Michael J. I. Brown

Lecturer PhD, Astronomy, University of Melbourne, 2000 MSc, Astronomy, University of Melbourne, 1996 BSc(Hons), University of Melbourne, 1994 Phone +61 (3) 9905 4498 FAX +61 (3) 9905 3637 Email:Michael.Brown@sci.monash.edu.au

The NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey

RESEARCH INTERESTS

I am an observational astronomer whose current research interests include the evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and the growth of galaxies over cosmic time. To study active galactic nuclei and galaxies, I utilise large imaging and spectroscopic surveys of the Bootes field, including the NOAO Deep Wide-field Survey (NDWFS), the Spitzer Deep Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS), and the AGES spectroscopic survey.

In my most recent first author paper, Active Galactic Nuclei and the Truncation of Star Formation in K+A Galaxies, I searched for evidence of active galactic nuclei within galaxies that have their star formation abruptly truncated. Some of the most luminous galaxies within this sample do harbour active galactic nuclei, which were identified using Chanda X-ray imaging and optical emission line ratios. This is consistent with (but not direct evidence for) the hypothesis that "feedback" from active galactic nuclei is regulating star formation in galaxies. The least luminous K+A galaxies do not seem to harbour active galactic nuclei, and we speculate that multiple mechanisms may be responsible for truncating star formation in galaxies.

Over the past few years, I have worked upon a series of papers studying the growth of red galaxies, including Red Galaxy Growth and the Halo Occupation Distribution, Evidence for Merging or Disruption of Red Galaxies from the Evolution of Their Clustering and The Evolving Luminosity Function of Red Galaxies. In these papers, my collaborators and I showed that the stellar masses of the most massive galaxies grow slowly compared to the dark matter halos in which they reside. This happens because much of the stellar mass within the most massive dark matter halos resides within satellite galaxies and the diffuse intra-cluster light, rather than within a single centrally located galaxy.

A Poster Presentation Discussing My Research

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Active Galactic Nuclei and the Truncation of Star Formation in K+A Galaxies
Brown et al. 2009, Astrophysical Journal, in press

Red Galaxy Growth and the Halo Occupation Distribution
Brown et al. 2008, Astrophysical Journal, 682, 937

The Evolving Luminosity Function of Red Galaxies
Brown et al. 2007, Astrophysical Journal, 654, 858

The Infrared Luminosity Function of Type I Quasars
Brown et al. 2006, Astrophysical Journal, 638, 88

Mid-Infrared Selection of Active Galaxies
Stern et al. 2005, Astrophysical Journal, 631, 163

Spectroscopic Redshifts to z = 2 for Optically Obscured Sources Discovered with the Spitzer Space Telescope
Houck et al. 2005, Astrophysical Journal, 622, L105

A Wide-Field CCD Survey for Centaurs and Kuiper Belt Objects
Sheppard et al. 2000, Astronomical Journal, 120, 2687

ALL REFEREED PUBLICATIONS