Chuck Steidel
Lee A. DuBridge Professor of Astronomy
Caltech 105-24
Pasadena, CA 91125

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

Teaching, 2008-9

• Ay 21- Galaxies and Cosmology (Winter)

Current Research Projects

• Our over-arching 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 new 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 being integrated and tested in the highbay lab at Caltech, and is expected to see first light in Hawaii in the first quarter of 2010. A paper describing MOSFIRE was presented at the 2008 SPIE meeting in Marseille: MOSFIRE SPIE paper .

Some recent papers from our "group"...

• A Steep Faint-End Slope of the UV Luminosity Function at z~2-3...
• 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
• A Spectroscopic Survey of Redshift 1.4 < z < 3.0 Galaxies in the GOODS-N Field
• 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
• Star Formation and Extinction in z~2 Galaxies: Inferences from Spitzer/MIPS Observations
• The Mass-Metallicity Relation at z~2
• Predictions and Strategies for Integral-Field Spectroscopy of High-Redshift Galaxies
• Detection of Lyman-Alpha Fluorescence from a Damped Lyman Alpha System at Redshift z=2.8
• A Census of Optical and Near-IR Selected Star-Forming and Passively Evolving Galaxies at z~2
• Constraints from Galaxy-AGN Clustering on the Correlation between Galaxy and Black Hole Mass at z~2-3
• A Possible Correlation Between the Luminosities and Lifetimes of Active Galactic Nuclei
• The Connection Between Galaxies and Intergalactic Absorption Lines at Redshift z~2-3
• UV to Mid-IR Observations of Star-Forming Galaxies at z~2: Stellar Masses and Stellar Populations
• Spectroscopic Identification of a Proto-Cluster at z=2.300: Environmental Dependence of Galaxy Properties at High Redshift
• The Spatial Clustering of Star-Forming Galaxies at Redshifts z~1.4-3.5
• Evidence for Solar Metallicities in Massive Star-Forming Galaxies at z~2
• A Survey of Star-Forming Galaxies in the z=1.4-2.5 "Redshift Desert"

Curriculum Vitae (PDF format)

Publication List (PDF)