Galaxy Gas Dynamics and Evolution
Galaxy evolution is dictated by the amount and state of their gas, which regulates star formation within them: gas is accreted, expelled via "galactic winds" or "outflows", or recycled within the galaxies themselves. These ongoing feedback processes are critical for matching observed galaxy properties to those seen in cosmological simulations. Thus, an inadequate grasp of gas flows on galactic scales severely undermines our understanding of galaxy evolution - a problem that we can only now address observationally with new facilities such as ALMA, MUSE, and KMOS. Aside from observations, I am applying deep learning techniques to interpret our data. These new methods greatly reduce the time needed to complete nearby galaxy studies and open the door to detailed analyses over large samples.
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My primary interests are galactic-scale winds (molecular, with some ionized), extra-planar layers/disk-halo flow kinematics (i.e. galactic fountain), the ISM, and chemistry in extreme environments. All of these phenomena regulate star formation and how galaxies evolve over time.
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I am a member of the WSRT HALOGAS collaboration and VLA CHANG-ES consortium.
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Here is a full list of my publications on ADS
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Using ALMA and NOEMA, I observe and analyze highly-resolved molecular outflows in Circinus, NGC 253, NGC 3079, and NGC 2146. Among the foremost shortcomings in our understanding of galaxy evolution is an inadequate knowledge of galactic-scale feedback, especially of the molecular phase - key to regulating star formation. Recent work by Cicone et al. (2014) has demonstrated preliminary trends (e.g. a correlation between molecular mass outflow rate and AGN luminosity). However, the current sample
Extra-planar layers are the interface between the intergalactic medium and the star-forming disk. Thus, any gas that enters galaxies to fuel star formation must first pass though these layers. I focus on extra-planar atomic and molecular gas in the form of HI and CO.
Tilted-ring modeling is a powerful tool for constraining galactic dynamics. It is effective in isolating material with anomalous kinematics (e.g. counterrotating, outflows, inflows, streaming). Thus, I use it in my research on extra-planar layers, galactic-scale winds, and spiral streaming.
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