My latest project, which is my Ph.D thesis under the guidance of Dr. Chris Churchill, involves using bright light from very distant quasars (QSOs) to probe the gigantic gas halos surrounding foreground galaxies. The QSOs, acting as a flashlight, shine through these halos, where the gas interacts with the light. Virtually all types of galaxies are observed to prominently absorb the Mg II 2796, 2803 doublet. By studying the absorption signatures of the gas, we can study halo kinematics, dynamics, chemical content, ionization conditions and cosmic evolution back to half the current age of the universe. So what is happening in those distant galaxies? One simple yet important unresolved question is; are the stellar kinematics coupled to the halo gas kinematics? Determining whether they are dynamically coupled or disjointed would allow us to learn whether halos are static remnants of formation or are constantly changing. Changes could either be due to accretion of the intergalactic medium or due to reprocessing of interstellar gas.

A previous project that is now complete and was part of my MS thesis from Saint Mary's University under the guidance of Dr. Gary Welch. An interesting and long-standing puzzle is: why do many early-type galaxies apparently have so little gas and are they undergoing significant star formation? My work involved the study of the interstellar gas and dust of NGC 5866 taken with the JCMT. The galaxy is relatively isolated, and neither the kinematics nor morphology of the gas suggests that a merger has taken place. NGC 5866 may be entering an era of star formation fueled with gas donated by its aging stellar population. Are we seeing a counter example of the popular view that galaxies evolve through mergers?

My research is supported by a NMSU Graduate Research Enhancement Grant (GREG).

Additional information to the below can be obtained on my personal homepage.

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