THE
UNIVERSITY OF
KANSAS Student Research in Astronomy
Connecting students to the universe
RESEARCH AREASRESEARCH FOCUS
KU ExoLab
DR. IAN J.M. CROSSFIELD
Prof.Crossfieldleadsthe KUExoLab,aresearchgroup dedicatedtothediscoveryand characterizationofnearby planetarysystems. Thisgroupfocusesonstudying exoplanetformation, composition,detection,and characterization,andthe developmentofinstrumentation tofurtherthosepursuits!
Our research focuses on exoplanets (i.e., planets in other solar systems), their atmospheres, their stars, and the links between all these.
We measure planet’s sizes (via transits), masses (via radial velocities), and atmospheres (via JWST and HST)
Our team's work helps us learn: What physical processes determine the makeup and architecture of other solar systems. In parrticular: What other planets and other stars are made of How and where other exoplanets formed, accreted, migrated, and evolved How planet formation and composition is linked to a planet’s host star
Exoplanet discovery
Follow-up of new planets
Space-based spectroscopy
RV mass measurements
High-resolution O/IR imaging
Exoplanet atmospheres
New JWST observations: transmission, emission, and phase curve spectroscopy
Atmospheric modeling
Disequilibrium chemistry
Clouds and hazes
Atmospheric compositions
Linking observations to formation
Stellar astrophysics
FGKM dwarf star studies
Elemental abundances
Isotopic abundances
Star-planet connections
Brown dwarf studies
Please visit https://crossfield.ku.edu/ for more information on current research being done within the ExoLab at the University of Kansas
For further questions please contact:
Dr. Ian J.M. Crossfield Associate Professor
Physics and Astronomy Department University of Kansas 1251 Wescoe Hall Dr. Lawrence, KS 66045
Email: ianc@ku.edu Office: 2058D Malott Hall
DR. IAN J.M. CROSSFIELD
Kirkpatrick Research Group: AGNerds
DR. ALLISON KIRKPATRICK
Our students and postdocs are working on leading questions in the field of active galactic nuclei (AGN), particularly related to how AGN affect their host galaxies. Our group is part of two main collaborations: The Accretion History of AGN (AHA) and Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS).
ACCRETION HISTORY OF AGN (AHA)
This collaboration is dedicated to finding the most extreme black holes in the universe by surveying the Stripe 82 field with X-ray telescopes Chandra and XMMNewton and finding multiwavelength counterparts.
Our team is working on the far-IR counterparts of extreme X-ray sources. In the far-IR, the host galaxy outshines the black hole, and we can measure it's star formation rate. But finding far-IR emission in extremely X-ray luminous AGN is rare.
COSMIC EVOLUTION EARLY RELEASE SCIENCE (CEERS)
We are guaranteed some of the first observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) through our Early Release Science program that will observe the EGS field.
My group will focus on identifying weak AGN at z=1-2 (or 7-11 billion years ago).
In preparation for this, Cassie Hatcher quantified the total energy output of X-ray undetected AGN through stacking of Chandraimages (Hatcher et al. 2021).
Our group is actively working on understanding Cold Quasars--the most extreme black holes in the most extreme star forming galaxies. Through our research, we hope to better understand what kinds of galaxies host extreme supermassive black holes.
She found that mid/far-IR selection techniques can reliably detect lower-luminosity AGN than X-ray selection alone or near-IR selection.
She also found that the majority of AGN reside in galaxies on the main sequence, regardless of AGN luminosity or detection wavelength.
Please visit https://kirkpatrick.ku.edu for more information on current research being done within the KU AGN Group at the University of Kansas
For further questions please contact: Dr. Allison Kirkpatrick Assistant Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Kansas 1251 Wescoe Hall Dr. Lawrence, KS 66045 Office: 2056C Malott Hall
Phone: 785.864.0481
Email: akirkpatrick@ku.edu
DR. ALLISON KIRKPATRICK
RESEARCH FOCUS
THE NEARBY GALAXIES LAB
DR. ELISABETH
A.C. MILLS
The center of our Galaxy is home to extreme phenomena, from the clouds of the densest, hottest, and mostturbulentgasintheMilkyWay, to the most massive stars in existence and a central supermassive black hole weighing 4 milliontimesthemassofoursun.At KU, Professor Mills and the Nearby Galaxies Lab are leading new surveystouncoveritsmysteries.KU studentsstudythisregionusingdata from world-class international facilities like the Atacama Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array (ALMA),theVeryLargeArray,SOFIA, andJWST.
