UV Diagnostics as Barometers for Galactic Scale AGN Outflows

I am the theory co-PI on a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observation program led by observer Dr. Sean D. Johnson from Princeton. We have been awarded 21 orbits on HST to observe the most luminous long-lived objects in the Universe, known as quasars, with the goal of constraining how quasars affect the formation and evolution of galaxies. This work is based on theory which I have developed using analytic and numerical calculations, published in six publications (three of which I am first author) in leading astrophysics journals -- MNRAS and ApJ. For the observational program to yield the desired constraints, the observational results need to be compared to detailed numerical calculations which model the interaction of quasar radiation with gas. I'm hence applying for a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in order to fund the execution and analysis of these numerical simulations.