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Research
I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
My main research interest is studying galaxy evolution
through stellar populations and stellar clusters in late-type (spiral
and irregular) galaxies. For a list of publications go here (ADS), or click here for my Curriculum Vita.
Current and recent research includes:
- Nuclear star clusters: In observations late-type edge-on galaxies we found that the bright compact star clusters found at the centers of these galaxies have multiple morphological components with differing stellar population. This strongly supports the idea that these clusters form in situ. I have also recently finished a paper on the relation of nuclear star clusters to central black holes, it is posted on astro-ph.
- Stellar Halos: I'm currently working on characterizing the stellar halos of nearby spiral galaxies. The stellar halos are thought to be relics of the merging history of the galaxies, however, due to their low surface brightness the halos have been detected in few galaxies beyond the local group. I'm using data taken by the GHOSTS collaboration, a Hubble Space Telescope survey of galaxy halos in a dozen nearby galaxies.
- Nearby Galaxies: I'm a member of the ANGST collaboration, a Hubble Space Telescope Treasury project to survey all galaxies between 1 and 4 Mpc. I am working on a census of star clusters in this volume. With spectroscopic follow-up, these clusters will provide valuable information on their host galaxies formation and evolution. The image to the left is one small section in the outer disk of NGC 247.
- Analyzing the stellar populations of nearby edge-on galaxies with
Julianne Dalcanton and Roelof de Jong. This work is published in two
papers in the Astronomical Journal.
Pretty pictures of the galaxies can be seen here.
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