MgII Gas in Galaxies
I study the circumgalactic medium of galaxies through MgII absorption using the technique of quasar absorption lines. Having compiled a large catalog of MgII galaxies called MAGIICAT (see the MAGIICAT website linked above, and described in Paper I below), I am able to compare the MgII absorption properties to observed galaxy properties such as quasar-galaxy impact parameter, absolute magnitudes, luminosities and rest-frame colors. Some results with MAGIICAT are presented in several of the papers below.
My research is supported by a three-year New Mexico State University Graduate Research Enhancement Grant and a New Mexico Space Grant Consortium Graduate Research Fellowship. Additionally, I was awarded a National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) Fellowship to conduct research at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia for June, July, and August 2012.
Publications | ADS Query
An Extreme Metallicity,
Large-Scale Outflow from a Star-Forming Galaxy at z~0.4
Muzahid, S., Kacprzak, G. G., Churchill, C. W., Charlton,
J. C., Nielsen, N. M., Mathes, N. L., & Trujillo-Gomez,
S. 2015, ApJ, submitted
MAGIICAT V. Orientation of
Outflows and Accretion Determine the Kinematics and Column Densities
of the Circumgalactic Medium
Nielsen, N. M., Churchill, C. W., Kacprzak, G. G., Murphy,
M. T., & Evans, J. L. 2015, ApJ, submitted
The Highly Structured Anatomy of Gaseous Halos Inferred from Extremely
Weak MgII Absorption and Galaxy Orientation
Churchill, C. W., Kacprzak, G. G., Nielsen, N. M., Steidel,
C. C., & Murphy, M. T. 2013, ApJ, submitted
Halo Mass
Dependence of HI and OVI Absorption: Evidence for Differential
Kinematics
Mathes, N. L., Churchill, C. W., Kacprzak, G. G., Nielsen,
N. M., Trujillo-Gomez, S., Charlton, J., & Muzahid, S. 2014, ApJ,
792, 128
MAGIICAT
III. Interpreting Self-Similarity of the Circumgalactic Medium with
Virial Mass Using MgII Absorption
Churchill, C. W., Trujillo-Gomez, S., Nielsen, N. M., &
Kacprzak, G. G. 2013, ApJ, 779, 87
The Smooth
MgII Gas Distribution Through the Interstellar/Extra-planar/Halo
Interface
Kacprzak, G. G., Cooke, J., Churchill, C. W., Ryan-Weber, E. V.,
& Nielsen, N. M. 2013, ApJ, 777, L11
MAGIICAT
I. The MgII Absorber-Galaxy Catalog
Nielsen, N. M., Churchill, C. W., Kacprzak, G. G., & Murphy,
M. T. 2013, ApJ, 776, 114
MAGIICAT
II. General Characteristics of the MgII Absorbing Circumgalactic
Medium
Nielsen, N. M., Churchill, C. W., & Kacprzak, G. G. 2013, ApJ,
776, 115
The
Redshift Distribution of Intervening Weak MgII Quasar Absorbers and a
Curious Dependence on Quasar Luminosity
Evans, J. L., Churchill, C. W., Murphy, M. T.,
Nielsen, N. M., & Klimek, E. S. 2013, ApJ, 768, 3
The
Self-Similarity of the Circumgalactic Medium with Galaxy Virial Mass:
Implications for Cold-Mode Accretion
Churchill, C. W., Nielsen, N. M., Kacprzak, G. G., &
Trujillo-Gomez, S. 2013, ApJ, 763, L42
Tracing
Outflows and Accretion: A Bimodal Azimuthal Dependence of MgII
Absorption
Kacprzak, G. G., Churchill, C. W., & Nielsen, N. M. 2012, ApJ,
760, L7
Quenched
Accretion of a Large Scale Metal-Poor Filament due to Virial Shocking
in the Halo of a Massive z=0.7 Galaxy
Churchill, C. W., Kacprzak, G. G., Steidel, C. C., Spitler, L. R.,
Holtzman, J. A., Nielsen, N. M., & Trujillo-Gomez, S. 2012,
ApJ, 760, 68
Conferences
January 2015: 225th American Astronomical Society Meeting
in Seattle, Washington
Dissertation Talk: "Kinematics of Baryons Cycling Through Galaxy
Halos"
August 2014: Galaxy Workshop in Santa Cruz, California
Talk: "Quenching Quandaries in the
MgII Circumgalactic Medium"
June 2014: Intergalactic Matters in Heidelberg, Germany
Talk: "Quenching Quandaries in the MgII
Circumgalactic Medium"
March 2014: NMSU Graduate Research & Arts Symposium (GRAS) in Las
Cruces, NM
Poster: "MgII CGM Kinematics: Strong Dependencies with Galaxy
Properties"
February 2014: The Near-Field Deep-Field Connection in Irvine,
California
Poster: "MgII CGM Kinematics: Strong Dependencies
with Galaxy Properties"
June 2013: The Physical Link Between Galaxies and their Halos in
Garching, Germany
Poster: "MAGIICAT: The MgII Absorbing CGM of
~180 Galaxies"
June 2013: Leiden Summer CGM-Galaxy Interface Workshop in Leiden,
Netherlands
Talk: "MAGIICAT:
The MgII Absorber-Galaxy Catalog"
November 2012: The 28th New Mexico Symposium in Socorro, New Mexico
Talk: "MAGIICAT: General Characteristics of the
MgII Absorbing Circumgalactic Medium"
May 2012: STScI May Symposium: Gas Flows in Galaxies in Baltimore,
Maryland
Poster: "Using ~170 MgII Absorbers to
Understand Galactic Winds and IGM Accretion"
March 2012: NMSU Graduate Research & Arts Symposium (GRAS) in Las
Cruces, New Mexico
Poster: "A Standardized Catalog of 225 MgII Absorption-Selected
Galaxies: Correlations, Covering Fractions, and Cantankerous Outliers"
January 2012: 219th American Astronomical Society meeting
in Austin, Texas
Poster: "A Standardized Catalog of 225 MgII
Absorption-Selected Galaxies: Correlations, Covering Fractions, and
Cantankerous Outliers"
