My principal research activities revolve around the study of starburst galaxies. In regions of extreme star formation, exploding supernovae and stellar winds (from O & B stars) drive massive winds (called not so strangely superwinds) of gas and dust. These winds can extend far out of the galaxy and into the Intergalactic Medium. The physics of these winds are extremely complicated and are a major area of study today. |
NGC 3079 - G. Cecil
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| I principally study the hot and warm gas in the outflows. The mechanical energy in the outflowing gas is turned into thermal energy at the shock front where the outflow hits the surrounding medium. The hot gas has temperatures greater than 10 million degrees and can be observed in the X-ray with space telescopes like the Chandra X-ray telescope. |
Chandra observations of the hot gas around several starbursting galaxies
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| The warm gas can be observed in the ultraviolet with space telescopes like FUSE & Hubble. In the X-ray we observe the light that the hot gas emits. In the UV we use the FUSE spacecraft to observe where the outflows actually absorp the light, so we look for the absence of light. In both the X-ray and UV we look for the absorption and emission of light from elements like oxygen and iron. This can tell us important things about the composition, temperature, and density of the outflows. |
FUSE Observations of VV 114
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| Previously, I've worked on a wide variety of projects mostly related to active galaxies (galaxies with a large amount of matter accreting onto a central black hole). I've worked on jets, an X-ray survey (ChaMP), and AGN spectral studies. |
Chandra Observations of the jet in 3C273
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