Galactic Matter Cycle
Research group

Research

Galaxies are in constant evolution, under the influence of the matter cycle within them: gas clouds assemble and collapse, stars form within them, and matter and energy are redistributed into the interstellar medium through the influence of stellar feedback and turbulence. It is one of the big unanswered questions in modern astrophysics which processes drive this multi-scale cycle and what its quantitative characteristics are. Our research group makes use of state-of-the-art, high-resolution, multi-wavelength observations of a large range of galactic environments to observationally characterise the mass and energy flows within galaxies, determine how gas is converted into stars, and how stars eject the material again into the surrounding medium. Such observational measurements are key to overcome the main limitation of current simulations of galaxy formation and evolution.

Research topics:
- star formation
- stellar feedback
- galaxy evolution
- interstellar medium
- galactic centres
- photodissociation regions
- dwarf galaxies

Mobirise

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI and the JWST/PHANGS team

Group

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Mélanie Chevance
Research Group Leader

Contact: chevance@uni-heidelberg.de
Publications: ADS

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Lise Ramambason
Post-doctoral researcher

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Andrea Romanelli
PhD student

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Xinyue Liang
PhD student (from September 2024)
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Ekaterina Mikheeva
Master student -- Lomonosov Moscow State University
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Noah Bomblies
Bachelor student -- Heidelberg University

Former group members

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Jaeyeon Kim
PhD student (graduated April 2023)

Useful links

  • Python: Programming for scientists
    GitHub repository for course slides and tutorials
  • Heisenberg code: GitHub repository
  • COOL Research DAO: Researching the Cosmic Origins Of Life
  • PHANGS: Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS 

Talks and Lectures

  • The cloud-scale baryon cycle across the nearby galaxy population
    Heidelberg Joint Astronomical Colloquium (24/10/2023): link
  • Stellar Feedback and H II Regions: How Stars Affect their Environment
    Lecture at the GISM2 2023 International Summer School on the ISM of Nearby Galaxies (31/07/2023): link

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