Research

Galaxies are not static entities; they change with time. The field of galaxy evolution seeks to characterize and understand the physical basis of those changes. In my research, I use a quantity called the gas-phase metallicity, or the abundance ratio of heavy elements like oxygen to light elements like hydrogen, that is sensitive to many of those changes. See below for some ways that I’ve used and am using metallicity to explore galaxy evolution.

LEGA-C Mass-Metallicity Relation

As galaxies form new generations of stars, the stellar mass of the galaxies increases, as does the metallicity. The relationship between these quantities, known as the mass-metallicity relation, can tell us about galaxy evolution and stellar feedback. I used the LEGA-C spectroscopic survey to detail the high-mass end of the mass-metallicity relation and its evolution between z=0.8 and the current day. This project was led by Brett Andrews and Rachel Bezanson, and assisted by Pitt undergraduate Katie Mack and then-high-school-student Mariah Jones. Our work was published in the Astrophysical Journal.