HALO7D

The Halo Assembly in Lambda CDM: Observations in 7 Dimensions (HALO7D) survey consists of deep, multi-epoch HST images for astrometry and medium resolution Keck II/DEIMOS spectroscopy for ~250 MW stellar halo stars (see Cunningham+2016, 2019a, 2019b). My contribution to this project is to measure chemical abundances and constrain heliocentric distances from the spectroscopic observations. Future work will focus on using the 7D chemodynamics of our halo stars to measure the properties of the progenitor systems that built up the MW stellar halo.

SALVATION

The Spectroscopic Analysis of Luminous Variables And Transients In Our Neighbors (SALVATION) group has been performing ZTF spectroscopic follow-up with the KAST instrument on the Shane Telescope. Our targets are selected from the ANTARES alert broker with a filter for particularly peculiar transients and variables in the direction of M31 (Soraisam+2020). Currently, I am leading the observations (4 nights in Fall 2019, 11 nights and 15 ToOs in Fall 2020) which has led to many Astronomer’s Telegrams (12 released to date). The next stage of this work is to infer how the spectroscopically-derived stellar parameters correlate with changes in the observed light curves.

NGVS Photometry and Diffuse Stellar Haloes in Virgo Cluster Galaxies

Assessing the depth of Next Generation Virgo Survey (NGVS) photometry and measuring diffuse light from stellar halos around Virgo Cluster galaxies by isophote-fitting and analyzing radial surface brightness profiles.