Apprenticeship 2017-2018: Angela Cook

In​ ​this​ ​project,​ ​we​ ​will​ ​be​ ​studying​ ​the​ ​position​ ​and​ ​movement​ ​of​ ​molecular​ ​gas​ ​in​ ​a sample​ ​of​ ​nine​ ​simulated​ ​galaxies.​ ​​ ​We​ ​will​ ​be​ ​writing​ ​and​ ​running​ ​IDL​ ​(Interactive​ ​Data Language)​ ​code​ ​to​ ​analyze​ ​trends​ ​in​ ​gas​ ​inflow​ ​and​ ​outflow​ ​rates​ ​and​ ​observable​ ​properties​ ​of these​ ​galaxies.​ ​​ ​The​ ​more​ ​galaxy​ ​simulation​ ​data​ ​we​ ​can​ ​analyze​ ​and​ ​study,​ ​the​ ​more​ ​comparison data​ ​we’ll​ ​have​ ​to​ ​aid​ ​in​ ​the​ ​interpretation​ ​of​ ​the​ ​complex​ ​observed​ ​gas​ ​motions​ ​in​ ​real​ ​galaxies. This​ ​would​ ​mean​ ​getting​ ​a​ ​more​ ​concrete​ ​understanding​ ​of​ ​the​ ​role​ ​of​ ​supermassive​ ​black​ ​holes inside​ ​of​ ​galaxies.​ ​​ ​This​ ​research​ ​will​ ​prepare​ ​the​ ​field​ ​for​ ​new​ ​observational​ ​data​ ​of​ ​the​ ​gas motions​ ​in​ ​the​ ​central​ ​regions​ ​of​ ​galaxies​ ​that​ ​will​ ​be​ ​collected​ ​with​ ​the​ ​next​ ​generation​ ​of​ ​space and​ ​ground​ ​based​ ​telescopes,​ ​like​ ​the​ ​James​ ​Webb​ ​Space​ ​Telescope.