LEGUS Star Clusters
Star clusters are often used to infer the star formation evolution of their parent galaxies making the connection between cluster and host properties of high cosmological importance. However, I am more interested in how the global properties of the host galaxies affect the properties of star clusters. Star clusters are the products of extreme star formation environments and can reveal how this process happens. By using the high-resolution capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope, The LEGUS project can identify and characterize star clusters and determine accurate global galaxy properties. This data will provide the most accurate relationships between clusters and host galaxies to date.
Star clusters are often used to infer the star formation evolution of their parent galaxies making the connection between cluster and host properties of high cosmological importance. However, I am more interested in how the global properties of the host galaxies affect the properties of star clusters. Star clusters are the products of extreme star formation environments and can reveal how this process happens. By using the high-resolution capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope, The LEGUS project can identify and characterize star clusters and determine accurate global galaxy properties. This data will provide the most accurate relationships between clusters and host galaxies to date.
LVL Star-Forming Regions
The Local Volume Legacy (LVL) survey is comprised of 258 galaxies that lie within a distance of 11 Mpc (~10^20 miles). The proximity of these galaxies allow individual, bright star-forming regions to be identified and their brightness measured. Dividing these star-forming regions into bins of brightness and counting the number of regions in each bin results in a relationship called a luminosity function. This relationship is characterized by the slope of the line. Most studies of galaxies have the same luminosity function, but systematic deviations have been observed. This project will measure the slope of all 258 galaxies and see if there is a relationship between the slope and any underlying physical properties of the host galaxy. If there is a relationship, then the physical property of the galaxy might be responsible for the systematic devations in the luminosity function slope.
The Local Volume Legacy (LVL) survey is comprised of 258 galaxies that lie within a distance of 11 Mpc (~10^20 miles). The proximity of these galaxies allow individual, bright star-forming regions to be identified and their brightness measured. Dividing these star-forming regions into bins of brightness and counting the number of regions in each bin results in a relationship called a luminosity function. This relationship is characterized by the slope of the line. Most studies of galaxies have the same luminosity function, but systematic deviations have been observed. This project will measure the slope of all 258 galaxies and see if there is a relationship between the slope and any underlying physical properties of the host galaxy. If there is a relationship, then the physical property of the galaxy might be responsible for the systematic devations in the luminosity function slope.
Past Projects
ANGST star clusters
ANGST is a survey of local dwarf
galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Dwarf galaxies have some of the lowest rates of forming stars in the nearby
universe. We studied star clusters in 52 of these galaxies and found that the clusters in these systems broadly agree with
established star cluster-host galaxy relationships. However, some individual galaxies deviate from these relationships
suggesting that the fraction of stars that form in clusters vary. Simulating the effects of a low number of star clusters, due
to the low star formation rate, mostly acounted for these deviations. See the publication for more details
here.
ANGST is a survey of local dwarf
galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Dwarf galaxies have some of the lowest rates of forming stars in the nearby
universe. We studied star clusters in 52 of these galaxies and found that the clusters in these systems broadly agree with
established star cluster-host galaxy relationships. However, some individual galaxies deviate from these relationships
suggesting that the fraction of stars that form in clusters vary. Simulating the effects of a low number of star clusters, due
to the low star formation rate, mostly acounted for these deviations. See the publication for more details
here.
WySH
The Wyoming Survey for Halpha,
or WySH, is a large-area, ground-based imaging survey for Halpha-emitting galaxies
at redshifts of z ~ 0.16, 0.24, 0.32, and 0.40. I was part of the observing team that
spanned 5 years of observations at the Wyoming
InfraRed Observatory (WIRO). I also was also responsible for the data reduction.
The Wyoming Survey for Halpha,
or WySH, is a large-area, ground-based imaging survey for Halpha-emitting galaxies
at redshifts of z ~ 0.16, 0.24, 0.32, and 0.40. I was part of the observing team that
spanned 5 years of observations at the Wyoming
InfraRed Observatory (WIRO). I also was also responsible for the data reduction.