Radiative Feedback from Starburst Galaxies

Oey博士将研究来自炙热的年轻恒星的紫外线，其光子能量高到足以电离星系内外的氢气，是如何从恒星的出生区域逃逸出来，并在星系内外传播的。她将使用H α的红光来绘制正在经历恒星形成爆发的星系中的电离氢，并使用辐射转移模型来预测有多少紫外线逃逸到星系间空间。通过研究非常近的星系（麦哲伦星云和M33）中单个热恒星周围电离气体的光谱，她将测试预测每颗恒星应该提供多少紫外线的恒星大气模型。通过对恒星爆发矮星系的光谱测量，她将追踪几个原子物种的发射，探测气体中的化学不均匀性和电离。一名女研究生和一名女博士后将参与这项研究。Oey博士是一名女性，在与本科生合作方面有着良好的记录，并参与了本科生外展活动。在密歇根大学，她是2009年国际天文学年主题学期的主要组织者，其中包括特别的本科课程、布莱希特的《伽利略》的制作、杰出的讲座、展览和明星派对。

Dr Oey will investigate how ultraviolet light from hot young stars, with photon energies high enough to ionize the hydrogen gas in and around galaxies, can escape from the stars' natal region and spread through the galaxy and beyond. She will use the red light of H alpha to map the ionized hydrogen in galaxies undergoing a burst of star formation, and use radiative transfer models to predict how much of the ultraviolet light escapes to intergalactic space. Studying the spectra of ionized gas around single hot stars in very nearby galaxies (the Magellanic Clouds and M33), she will test stellar-atmosphere models that predict how much ultraviolet light each star should supply. With spectroscopic measurements of star-bursting dwarf galaxies that trace emission from several atomic species, she will probe chemical inhomogeneity and ionization in the gas.A woman graduate student and a woman postdoc will take part in the research. Dr Oey is a woman with a strong track record of working with undergraduates, and is involved in undergraduate outreach. At U. Michigan she is the lead organizer for a Theme Semester for the 2009 International Year of Astronomy, which includes special undergraduate classes, a production of Brecht's 'Galileo', distinguished lectures, exhibitions and star parties.