National Optical Astronomy Observatory
950 North
Cherry Ave.
Tucson, AZ 85719
Phone: (520) 318
8503
Research interests:
My primary research field is the study of galaxy evolution. Since 2002 I have been involved with GALEX satellite that maps the sky in ultraviolet (UV) bands. This allows us to "see" the star formation in the redshift range 0 < z < 1.5. Unfortunately, UV is subject to strong reddening within the galaxy itself, which makes it difficult to estimate what the true star formation rate is. There are various ways to correct for this effect, and I have been using GALEX data in conjunction with optical data (SDSS and DEEP2/AEGIS) to construct a broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED), which I compare to an extensive set of model SEDs with known physical properties. Such SED fitting also allows me to obtain robust estimates of the galaxy's mass contained in stars, and thus the SFR normalized by mass, which is a strong indicator of a galaxy's past star formation history. Some of my recent results lend support to a notion that AGN are responsible (or at least seem to always accompany) galaxies that are in the process of transformation from gas-rich spiral galaxies into red elliptical galaxies with little or no current star formation. My main collaborators include Michael Rich (UCLA), Stephane Charlot (IAP, Paris), Jarle Brinchmann (Univ. do Porto) and fellow members of the GALEX science team (PI Chris Martin - Caltech).
Recently I have started working on Spitzer legacy project which will obtain very deep 24 and 70 micron observations of two deep fields (ECDF-S and EGS). This will allow us to study star formation from a different perspective - looking at the dust heated by young stars. It will also allow us to construct more secure calibrations of infrared SFR indicators. PI of this project is Mark Dickinson (NOAO).
Besides galaxy evolution I have worked on a number of subjects. My collaborators include Andy Gould (Ohio State), Brad Hansen and Andrea Ghez (UCLA). You can find more about this work by following the link to the papers below.
Refereed papers (ADS)
CV
(pdf)
