Tod R. Lauer
Tucson Nighttime Scientific Staff
Areas of Interest
Cosmology, Large Scale Structure of the Universe, Evolution of the Universe, Distance Scale, Structure of Galaxies, Dense Stellar System, Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei, Stellar Populations
Recent Research Results
Lauer and his collaborator, Marc Postman (STScI), measured the motion
of our Galaxy with respect to distant clusters of galaxies and found
that the local universe is adrift with respect to the rest of the
universe. The volume of space surveyed by Lauer and Postman is
enormous--over one billion light years in diameter. The Lauer-Postman
flow result says that the galaxies within this volume are speeding at
700 km/s towards some distant and very massive concentration of
galaxies. This work has challenged all existing theories of galaxy
formation by requiring galaxies to be contained in larger and more
massive aggregates than was previously believed to be the case. In
separate work, Lauer has led a group of collaborators in using the
Hubble Space Telescope to study the central structure of galaxies.
Lauer and collaborators have shown that central density of stars is
higher than was previously believed, thus requiring revisions to
understanding how the central portions of galaxies, and the massive
black holes that they host, have formed.
Future Research Plans
Lauer and Postman, with Michael Strauss (Princeton), are in the process
of probing even deeper into the universe to look for an end to the
large mass flows that they discovered with their first survey. Results
from this survey may challenge theoretical work on the formation of
structure in the universe even further. Lauer and Postman, with John
Hoessel (Wisconsin) and William Oegerle (JHU), are also working on a
project to explore the evolution of large scale structure over the age
of the universe. This project uses KPNO 4-m CCD images to identify
extremely faint galaxies over a large area of sky. We are seeing many
of these galaxies at a time when the universe was at half of its
present age; thus we can learn how they organized into clusters and
other large structures at that time, and how these structures evolved
over the time since then. Lastly, Lauer and his collaborators are
continuing a large program to use the Hubble Space Telescope to perform
a census of the prevalence and properties of massive black holes in the
nuclei of nearby galaxies.
Service
Lauer serves the NOAO user community, KPNO operations, and the larger
astronomical community in a variety of ways. Lauer's major
responsibility is as editor of the NOAO Newsletter. This publication
serves as the primary means by which NOAO communicates to the
astronomical community. Lauer has organized it to make the information
more accessible, as well as to highlight the leading nature of the
scientific work that is being done with NOAO facilities. Lauer also
works to maintain the scientific environment of NOAO, jointly running a
colloquium series with Steward Observatory as well as an informal
seminar series. Lauer chairs the postdoctoral fellowship search and
serves on faculty search committees. Lauer further supports the KPNO
research program by serving on the Time Allocation Committee. Lauer is
involved with observatory operations directly as the 2.1-m telescope
scientist, serving to maintain and upgrade the research performance of
this telescope. Lauer is visible nationally through a variety of
service activities for the Hubble Space Telescope. He is a member of
the WFPC-I team and was responsible for calibration of the instrument,
as well as demonstrating its usefulness for imaging research after the
discovery of spherical aberration. Recently Lauer has chaired the HST
Users Committee, which represents the astronomical community to STScI
and the Space Telescope project at Goddard.
Tod Lauer's New Page
Go to: [ NOAO Scientific Staff ]
[ NOAO ]
[ CTIO ]
[ KPNO ]
[ NSO ]
NOAO is operated by the Association of U
niversities for Research in Astronomy
(AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the
National Science Foundation
Posted: 06Dec1996