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Research
Armed with the largest database of high resolution, high
signal-to-noise quasar absorption line spectra ever compiled, I am
currently analyzing the sample of about 490 MgII doublet systems in
order to shed much needed light on our current picture of galaxy and
intergalactic medium gas kinematics and structure, and to chart how
these have changed throughout cosmic time. This will be achieved by
studying the distributions of, and evolution in, the system
equivalent widths, column densities, Doppler b parameters, flux
decrements, and velocity widths over the redshift range 0.2 < z <
2.6 in order to construct a statistical framework for understanding
the physical processes selected by the presence of MgII. I began my graduate work in 2005, working with Dr. Chris Churchill.
I am interested in a wide range of research topics, including galaxy
structure and dynamics, large scale structure, and astronomical
instrumentation.
My previous research experience was focused on the field of
particle physics. I spent the summer of 2000 as a research assistant
at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), working on the
development of the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope. I measured
leakage currents and other electrical properties of prototype silicon
microstrip detectors, and constructed Monte Carlo simulations of test
beam data. I spent the following summer at CERN, participating in the
Common Muon Proton Apparatus for Structure and Spectroscopy Experiment
by recording and analyzing data and testing gas electron multiplier
detectors and assembling front-end electronics. In 2001 I conducted
an independent study in astrobiology, developing a theoretical
analysis of bacterial survival rates on incoming meteorites and
considering the implications for theories of panspermia.
I am pleased to thank the NMSU Space and Aerospace Cluster for a
generous research fellowship. I also thank the NASA's NMSU Space
Grant for a fellowship.
Publications
On the Heterogeneity of Metal-Line and Ly-Alpha
Absorption in Galaxy "Halos" at z~0.7 A Correlation Between Galaxy Morphology and MgII Halo
Absorption Strength
Meetings
January 2007: American Astronomical Society meeting, Evidence for Evolution in Weak MgII Absorbers at z <
1.5 January 2007: American Astronomical Society meeting, Spatial Probing of MgII Absorption in ``Halo'' Gas
through Adaptive Mesh Refinement Simulations of Galaxies
C. W. Churchill,
G. G. Kacprzak, C. C. Steidel, & J. L. Evans 2007, ApJ, in press
Kacprzak, G. G., Churchill, C. W.,
Steidel, C. C., Murphy, M. T., Sargent, W. L. W., & Rauch, M. 2006,
ApJL, in press
J. Evans, C. W. Churchill, M. I. Murphy, & A. M. Widhalm
C. W. Churchill, G. Kacprzak, D. Ceverino, J. Evans, & A. Widhalm
Future Work
I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in the astronomy department at NMSU.