Chuck Steidel
Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Astronomy
Caltech 249-17
Pasadena, CA 91125

252 Cahill
phone: 626-395-4168
e-mail: ccs"at"astro.caltech.edu

Teaching, 2012-13

• Ay 122a- Astronomical Techniques and Instrumentation (fall)
• Ay 124 - Structure and Dynamics of Galaxies

Current Research Projects

• Our primary interest is the connection between galaxy formation and the development of structure in the universe. We use the W.M. Keck Observatory (2 10m optical/IR telescopes) and the Palomar Observatory (200-inch telescope) as primary tools for most of our work, supplemented using data from Hubble, Spitzer, and Chandra space telescopes, among others.
• A large fraction of our work involves large spectroscopic surveys of star-forming galaxies and AGN in prescribed redshift ranges (z~1, z~2, and z~3). These surveys converge rapidly on samples that are uniform and large enough to reach firm conclusions about large-scale distribution, population demographics, and other statistics necessary to place the galaxies into a cosmological context.
• Some current projects:
  • Large surveys of star-forming galaxies at z~2-3 (the most exciting time in the history of the universe!), primarily using the UV/blue-optimized LRIS-B Spectrograph at Keck.
  • Detailed spectral analysis of star-forming galaxies at z~2-4: superwind kinematics, chemical abundances, etc.
  • Observations of the kinematics of high redshift galaxies at the difffraction limit of a 10m telescope using the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system at the Keck Observatory and the OSIRIS integral field spectrometer.
  • Comparison of the galaxy distribution and the properties of the diffuse intergalactic medium in the same volumes at z~2-3.5; this project combines the capabilities of mapping the galaxy distribution at the same redshifts that the Lyman alpha forest can be studied in great detail using spectra obtained using the High Resolution Spectrometer (HIRES) and ESI at Keck.
  • Multi-wavelength studies (near-IR, mid-IR, X-ray, UV/optical) of star forming galaxies at high redshift, including planned and recent observations using the Spitzer Space Telescope.
  • MOSFIRE : Multi-object Spectrometer for Infrared Exploration, an ambitious new near-IR imaging multiobject spectrograph and imager being built for the Keck Observatory, as a collaboration between Caltech, UCLA, UCSC, and WMKO. I am co-PI and Project Scientist. It is expected to see "first light" in July 2011 A paper describing MOSFIRE as presented at the 2010 SPIE meeting can be found here .

Some recent papers from our "group"...

• Diffuse Lyman Alpha Emitting Halos: A Generic Property of High Redshift Star Forming Galaxies
• Narrowband imaging of Escaping Lyman-Continuum Emission in the SSA22 Field
• Calibrating Galaxy Redshifts Using Absorption by the Surrounding Intergalactic Medium
• The Structure and Kinematics of the Circum-Galactic Medium from Far-UV Spectra of z~2-3 Galaxies
• The Kiloparsec-Scale Kinematics of High-Redshift Star-Forming Galaxies
• A Steep Faint-End Slope of the UV Luminosity Function at z~2-3: Implications for the Global Stellar Mass Density and Star Formation in Low Mass Halos
• Detection of the Transverse Proximity Effect: Radiative Feedback from Bright QSOs
• Integral Field Spectroscopy of High-Redshift Star-Forming Galaxies with Laser-Guided Adaptive Optics: Evidence for Dispersion-Dominated Kinematics
• Multi-Wavelength Constraints on the Cosmic Star Formation History from Spectroscopy: the Rest-Frame UV, H-alpha, and IR Luminosity Functions at Redshifts 1.9 < z < 3.4
• The Physical Nature of Rest-UV Galaxy Morphology During the Peak Epoch of Galaxy Formation
• The Direct Detection of Lyman-Continuum Emission from Star-Forming Galaxies at z~3
• The Stellar, Gas, and Dynamical Masses of Star-Forming Galaxies at z~2
• The Mass-Metallicity Relation at z~2
• The Connection Between Galaxies and Intergalactic Absorption Lines at Redshift z~2-3
• The Spatial Clustering of Star-Forming Galaxies at Redshifts z~1.4-3.5
• A Survey of Star-Forming Galaxies in the z=1.4-2.5 "Redshift Desert"

Curriculum Vitae (PDF format)

Publication List (refereed only) (ADS)