David Koo's Home Page 

UCO/Lick Observatory
University of California, Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
koo@ucolick.org

Latest Modification 2008 September  24

Course Information:

Spring 2008:

2008S: AY13    Galaxies, Cosmology, and High Energy Astrophysics.
 

  Research:

DEEP is my major research area involving Keck observations of faint galaxies. Several pilot redshift surveys totaling over 1000 galaxies to I ~ 24 are now  complete as part of DEEP1.  The main phase of DEEP , called DEEP2, is also now finished.  DEEP2  used over 90  Keck nights with a  powerful instrument (DEIMOS) to secure  about  40,000 galaxies at redshifts z ~ 1. Such a large sample is needed to probe the large scale structure of galaxies and unravel the details and physical mechanisms involved in galaxy formation and evolution.  In one of the 4 regions of the DEEP2 survey,  known as the Extended Groth Strip (EGS), a consortium of teams  known as AEGIS, has added a suite of deep to very deep panchromatic data ranging from the X-rays to radio. These data allow powerful probes of distant Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) with supermassive black holes,  as well as luminous, dusty starburst galaxies.

CfA0 , the Center for Adaptive Optics, is an NSF Science and Technology Center and has its headquarters located at the University of California, Santa Cruz. As one of its members, some of my research involves the use of adaptive optics to obtain high spatial resolution studies in the near-infrared of extragalactic sources. My program is part of the CfAO Treasury Survey (CATS), which aims to combine HST images with AO images and spectra in the near-IR to study distant galaxies, AGN, supernovae, gravitational lenses, etc. Particularly exciting is the prospect to  use a  new Keck  near-IR AO spectrograph ( OSIRIS  ) that includes an Integral Field Unit (IFU) capability along with the laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO) system now available on Keck.
 

  Recent Publications:

Here    is a link to my papers using ADS.
 
 

  Postdoc Positions:

We just filled one position for fall 2008; there may be another opening this summer if our NSF grant is approved.