When a galaxy undergoes vigorous starbirth, supernova explosions and the winds of massive stars heat the surrounding gas, and can drive it from the galaxy as a wind. Since stars form only from cool dense gas, this 'feedback' regulates the pace of starbirth. The Principal Investigator will study gas outflows from star-forming galaxies, both locally and at distances so large that we see the galaxies as they were when the cosmos was only half its present age. In the nearby galaxies, spectral lines of many atoms and ions will be studied across the face of the galaxy, to trace gas at different stages of ionization and at different depths within the wind. Radiative transfer computations will be used to interpret the observations, to search for regions of shocked gas and to estimate how much mass is leaving the galaxy. These detailed studies will be used to interpret observations of the more distant galaxies where fewer spectral lines can be studied. The results will help us to understand how galaxies form, and what controls the rate at which they make their stars.
Two graduate students, a woman and a Latino man, will be trained by participating in the research. The Principal Investigator accompanies the 'UC Santa Barbara Physics Circus' annually on a visit to a local elementary school. She also works with UCSB colleagues to present a popular public lecture series at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History; the lectures are recorded and aired on local television. These outreach activities will be supported and enhanced by her research. The Principal Investigator will also contribute to research infrastructure by helping to build the science case for instruments for the planned Thirty Meter Telescope.
