Sverre Aarseth
Norwegian astronomer (1934–2024)
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Sverre Johannes Aarseth (20 July 1934 – 28 December 2024) was a Norwegian research scientist at the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge. Aarseth spent his retirement as an active researcher. He dedicated his career to the development of N-body codes[1] ("a code" in astrophysical jargon refers to a computer program or library or a group thereof[2]). He is the author of the NBODY family of codes, the current iteration is NBODY7.[3] His areas of research included the effects of stellar evolution in N-body codes, the influence of black holes on stellar systems, the evolution of globular clusters, and the use of GPUs to increase the speed of his codes.
Sverre Aarseth | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 July 1934 |
| Died | 28 December 2024 (aged 90) |
| Education | University of Cambridge |
| Known for | N-body dynamics |
| Awards | Brouwer Award (1998) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge |
Doctoral students | |
Aarseth was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in 1986–87.[4] He was awarded the 1998 Brouwer Award for his work on advancing dynamical astronomy.[5] The asteroid 9836 Aarseth is named in his honour.
Outside of research, Aarseth's interests included mountaineering, trekking and wildlife.[6] He is also a keen chess player, and was awarded the title International Master for Correspondence in 1981.[7] Aarseth died on 28 December 2024, at the age of 90.[8]