Wine and Cheese Fall 2021

Wine and Cheese sessions with one speaker will have a 50 minute talk with 10 minutes for questions. Sessions with two speakers will have two 25 minute talks, each with 5 minutes for questions. Sessions in the Graduate Student Series will have three 15 minute talks, each with 5 minutes for questions.

20 September

Yunyang Li (JHU)

The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect, Clusters, and ACT
The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect introduces a specific distortion of the blackbody spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation when it scatters off hot gas in clusters of galaxies. The frequency dependence of the distortion is only independent of the cluster redshift when the evolution of the CMB radiation is adiabatic. Using 370 clusters within the redshift range 0.07-1.4 from the largest SZ-selected cluster sample to date from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, we provide new constraints on the deviation of CMB temperature evolution from the standard model $\alpha=0.017^{+0.029}_{-0.032}$, where $T(z)=T_0(1+z)^{1-\alpha}$. This result is consistent with no deviation from the standard adiabatic model. Attributing deviation from adiabaticity to the decay of dark energy, this result constrains its effective equation of state $w_\mathrm{eff}=-0.998^{+0.008}_{-0.010}$.

Isu Ravi (JHU)

Lyman-alpha Filter Prototype to Enable Astronomical Photometry in the Lyman Ultraviolet
Observations of astronomical objects in the far ultraviolet (FUV wavelengths span 900-1800 A) from earth’s orbit has been impeded due to bright Lyman-α geocoronal emission. The Johns Hopkins Rocket Group is developing a hydrogen absorption cell that would act as a narrow band Lyman-α rejection filter to enable space-based photometric observation in bandpasses that span over the Lyman ultraviolet region shortward of the geocoronal line. While this technology has been applied to various planetary missions with single element photomultiplier detectors it has yet to be used on near earth orbiting satellites with a multi-element detector. We are working to develop a cell that could be easily incorporated into future Lyman ultraviolet missions. The prototype cell is a low-pressure (∼ few torr) chamber sealed between a pair of MgF2 windows allowing transmission down to 1150 ̊A. It is filled with molecular hydrogen that is converted to its neutral atomic form in the presence of a hot tungsten filament, which allows for the absorption of the Lyman-α photons. Molecular hydrogen is stored in a fully saturated non-evaporable getter module (St707TM), which allows the cell pressure to be increased under a modest application of heat (a 20 degree rise from room temperature has produced a rise in pressure from 0.6 to 10 torr). Testing is now underway using a vacuum ultraviolet monochromator to characterize the cell optical depth to Lyman-α photons as functions of pressure and tungsten filament current. We will present these results, along with a discussion of enabled science in broadband photometric applications.

Gabriela Sato-Polito (JHU)

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27 September

Arshia Jacob (JHU)

Small Molecules, Big Impact: Investigating Hydrides in the Interstellar Medium
The nature and distribution of atomic and molecular gas in the interstellar medium (ISM) is of great interest to astrophysicists because it is this gas that provides the raw material for the formation of new stars. My work concentrates on investigating hydride molecules in the ISM and their use as diagnostics of it's different phases. Particular emphasis is given to the central CH radical, a probe of diffuse and translucent molecular clouds, including those not traced by the otherwise common CO. Following which I will detail our search for, and address questions regarding the origin of another molecule, CH2, which despite being chemically associated with the ubiquitous CH, has largely remained elusive. I will also discuss the transition from the diffuse atomic to the diffuse and translucent molecular phases of the ISM by extending our view of the chemistry of argonium, ArH+, a tracer of almost purely atomic gas. And lastly introduce the audience to HyGAL, a SOFIA Legacy Project aimed at characterising the Galactic ISM with observations of hydrides and other small molecules.

