Research

A full list of publications can be found on ADS or my CV.

I am broadly interested in the interpretation of complicated datasets, particularly in the role and fidelity of numerical simulations in the pursuit of that goal. In the near-term, this means understanding the current and imminent surveys of the Milky Way. In the long-term, this will hopefully lead me to study the Epoch of Reionization.

The Milky Way

Galaxy formation is a complicated topic. While we understand in broad strokes what the important physical processes are, a detailed understanding of their exact role and interplay currently evades the field. Advances are unlikely to be made by the identification of new processes but rather from improved understandings of processes presently known. A single, exquisitely understood specimen will aid in this pursuit more than even larger statistical samples of poorly understood galaxies.

Embedded within the disk of the Milky Way, our unique vantage point gives us a fighting chance. The Milky Way is the only galaxy we can observe on a star-by-star basis – the only galaxy we can observe in action. We can observe in detail the stellar, gaseous, and dust components of the Milky Way, all of which interact in complicated ways. Stars are born from gas, gas influences the dynamics of stars, and dust inhibits our ability to view stars. We are in the middle of a flood of data on each of these components, which is only quickening. Of particular interest is the stellar component, for which precise dynamics will be available for hundreds of millions of stars from Gaia, precise stellar abundances for millions of stars from SDSS-V, and precise and accurate ages from a variety of methods.

My aim is to understand these datasets using numerical simulations of the Milky Way. I am particularly interested in using isolated simulations – as opposed to zoom-in simulations. Isolated simulations are better suited to this job because they can be tuned to match structural properties of the Milky Way. This is important for understanding certain, particular aspects of the Milky Way – for instance, the influence of the bar on the gaseous and stellar components. Laboratory experiments can be performed with these isolated simulations – how does the system change when the mass of Sagittarius is changed? how does anisotropy of gas accretion influence the evolution of the disk? how does accretion onto the central supermassive black hole affect the Central Molecular Zone? These questions, and many more, can be addressed with isolated simulations.

The Epoch of Reionization

While the datasets for the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) are not as mature as for the Milky Way, they are coming. When they arrive, it will be imperative to rethink our current techniques for interpreting important signals from the era. While my goals in the regime are in the longer-term, I will use numerical simulations to aid in the interpretation of what will no doubt be incredibly complicated datasets.