Fengwei Xu

Fengwei Xu

Postdoctoral fellow studying star and cluster formation

Fengwei Xu 许峰玮

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg. I study how molecular clouds assemble stars and stellar clusters, using multiwavelength observations from infrared space telescope to (sub)millimeter interferometries.

My research combines the state-of-the-art observations, radiative-transfer modeling, and machine-learning methods. I work primarily with the best (sub)millimeter interferometer, ALMA, complemented by facilities including the JWST, JVLA, SMA, NOEMA, the IRAM 30-m, APEX, and etc.

I received my Ph.D. in Astronomy from the Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University in 2025 and my B.S. in Physics from Peking University in 2020. My doctoral dissertation was selected as a 2025 Peking University Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation (Ph.D. thesis · Defense slides).

Research Publications CV (PDF)

Research focus

  • Massive protostellar cluster formation: uncovering how clouds fragment, channel gas, and dynamically assemble the dense clusters in which massive stars are born.
  • Magnetic fields: using millimeter-wavelength dust polarization to reveal how magnetic fields shape collapsing clouds, cores, and clusters.
  • Molecular clouds across Galactic environments: connecting cloud physics across the Milky Way—from nearby high-latitude clouds and giant Galactic filaments to the extreme Central Molecular Zone.
  • Astrochemistry: reading the molecular fingerprints of hot cores to reconstruct their chemical evolution during massive-star formation.
  • Millimeter and radio interferometry: turning challenging observations into high-contrast, high-dynamic-range images through precision calibration and advanced imaging.

Recent highlights

  • MagMaR (2026): ALMA full-polarization observations of W33 A resolve 20 dense cores and nine filaments, showing how magnetic fields can stabilize filaments, regulate accretion, and delay core collapse (A&A, accepted).
  • LANCET (2026): The first study in the Linear Filament and Nested Cluster Evolution Tomography program follows the evolution of dense gas across the 14-pc G316.8 filament (A&A 708, A251).
  • DUET (2025): A matched-resolution, dual-band ALMA census identified 450 continuum sources across three Central Molecular Zone clouds and revealed widespread low spectral indices (A&A 697, A164).
  • ASSEMBLE (2024): Comparative ALMA observations traced systematic core growth, cluster contraction, and primordial mass segregation during massive-protocluster evolution (ApJS 270, 9).

For my first-authored publication, see my NASA ADS library. For a complete publication record, see my NASA ADS library or ORCID record.