I'm currently involved in several projects, large and small, which can be organized into the following themes:
When stars die, they eject most of their mass back into space and form thick dust shells. The dust in these shells is a key part of the entire process, and it's important to the evolution of the galaxies the stars are in. The best way to study the dust and how these stars die is with infrared telescopes.
Carbon-rich dust takes on many fascinating forms in space, including complex organic molecules, which I've been studying from the beginning of my career. Over the years, we've uncovered many clues about the structure of these organics and how they evolve in the harsh environments they are in.
The atmospheres of cool stars contain molecules which can't form in hotter stars, and those molecules dominate the spectra of the stars in the infrared. I've studied a wide range of cool stars, from brown dwarfs, objects too small to ever become stars, to red giants and red supergiants.
HomeLast modified 29 December, 2014. © Gregory C. Sloan.