Much of my research focuses on the properties of
cluster early-type galaxies. These objects are passively evolving -
there is little or no evidence for ongoing star-formation - and they
are generally massive systems. We are studying these systems to
understand how old the stars in them are, and to see if the
population of these objects are changing with time. As these
galaxies live in massive clusters, they are constant undergoing
dynamic interactions, and new galaxies are being added to the
cluster all of the time.
Recently I have been part of an effort to study massive galaxies at
a redshift of 2, roughly 10 to 11 billion years ago. These galaxies
look like the progenitors of the cluster early-type galaxies I
study, they have little or no star-formation, they are smooth and
regular, and they are massive. However, these objects are young,
with inferred ages of only 500 million years.
Another way to understand how the galaxies in clusters change with
time is to find the galaxies that will become part of the cluster in
the future. We are surveying the regions around two massive
clusters to find the future cluster galaxies, and study what happens
to them before they fall into the cluster itself.
Massive cluster galaxies generally have old stars in them, with ages
of 12 or so billion years. By finding the galaxies forming stars
vigorously 12 billion years ago, we should be finding the
progenitors of these massive galaxies.
I have put together a collection of information and links for reducing Keck data. This is a work in progress, and hopefully always will be. Suggestions and ideas are certainly appreciated.
