The principal goal of my research is to understand the astrophysics that regulates star formation and galaxy growth. Absorption-line spectroscopy of distant light sources (quasars/gamma-ray burst afterglows) offers a powerful probe for studying diffuse gas over a wide range of physical conditions, from low-density intergalactic medium, to high-density star-forming regions. My main research interest is to connect dark clouds revealed in absorption spectra to stars identified in deep galaxy surveys, in order to understand the recycling of baryons between star-forming regions and intergalactic space. Current projects include:
- Image slicer, a conceptual study of an integral field unit for a Magellan infrared spectrograph
- Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey, a large Hubble Space Telescope program to study the gas and galaxy co-evolution past the Cosmic Noon
- Halo3D, a multi-sightline investigation of the complex circumgalactic medium
- COS-LRG, a Hubble Space Telescope program to characterize gaseous halos around massive, quiescent galaxies
- Halo Occupation of Dark Baryons, a semi-analytic model for interpreting quasar absorption-line systems in a cosmological framework
- Gamma-ray Burst Afterglows as Probes