RESEARCH INTERESTS OF BEVERLY J. SMITH

The nearby spiral galaxy NGC 7331 at 3 wavelengths:

Visible LightH-alpha+[N II]15 microns

The space between stars is not empty; it is filled with very low density gas and dust. The mass of this interstellar matter ranges from about 1 percent to more than half the total mass of a galaxy. This gas and dust is a vital component of a galaxy, because it is both the material out of which stars form and also a product of aging and dying stars. Thus studying the interstellar matter is key in understanding how galaxies evolve with time and the role that the birth and death of stars play in this process.

I have recently become interested in asymptotic giant branch stars, which are evolved stars surrounded by large circumstellar shells of gas and dust. These stars lose matter to their surroundings, contributing to the interstellar matter.

In my research, I use a multi-wavelength approach to investigate the nature of the interstellar medium in galaxies, obtaining astronomical measurements at optical, infrared, x-ray, millimeter, and centimeter wavelengths. My current projects involve data from several different telescopes, including the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) , and the SARA telescope. In the past, I have used the telescopes of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, the Infrared Space Observatory, and the Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Interacting galaxies with Spitzer/GALEX/SARA
Chandra X-ray imaging of the interacting galaxy system NGC 7714/5
The COBE DIRBE Point Source Catalog

Some recent projects:

  • Multiwavelength observations of the NGC 4410 galaxy group
  • Models of the interacting galaxy system NGC 7714/5
  • Infrared Light Curves of Mira Variable Stars from COBE DIRBE Data

    Here are some previous projects:

  • Extra-disk molecular gas in NGC 2782 and Stephan's Quintet.
  • Young stars and molecular gas in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4314
    Interstellar gas in off-center collisions between galaxies
  • The nature of the far-infrared radiation from galaxy bulges
  • Very small grains in the interstellar medium of quiescent galaxies
  • Gas properties in low metallicity environments

    For a list of publications, click here.

    NG C 2782 NGC 2782 VEL NGC 2782 VEL

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    Last update: 1/15/05