Probing the Circumgalactic Medium of Lyman Alpha Emitters

Project Description

Gas around galaxies, the circumgalactic medium (CGM), contains crucial information about the physical processes that drive galaxy evolution. By measuring the CGM properties across cosmic time, one can better understand how those processes operate at different cosmic epochs. In this project, we will explore the properties of the CGM of star-forming galaxies about 10 billion years ago (redshift 2) using the newly compiled z~2 galaxy sample called Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We will search for quasars in the background and probe the absorption line features induced by the gas around LAEs. The results will paint a new picture of the CGM properties at z~2. Together with previous measurements at other cosmic epochs, we can obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the cosmic evolution of the CGM.

In this project, the student will (1) work on big astronomical datasets, (2) develop statistical techniques, and (3) learn the astrophysics of galaxy evolution and statistics.