Our research focuses on studying the properties of the gas in the center of our galaxy and other nearby galaxies.
We observe spectral lines from a range of molecules and try to figure out how much gas is present, where it is located, how it is moving, and its temperature, density, and chemical composition.
We work to answer questions like: how black holes are fed and grow, how galaxies shut off star formation through feedback, and how unique gas properties in galaxy centers impact the physics of these processes.
Our work is done primarily with ground-based telescopes, especially radio and millimeter interferometers like the VLA and ALMA.
RESEARCH AREAS
Interstellar Medium
Astrochemistry
Molecular Excitation
Radiative Transfer
The Galactic Center
The Central Molecular Zone
The Circumnuclear Disk
Sgr A* Milky Way Galaxy's central supermassive black hole
Nearby Galaxies
NGC 253: a nearby, nuclear starburst galaxy
NGC 4945: a Seyfert galaxy with active black hole and starburst
Circinus: a spiral galaxy with active black hole though to be driving massive molecular outflows without a starburst present
Please visit https://mills.ku.edu for more information on current research being done within the Nearby Galaxies Lab at the University of Kansas
For further questions please contact: Dr. Elisabeth A.C. Mills Assistant Professor
Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Kansas 1251 Wescoe Hall Dr. Lawrence, KS 66045
Office: 2058B Malott Hall
Phone: 785.864.1778
Email: eacmills@ku.edu
DR. ELISABETH A.C. MILLS
RESEARCH FOCUS
KU GALAXIES GROUP
DR. GREGORY RUDNICK
Our group studies how galaxies have evolved over roughly the past 11 billion years. We are especially interested in how the evolutionofgalaxiesisaffected by the cosmic regions in which they live, their so-called environment. We address these questions by combining observations taken at wavelengths extending from the ultravioletthroughtheradioand collect these data using the world’slargesttelescopes.
Our group seeks to understand how galaxies grow in their stellar mass, how their gas is converted to stars, what processes regulate and eventually stop this star formation, and how these process effect the spatial distribution of material in galaxies.
We use imaging and spectroscopy to measure the environments of galaxies and to determine the mass in stars in each galaxy, how it is spatially distributed, and how it is growing. For nearby galaxies we can use small telescopes but for the more distant galaxies we need to use the world’s largest telescopes (Magellan, VLT, Gemini, Subaru, and Keck) and all of NASA’s large spacebased telescopes (Hubble and JWST). We use radio telescopes (VLA and ALMA) to directly measure the gaseous contents of galaxies.
We try and answer the following questions:
What processes act preferentially in dense environments like galaxy groups and clusters to shut off star formation in galaxies, or even temporarily enhance it?
In the most distant clusters, how did galaxies assemble differently than in lower-density surroundings? How do different processes that stop star formation affect the spatial distribution of gas and stars within individual galaxies?
RESEARCH AREAS
Galaxies in the Cosmis Web
Large Scale Structure of galaxies
Comparison with simulations
Extended regions around clusters both near and far
Galaxy Evolution in the Earliest Clusters
Searching for the earliest forming clusters (protoclusters)
Studying galaxy assembly in these protoclusters
The Baryon Cycle in Galaxies
How does gas flow in and out of galaxies
How does the rate of galaxy growth depend on these flows
Please visit https://rudnick.ku.edu for more information on current research being done within the KU Galaxies Group at the University of Kansas
For further questions please contact: Dr. Gregory Rudnick Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Kansas 1251 Wescoe Hall Dr. Lawrence, KS 66045 Office: 2056B Malott Hall Phone: 785-864-4099 Email: grudnick@ku.edu
DR. GREGORY RUDNICK