Maria Patterson Teaching Assistant Entered: 2007 Office: 108 Astronomy Phone: (575)646-6328 Fax: (575)646-1602   E-mail: mtpatter (append "@nmsu.edu")
B.A. University of Chicago, 2007

Research

I have worked for several years as a member of the experimental astrophysics group at the University of Chicago on the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). VERITAS is a ground-based gamma-ray observatory, composed of an array of four 12-meter optical reflectors that are sensitive in the 50 GeV - 50 TeV energy range.

I have been involved in several hardware aspects of the project, including testing and designing parts of the high voltage systems. One of my early projects involved re-grounding 300+ cable connectors, one by one, to cut down on the frequent shocks being suffered by the scientific staff on site in Arizona.

I also conducted Monte Carlo simulations of gamma ray events predicted to be detected by the telescopes under various instrumental constraints, to better understand the effects of bad pixels and dead photomultiplier tubes and to distinguish valid events from false triggers. As part of my senior thesis project, I modeled cosmic ray events to help distinguish between direct Cherenkov radiation and associated atmospheric air showers. Since the intensity of direct Cherenkov radiation from cosmic rays is proportional to the square of the primary particle, studying direct Cherenkov radiation can give us insight into the composition of cosmic rays in the PeV energy range. In addition, I investigated alternative possible future arrangements of the VERITAS telescope array in order to maximize the effective aperture for direct Chernkov radiation detection. My proposed configuration optimized the array to obtain an effective aperture over ten times larger than that of the largest cosmic ray detector.

I began my graduate studies in Fall 2007, working with Dr. Rene Walterbos using multi-slit spectroscopic images to produce rotation curves for the gaseous halo of NGC891. I am currently studying the species abundances of several planetary nebulae in the Milky Way.

A multi-slit spectrum of Halpha for the north end of NGC891 taken with the 3.5-meter at APO using a 16-slit mask. The x-axis shows the distribution of flux with wavelength, and the y-axis is position. The diffuse gas above and below the disk of the edge-on galaxy can be seen in the center running along the x-axis. The brightest white spots are due to foreground stars.