Measuring the Merger History of Galaxies

Conselice Christopher J, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

Prop: AST-0201656 PI: Conselice, Christopher Dr. Conselice is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out a program of research, education, and public outreach at the California Institute of Technology. He will study the problem of how galaxies form and evolve by making observations of merging galaxies and comparing the observations to models that trace the evolution of galaxies by both mergers and initial collapse. Dr. Conselice has developed a novel method to quantify the merger status of individual galaxies by measuring their asymmetry. He will use this method, as well as others, to distinguish between galaxies that were formed by the merging of smaller galaxies, and those that were formed by rapid collapse. Dr. Conselice will also supervise undergraduates in research, teach undergraduate seminars, and write essays on astronomy for the general public. ***