterson et al., 2003, ApJ 590, 270.
15. "X-ray Imaging Spectroscopy of Abell 1835'', J. R. Peterson et al., 2001, A&A 365, 101.