Feedback Processes of Low Metallicity Protogalaxy Analogs

Monkiewicz Jacqueline A, Tempe AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Jacqueline Monkiewicz is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct a program of research and education at Arizona State University and New Mexico State University. She will use observations of nearby galaxies that are analogs of galaxies in the early universe to study how efficiently ultraviolet and X-ray light can escape into the intergalactic medium from these galaxies. This information will provide insight into how the first galaxies ionized the neutral hydrogen in the early universe. Alongside this research, she will develop tools for presenting astronomy to blind and visually impaired audiences. The proposed research program seeks to advance our understanding of the epoch of reionization in the early universe. The escape fraction of ionizing photons from early galaxies is an important component to better understanding reionization. This project will use a particular low-redshift population of dwarf galaxies that are considered to be analogs of high-redshift Lyman-alpha emitters. The project will use ionization mapping through spectroscopy to study the physical processes that affect the escape fraction. For the educational component of her work, Monkiewicz will develop a sonified sky smartphone app and a portable tactile planetarium for the blind and visually impaired. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.