Jay Christopher Howk

Assistant Professor,
Physics

Research Interests

My research is focused on understanding the evolution of galaxies and the build up of the elements since the Big Bang. How were the first galaxies formed? How did they evolve into the galaxies we see today? What role does their interaction with the intergalactic medium play in this evolution? How has their chemical make-up changed with time? What processes drive their chemical evolution? These are among the fundamental questions of modern astrophysics.

One facet of my research is the measurement of the detailed chemical composition of galaxies in the early universe. By studying the detailed elemental abundances in high-redshift galaxies, we can gain important clues to the nucleosynthetic origins of the elements. Because objects in the early universe are so faint, these measurements require the use of the largest telescopes in the world, the Keck 10-m telescopes and soon the Large Binocular Telescope. I am using the high-precision data obtained to study of elemental abundances in distant galaxies to search for evidence that the electromagnetic fine structure constant has varied with time.

My interest in galaxy evolution extends to modern galaxies as well. Understanding how the gas in today’s galaxies evolves in response to energy input from stars and supernovae is key to understanding such effects in the more distant universe. I use the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, along with other ground and space based observatories, to study evolution of the interstellar gas in our Milky Way and other nearby galaxies. These observations are giving us a better view of how the gaseous disks of galaxies evolved and how galaxies interact with the intergalactic medium.

Selected Publications

“On the Nature of the Heat Source for Damped Ly-alpha Systems,” A.M. Wolfe, J.C. Howk, E. Gawiser, J.X. Prochaska, and S.Lopez, Astroph. J., 615, 625 (2004)

“Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Extraplanar Dust Structures in the Edge-On Spiral NGC 4217,” T.W. Thompson, J.C. Howk, and B.D. Savage, Astron. J., 128, 662 (2004)

“Ionized Gas in the First 10 Kiloparsecs of the Interstellar Galactic Halo,” J.C. Howk, K.R. Sembach, and B.D. Savage, Astroph. J., 586, 249 (2003)

“The elemental abundance pattern in a galaxy at z=2.626,” J.X. Prochaska, J.C. Howk, and A.M. Wolfe, Nature, 423, 57 (2003)

“The Abundance of Interstellar Boron,” J.C. Howk, K.R. Sembach, and B.D. Savage, Astroph. J., 543, 278 (2000)

“Ionized Gas in Damped Ly-alpha Systems and Its Effects on Elemental Abundance Studies,” J.C. Howk, and K.R. Sembach, Astroph. J. Letters, 523, 141 (1999)

Full curriculum vitae (pdf)
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