Ayan Acharyya (JHU)

“Mockulus reparo” – to Fix the Effects on Metallicity Gradient Measurements Due to Our Insufficient “Seeing”
Gas-phase metallicity gradients of galaxies are a crucial ingredient for understanding the chemical evolution of galaxies. However, measurements of gradients are often affected by limited spatial resolution. The extent of this effect may be different across observations, making cross-observation comparisons unreliable. We produce mock IFU datacubes from hydrodynamic simulations of an isolated galaxy and use those to quantify the said effect. I will present the application of our models on current IFU surveys — MaNGA, SAMI and CALIFA — by correcting the observed metallicity gradients for the effects of spatial resolution. I will demonstrate that while the mean trend of metallicity gradient versus stellar mass is largely unaffected, individual galaxies can undergo significant corrections. Our proposed method of correcting metallicity gradients by using isolated galaxy simulations already enables meaningful cross-survey comparisons. However, the next goal is to produce mock datacubes of cosmological simulations, in order to sample a broad range of galaxy properties. In this regard, I will briefly highlight some of my current efforts to study the metallicity distributions in the FOGGIE simulations.

11 October

Mi Dai (JHU)

Understanding the Systematics in Type Ia Supernova Modeling for Cosmology
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are important cosmological probes due to their standardizable nature. In order to obtain distance measurements of SNe Ia, the SN Ia light curves are traditionally fitted to an empirical light curve model. As we gain better knowledge on the various systematics in SN Ia cosmology analysis, the modeling uncertainty will likely become the largest in the near future. I will describe various ways the model training procedure can potentially bias the final cosmological constraints, and discuss improvements we can make to reduce these biases.

Selim Hotinli (JHU)

Fundamental Physics from Velocity Tomography
Next generation cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments and galaxy surveys will generate a wealth of new data with unprecedented precision on small scales. Correlations between CMB anisotropies and the galaxy density carry valuable cosmological information about the largest scales, creating novel opportunities for inference. In this talk I will discuss the science goals for the kinetic Sunyaev Zel’dovich (kSZ) and the moving-lens effects and describe the method of velocity tomography which allows recovering large-scale cosmological information from the measurements of small scales.

18 October

Yuzo Ishikawa (JHU)

Exploring the Impact of Quasars on Galaxy Evolution and its Environments
Quasars are believed to play an important role in the formation and evolution of galaxies. Their powerful radiation is often invoked to drive quasar feedback, impacting evolution in the galactic to intergalactic scales across cosmic history. I will give an overview of my recent projects exploring the various ways quasars affect these regimes. X-rays probes the radiation from the accretion disk of the central black hole, and deep near-IR imaging probes the earliest quasars at the End of Reionization. Current and future advances in spatially resolved spectroscopy will allow detailed characterization of the quasars' impact.

Christina Lindberg (JHU)

Measuring Massive Star Embeddedness in the Andromeda Galaxy
Massive stars interact with their surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) via dynamically disruptive feedback mechanisms. By studying their relative embeddedness, we can start to constrain the 3D distribution of the ISM, bridging the gap between observation and massive star feedback simulations.

25 October

Elena Murchikova (IAS)

Sagittarius A* in its Natural Habitat The Milky Way’s Galactic Center black hole Sagittarius A* is the supermassive black hole closest to us and has the largest angular size on the sky. Despite its proximity, the accretion flow onto it is not well understood. At large scales (0.05 pc and beyond), the primary source of information about accretion flow comes from observations of hot X-ray emitting gas. At near horizon scales, the density of the flow is constrained by submm polarization measurements. At intermediate scales, there are too few model-independent probes to reliably determine physical properties of the gas. In 2019, using ALMA observations I discovered a disk of relatively cool (T=10^4K) gas at intermediate distances (0.01 pc) from the black hole. The cool gas can be observed with much higher spatial resolution than the hot X-ray emitting gas, providing new probes of the inner accretion flow of the Sagittarius A*. In this talk I will review what is known about the structure of the accretion flow around Sgr A*, and I will summarize my ongoing research program to determine the origin and the physical conditions of the cool gas and its contribution the accretion onto our local supermassive black hole.