.Astronomy Events
Spring 2023
Studies of Dust-obscured Star-forming Galaxies in the Era of ALMA, VLT and JWST
Speaker: Jack Birkin (Texas A&M University)
The population of dust-obscured star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) at redshifts of z~1-5 are among the most extreme galaxies ever observed, with typical star-formation rates of 100-1000 Mo/yr. DSFGs are also estimated to contribute a significant fraction of the star-formation rate density (SFRD) at cosmic noon, making them a highly important population and [...]
Spatially Resolved UV and mid-IR Star Formation in Galaxies from the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes
Speaker: Lu Shen (Texas A&M University)
Tracking spatially resolved star formation in galaxies will provide insight into galaxy‘s structural and size evolution. However, dust obscuration posts an immense challenge in uncovering spatially resolved star-formation activities, due to insufficient data to measure the profile of dust-obscured star formation. The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space [...]Resolving to Resolve (or Re-solve?) Issues in Galaxy Formation with Resolved Data
Speaker: Adam Muzzin (York University )
Over the last decade we have made staggering progress measuring the mass growth and star formation rates of the galaxy population out to z ~ 10. Although we now know when galaxies form their stars and grow their black holes, the how, where, and why they do so is much [...]Using Lyα to Trace the Cosmic Reionization
Speaker: Weida Hu (University of California, Santa Barbara)
The cosmic reionization is a milestone in the history of universe. The major questions of cosmic reionization are the evolution of neutral hydrogen fraction in the intergalactic medium, and the sources triggering the reionization event. The Lyα photons produced by young star-forming galaxies can be resonantly scattered by the neutral intergalactic [...]Analyzing the Nebular Emission and Physical Properties of Local Star-forming Galaxies: Aperture Effects and Ionized Gas Modeling
Speaker: Karla Arellano-Córdova (University of Texas, Austin)
Due to their proximity, local star-forming galaxies (SFGs) are ideal for studying the physical properties, stellar population, and nebular gas in much more detail. However, the aperture size used in the optical can significantly affect the determination of the metallicities and physical properties of such galaxies. To study the impact [...]From the Lab to the Heavens – New Optical Constants of Cosmic Silicates and How to Use Them
Speaker: Angela Speck (University of Texas, San Antonio)
We all know that dust is an important constituent in many astrophysical environments; however, to truly understand its impact on its surrounding we need to know its precise nature. In order to determine the precise nature of cosmic dust we use combination of multi-wavelength spectroscopy, imaging, laboratory data and modeling. [...](CANCELED)
Speaker: Erin Cox (Northwestern University)
Stars form in the hearts of molecular clouds, collapsing over 10 orders in spatial magnitude. This collapse is dominated by gravity, turbulence, magnetic fields, and stellar feedback. While gravity ultimately wins, these other dynamical effects can either hinder or aid the collapse at various scales. The initial conditions of the [...]Simulating Our Intergalactic Neighborhood
Speaker: Jenna Samuel (University of Texas, Austin)
The Milky Way and Andromeda are the two most massive galaxies in our intergalactic neighborhood, the Local Group, but they are far outnumbered by the tens of low-mass satellite galaxies surrounding them. These low-mass galaxies are some of the most dark matter-dominated systems known, making them excellent astrophysical objects for [...]A Day in the Life of a Data Scientist
Speaker: Majid Latif (Sysco)
Sysco is the global leader in distributing food and non-food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers around the world. We talk through an Intro to Sysco, “A Day in the life of a Data Scientist”, tools and skills, and data science use cases with [...]Shedding Light on the Dark Molecular Gas: OH as a Tracer for Dark H2 in the Galaxy and Beyond
Speaker: Michael Busch (University of California, San Diego)
The intersection between the atomic and molecular interstellar medium (ISM) is still relatively mysterious. In the past two decades, indirect gas tracers such as gamma-ray and dust emission have implied the existence of abundant molecular hydrogen (H2) not traced by our canonical molecular tracer, the CO molecule. In this talk [...]