Aaron Myszka
Chemical content is an important signature of a galaxy's lifecycle, as the build-up of elements from hydrogen and helium to heavier 'metals' is intimately linked to its history of star formation. There are two equally justifiable methods for measuring chemical content within galaxies based on regions of active star formation, but the methods are not properly calibrated and do not suitably agree.
In my Honours year I worked with Dr. Sarah Sweet to produce datacubes of around 150 active star-forming regions in near-by galaxies using the SAMI Zoom survey. This dataset was used as an in-depth and spatially-resolved tool to analyse spectra, chemical content and other derived properties tied to spectral emission lines. This lead to a direct comparison between the two primary methods of determining chemical content. In my PhD project I will be working with Prof. Karl Glazebrook, Dr. Sarah Sweet and Dr. Themiya Nanayakkara aiming to make further applications and better understand spatially-resolved properties of galactic star-forming regions, develop models and methods to recalibrate such measurements, and attempt to develop diagnostics suitable for applying to early-universe galaxies at high redshift.
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