Partial list of Research Projects I have listed below a partial list of research projects under A to D. A) The Assembly, Evolution, and Activity of massive galaxies B) Projects on Galaxy evolution from large HST/Spitzer galaxy surveys C) Projects on SFR and merger activity of galaxies based on the HETDEX survey D) Projects on nearby z~0 galaxies based on VENGA ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A) The Assembly, Evolution, and Activity of massive galaxies The fascinating properties, including the structure, SFR, AGN activity and possible assembly modes of massive galaxies at z=2-3, based on the GOODS NICMOS survey and Spitzer, Chandra data, are discussed in our recently ApJ-submitted paper, led by graduate student Tim Weinzirl (Weinzirl, Jogee, Conselice and the GNS team, 2011 ApJ, submitted). http://www.as.utexas.edu/~sj/gns/draft.feb16-2011.pdf The next steps in piecing together the puzzle define several research projects: a) Follow up of gas content of the massive galaxies at z=2-3 with radio interferometers (CARMA, Plateau de Bure) as an example of preparatory science for ALMA b) Quantify the kinematics and structure based on high resolution optical and NIR spectroscopy, plus Hubble WFC3 data from the CANDLES survey c) Theoretical modeling to test whether the fascinating ultra compact massive galaxies at z=2-3 can be formed via wet major mergers and be transformed into present day ellipticals via dry major mergers. d) We need to have a better handle on quantifying SFR at z=2-3. Our current estimates based on Spitzer 24 micron and UV light, corrected for extinction show a large dispersion and non-linear relationship. We have several HST & other proposals in the pipeline to address this. Advisors = Shardha Jogee, Chris Conselice, others ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B) Projects on Galaxy evolution from large HST/Spitzer galaxy surveys I am a member of five international science collaborations (GEMS, ACS-GOODS, STAGES, Coma ACS Treasury survey, and NICMOS-GOODS) which were set up to explore galaxy evolution using large HST surveys of galaxies, as well as ancillary data from Spitzer, GALEX, etc. Students and postdocs in my group are leading or co-leading the work on mergers, star formation, and galaxy structure. Links to these collaborations are - GOODS NICMOS survey http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/astronomy/gns/ - GEMS (Galaxy Evolution From Morphology And SEDs) http://www.mpia.de/GEMS/gems.htm - STAGES (Space Telescope A901/902 Galaxy Evolution Survey) http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/astronomy/stages/ - GOODS ACS survey http://www.eso.org/sci/activities/projects/goods/ Projects within these surveys are available. Project (A) on the assembly of massive galaxies is one example of such projects. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- C) Projects on SFR and merger activity of galaxies based on the HETDEX survey - HETDEX page = http://hetdex.org/hetdex/index.php - The HETDEX pilot survey is completed by this Spring 2011 - The full HETDEX survey starts Fall 2011 and a lot of data will be in by Oct 2011, thus making it timely for masters/PhD projects 1) Toward Understanding and Calibrating Star Formation Rates At z<0.5, we can derive and calibrate SFRs based on OII, Halpha, HBeta (from the HETDEX pilot survey and from VENGA) with other tracers, such as Spitzer-24mu, GALEX UV, radio continuum. The results will be important for understanding star formation at z<0.5, and also for dealing with the z=2-3 regime, where we may only have UV+optical tracers in HETDEX. (Current indications from our GOODS study of massive galaxies at z=2-3 is that the UV-IR relation is non-linear and the UV/optical SFR are highly uncertain). Advisors = Shardha Jogee, Karl Gebhardt, Carly Gronwall 2) How much do galaxy mergers contribute to the SFR density at z<0.5 and how does SFR relate to (halo mass, stellar mass, environment)? Recent works (e.g., Wolf et al. 2005; Jogee et al. 2009; Robaina et al. 2010) suggest that major mergers only contribute a small fraction (10% to 20%) of the SFR density at z<0.8 in the field. The HETDEX survey at z<0.5, and to some extent even the pilot survey at z<0.5 will allow us to vastly extend and improve current studies through: - better galaxy number statistics - use of (spectroscopic redshifts from OII emitters) in getting the pair fraction rather than using only photometric redshifts. - allowing us to probe a range of environments (field, group, clusters) - relate baryonic growth to growth of dark matter halo (whose properties are determined from clustering and abundance matching) - providing OII-based SFR (calibrated for extinction ) down to lower levels than possible with existing Spitzer data Advisors = Shardha Jogee, Karl Gebhardt, Carly Gronwall ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- D) Projects on nearby z~0 galaxies based on VENGA VENGA site = http://www.as.utexas.edu/~gblancm/venga.html The VIRUS-P Exploration of Nearby Galaxies (VENGA) is an unprecedented 2D spectroscopic survey of the inner and outer regions of a large sample of 32 nearby spiral galaxies with the VIRUS-P Integral Field Unit (IFU) on the 2.7m telescope at McDonald Observatory. VENGA is the most efficient survey worldwide currently acquiring 2D spectra over large areas of spiral galaxies, from the bright inner parts out to the faint outer disk. VENGA is composed by three components: VIRUS-P red survey, VIRUS-P blue survey, and VIRUS-W high resolution survey of central parts of brightest objects. The VIRUS-P Red survey observations of the final sample of 30 galaxies was completed on July 2010. The VIRUS-P Blue survey observation have been ongoing since September 2010, are ~50% complete and will be completed by July 2011 if the weather cooperates. The VIRUS-W component is dependent on the performance of the instrument during commissioning. VIRUS-W was commissioned during VENGA observing time on November 2010. The commissioning was spectacularly successful, with the instrument performing at spec during first light. Observations of one galaxy NGC2903 were obtained during that run, and a press release can be found at: http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/releases/2011/0125.html A number of projects are available within VENGA, focusing on star formation, chemical evolution, stellar populations, galactic feedback and galactic dynamics. We can talk more if you are interested Advisors = Shardha Jogee, Karl Gebhardt