2023 Project Description

The structure and evolution of early galaxies with James Webb Space Telescope

Supervisors

Po-Feng Wu, Chian-Chou Chen (TC)
Find out more about supervisors on ASIAA website

Task Description and Goals

Decades of observational work show that galaxies have a variety of shapes. The structures of galaxies correlate with many other physical parameters and must reflect their formation mechanisms and histories. Understanding the structure of galaxies help us to know how galaxies form and evolve over cosmic time. James Webb Space Telescope starts to operate since late 2022. The unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution provide us an opportunity to study the structure of early galaxies, which are small and faint due to their enormous distances. In this project, we will use JWST data to measure the sizes, shapes, and morphologies of a large number of galaxies in the first few billion years. The student will learn general knowledges about scientific imaging in astronomy and how to quantify the structure of galaxies using computer programs. We will then combine our measurements with other physical properties of galaxies to analyze the interplay between galaxy structures and their formation in the early Universe.

Required Background

Strong knowledge of general physics. Unix/Linux and python experience is a plus but not necessary.