Astronomy
Host Department
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Galaxies and cosmology
Research Topic B
Abstract of the proposed UNIPhD research project
What are the physical mechanisms that guide the evolutionary routes of galaxies and produce all the trends that we observe in the local universe? StePS (Stellar Population at intermediate redshift Survey) with the excellent data quality, use of state-of-the-art techniques, and algorithms to analyze galaxy spectra brings us closer to understanding how our world has evolved. This thesis project allows to deal with brand-new spectroscopic data and lead scientific analyses tackling fundamental and still open questions regarding the evolution of galaxies in the last 7 Gyrs. When and how do galaxies stop forming stars and quench? Are quenched galaxies really dead, or do they rejuvenate during their life?
Short bio
My name is Alina Ikhsanova. This year I graduated from Astronomy Department of Kazan Federal University. I have loved books about space since I was a child. During my school years, I went to astroschools, which were organized by my future university. After passing the final exams successfully, I did not doubt for a second. I knew where I wanted to go and what science I wanted to devote my life to.
There are a lot of different areas of research in astronomy, and at first it was unclear to me what exactly I wanted to do. When I was in my first year of study, I learned that there is no clear understanding of how galaxies evolve. I was struck by this fact. After all, this should be our fundamental knowledge. Since then, I have always wanted to do extragalactic astronomy, but I have also tried myself in other fields, in particular, my first coursework was devoted to modeling the light curves of polars. That is how I joined the Laboratory of Spectroscopy and Photometry of Extragalactic Objects, The Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO RAS), where I have been working under the supervision of Dr. Alexey Moiseev. There I got not only a lot of knowledge about extragalactic astronomy, but also gained the experience in spectral observations of extragalactic objects on Russia’s largest 6-meter SAO RAS telescope. I was involved in the processing and analysis of the spectra of active galaxies. Some of the results were included in the publication by Keel et al, 2022. Two of my term papers were devoted to the Teacup galaxy.
My diploma project is devoted to the influence of active galactic nuclei on the interstellar medium. With the results of my work, I participated in several conferences, including international ones.
I am very glad that my education and research experience allows me to continue my scientific career at the University of Padova!
