Extraplanar X-ray emission around galaxies reveals the nature of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and how it interacts with feedback from the galaxy. Using idealized hydrodynamical simulations, we study how galactic outflows modify the X-ray signature of the hot CGM. We consider different initial CGM profiles and different energy injection mechanisms to account for model uncertainties. We find that outflows from the center shock-heat the inner CGM and remove gas from the center. The shock heating increases the brightness and also creates flatter X-ray (0.5 − 2 keV) surface brightness profiles within the inner 10’s of kpc, consistent with recent eROSITA observations. We also find that the effects of such outflows, including X-ray surface brightness can be modeled using a spherical shock propagation model in the CGM. Our models also produce X-ray luminosities that are consistent with Chandra observations of star-forming galaxies. Our models, therefore, provide a way to understand observed surface brightness profiles in terms of the energy from galactic outflows.

Interstellar dust is pervasive throughout the Universe, and most light from young, massive stars is absorbed by dust and reradiated as thermal emission in the infrared. Submillimeter galaxies (SMGs), a class of very infrared-luminous distant galaxies, are some of the most extreme star-forming galaxies known, forming stars at rates hundreds or even thousands of times greater than our own Milky Way. I will review our understanding of this enigmatic population, which has challenged galaxy formation theories since their discovery in the late 1990s. I will highlight how the population provides novel constraints on galaxy formation physics, cosmology, and possibly even the nature of dark matter. I will also show how they serve as beacons of galaxy clusters in the process of formation.

In this presentation I will discuss how the one-year-old James Webb Space Telescope will revolutionize our understanding of giant planet formation and evolution. I will start by describing our current observational knowledge about giant planets, tying together solar system bodies, known exoplanets and their massive Brown Dwarf cousins. I will then briefly review highlights of JWST commissioning and its unique capabilities when it comes to giant exoplanets. Most of the talk will focus on three key observational diagnostics: giant planets as the low mass extension of the Brown Dwarf Initial Mass Function, atmospheric composition of giant planets at long and short orbital periods, and imaging giant planets at solar system scales. For each diagnostic I will review results obtained by our team using a combination of Hubble and ground-based telescopes and present very recent JWST observations that demonstrate the promises of this new observatory. I will conclude by discussing future NASA missions aimed at imaging habitable exoplanets, in particular drawing from the lessons we have learned through this first year of giant planet science with JWST.

Galaxies are extraordinarily complex collections of stars, gas, and dark matter. The largest galaxies, though relatively rare in number, host most of the stars in the Universe and deep in their cores harbor the most extreme supermassive black holes. Today massive galaxies are red and dead ellipticals with little ongoing star formation or organized rotation; naturally they were expected to be relics of a much earlier formation epoch. In this talk I will briefly review the paradigm that has emerged over the last decade, discussing the structural and kinematic evolution of massive galaxies during and after they stopped forming stars (“quenched”) and eventually transformed from rotationally supported disks into kinematically hot ellipticals. I will describe my team’s observational efforts to characterize the histories of galaxies like our Milky Way and larger at several critical moments in the 14 billion year history of the Universe, each corresponding to a large spectroscopic program. Spectroscopic studies of distant galaxies reveal the chemical compositions, detailed star formation histories, and internal motions of stars and gas and are necessary to answer open questions about the details of that cosmic formation and shutdown. This work includes studying galaxy metamorphosis at ~half the age of the Universe, highlighting results from the ultra-deep LEGA-C spectroscopic survey of ~3500 massive galaxies and the focused multi-wavelength SQUIGGLE survey of post-starburst galaxies caught immediately following their cosmic shutdown. I will discuss our JWST UNCOVER treasury program that will extend deep spectroscopic studies of galaxies to the earliest moments in cosmic history. Finally, my team will connect-the-dots through the peak of cosmic star formation (~10 billion years ago) using the next-generation massively multiplexed Prime Focus Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope.

In 2019, the first image ever made of a black hole triggered international excitement. The stunning image brought enormous attention to the University of Massachusetts, which played a key part in the global collaboration that captured the image. The image of the black hole was made possible by UMass Amherst’s leadership in the construction and operation of the 50-meter-diameter Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), located atop a mountain in Mexico. One of the university’s most ambitious scientific projects, the LMT was built jointly by the country of Mexico and UMass Amherst. Professor Schloerb, an award-winning radio astronomer and planetary scientist who, has been a leader in the LMT project for over 30 years. In this lecture, he will tell the story of the university’s role in the conception, design, and construction of the world-leading telescope. He will discuss its most notable scientific achievement—the black hole image—and the LMT’s prospects for future exciting discoveries. The honoree will be introduced by Dean Nate Whitaker, and will be presented with the Chancellor’s Medal, the highest recognition bestowed upon faculty by the campus. Synopsis: In 2019, the first image ever made of a black hole triggered international excitement. The stunning image brought enormous attention to the University of Massachusetts, which played a key part in the global collaboration that captured the image. The image of the black hole was made possible by UMass Amherst’s leadership in the construction and operation of the 50-meter-diameter Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT), located atop a mountain in Mexico. One of the university’s most ambitious scientific projects, the LMT was built jointly by the country of Mexico and UMass Amherst. More information can be found here:

Major technological advances have enabled the discovery of a small number of directly imaged exoplanets. These imaged worlds can be studied in far greater detail than exoplanets detected by indirect methods such as transit and radial velocity techniques. Next-generation telescopes such as the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming 30-m telescopes (e.g. ELT, TMT, GMT) will enable direct exoplanet characterization. Based on the handful of exoplanets studied to date, it is clear that interpretation of future observational data hinges on a thorough understanding of their atmospheric processes. In this talk I will discuss our past, current and future efforts to investigate the atmospheres of extrasolar worlds. In particular, I will discuss how a combination of observational and computational techniques will reveal three critical atmospheric processes: clouds, winds and aurorae. Each of these processes are well-studied in our own Solar System and we can now begin to study them on worlds beyond our own. The speaker will be available for one-on-one meetings throughout their 2-day visit: they will be at UMass on Thursday and Amherst College on Friday. If you’re interested in meeting with them, please reserve a slot on the spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e0IgfjA4IOtTSroK_KEqm8GMVnyQhq5P7j6fUccu740/edit?usp=sharing.

This talk presents brand new data from our JWST program "Halfway to the Peak" which investigates the relationship between star forming galaxies and their central black holes at z~0.6, halfway back to the peak epoch of galaxy evolution. This program leverages the rich diagnostic power of mid-IR spectroscopy to separate the AGN and star formation energetics in galaxies, and only now with MIRI/MRS are we able to detect the rich mid-IR atomic lines to quantify the black hole accretion rates ([NeV], [NeVI]) and spatially resolve the star formation (Br-alpha) outside the local Universe. In order to fully realize the potential of these JWST data we developed several novel reduction methods which overcome unforeseen issues with this new instrument. This talk will provide a first look at these data and our future plans for full scientific exploration. Zoom: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/91015254428?pwd=dUlwZ1RadXVMcW1Jd3BiQW1KRFhIdz09