Matthew A. Taylor

mataylor5128(at)gmail(dot)com

 

BSc. Combined Physics & Astronomy (Co-op)

University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

 

PhD Candidate in Astrophysics

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

 

Student Fellow at European Southern Observatory, Santiago, Chile

 

Research Interests

·      Stellar populations

·      Globular cluster (GC) and ultra-compact dwarf galaxy (UCD) formation

·      The history of NGC 5128 (Centaurus A)

·      Galaxy groups

Hi, you have apparently stumbled onto my personal webpage, it’s still under development, so hopefully in due time it will become more interesting. Until then, you’ll find a summary of my research interests as well as a list of publications that I’ve been involved in. Enjoy!

Publications

·      “Observational Evidence for a Dark Side to NGC5128’s Globular Cluster System”, Taylor, M.A., et al. 2015 (submitted)

·      “NGC5128’s Globular Cluster System: Is There a Dark Side?” Taylor, M.A., et al. 2015,  in IAU Symp 309 Galaxies in 3D Across the Universe, ed. Ziegler, B.L., Combes, F., Dannerbauer, H., & Verdugo, M., (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press), 348 (ADS link)

·      “The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey-Infrared (NGVS-IR). I. A New Near-Ultraviolet, Optical, and Near-Infrared Globular Cluster Selection Tool”, Muñoz, R. et al. 2014, ApJS, 210, 4 (ADS link)

·      “The Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey – Full Data Release: The Orbital Structure of the Kuiper Belt”, Petit, J.-M., et al. 2011, AJ, 142, 131 (ADS link)

·      “Chemodynamics of Compact Stellar Systems in NGC 5128: How Similar are Globular Clusters, Ultra-compact Dwarfs, and Dwarf Galaxies?”, Taylor, M.A., et al. 2010, ApJ, 712, 1191 (ADS link)

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*note: no penguins were harmed in the taking of this photo

Personal Stuff

Born in 1981 in the beautiful Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, I am a Canadian citizen working toward my PhD in Santiago, Chile. While my time right now is dominated by my thesis project, as well as other side research pursuits, I try to make time for other activities.

In another life before astronomy, I spent several years working  as a professional cook in Nanaimo and Victoria, BC, prior to earning my BSc from the University of Victoria. As a result, I still very much enjoy cooking with my wife at home, trying new techniques and creating tasty (usually at least!) concoctions. We always try to use ingredients from as many different cultures as we can find!

Being Canadian, I happily maintain the stereotype of being a huge hockey fan. On any given night between October and June, one can find me cheering on my Canucks, Penguins and/or Victoria Royals. Additionally, I always enjoy a good geek-out with the odd board (preferably) and/or video game.

When the weather is good, the myriad hills surrounding Santiago offer great hikes, which I try to take advantage of when possible, although sadly not often enough! If a hike isn’t an option, then sometimes it’s great to just take the camera somewhere interesting to try and get some unique photos.

 

Current Projects

·      Kinematics of compact stellar systems in NGC 5128:

o   Collaborators: Thomas Puzia, Matias Gomez, Kristin Woodley

o   Using high resolution spectra taken at the Very Large Telescope, I am using the internal kinematics of some of the brightest star clusters around NGC 5128 to infer their dynamical masses and mass-to-light ratios. This information helps to shed light on various properties of the clusters, such as rotation, tidal disruption, and even the possible presence of central black holes and dark matter!

·      The Survey of Centaurus A’s Baryonic Structures (SCABS):

o   Collaborators: Thomas Puzia, Mia Bovill, Robert Muñoz, Paul Eigenthaler

o   A deep, wide, multi-band (u’g’r’i’z’) survey of the Centaurus A galaxy group, of which NGC 5128 is the central massive galaxy. Covering almost 69 sq. degrees using the Dark Energy Camera, this is the deepest and widest ground-based survey of NGC 5128 ever conducted. Our group’s primary goals are to detect >99% of the group’s star cluster system(s), discover many faint new dwarf galaxies and trace out diffuse tidal features never before seen. These results will place strong constraints on the formation history of NGC 5128, and have significant near-field cosmological implications.

·      Compact Stellar Systems in Hickson Compact Groups:

o   Collaborators: Paul Eigenthaler, Iskren Georgiev, Paul Goudfrooij, Michael Hilker, Arian Lançon, Gary Mamon, Steffen Mieske, Bryan Miller, Roberto Muñoz, Eric Peng, Thomas Puzia, Ruben Sánchez-Janssen, Yasna Ordenes

o   This project is an effort to identify over half of the compact stellar systems around nearby compact galaxy groups. The locations of the clusters will probe the interaction histories between the group members by tracing out tidal features that are not easily observable otherwise. Follow-up spectroscopy will provide cluster radial velocities, so that the velocity map of these groups can be known. These data will then constrain the amount of star cluster “pre-processing" that occurs in compact galaxy groups before they are accreted onto larger structures like galaxy clusters.

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