Radiative Feedback from Starburst Galaxies

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Dr Oey will investigate how ultraviolet light from hot young stars, with photon energies high enough to ionize the hydrogen gas in and around galaxies, can escape from the stars' natal region and spread through the galaxy and beyond. She will use the red light of H alpha to map the ionized hydrogen in galaxies undergoing a burst of star formation, and use radiative transfer models to predict how much of the ultraviolet light escapes to intergalactic space. Studying the spectra of ionized gas around single hot stars in very nearby galaxies (the Magellanic Clouds and M33), she will test stellar-atmosphere models that predict how much ultraviolet light each star should supply. With spectroscopic measurements of star-bursting dwarf galaxies that trace emission from several atomic species, she will probe chemical inhomogeneity and ionization in the gas. A woman graduate student and a woman postdoc will take part in the research. Dr Oey is a woman with a strong track record of working with undergraduates, and is involved in undergraduate outreach. At U. Michigan she is the lead organizer for a Theme Semester for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy, which includes special undergraduate classes, a production of Brecht's 'Galileo', distinguished lectures, exhibitions and star parties.