Professor
Claude-André Faucher-Giguère has broad interests in theoretical astrophysics and cosmology, with particular emphasis on galaxy formation and evolution. Faucher-Giguère’s research focuses on understanding the multi-scale physical processes that govern galaxy formation in the cosmological context, including star formation, galaxy-black hole co-evolution, galactic dynamics, and connections with the intergalactic medium and cosmology. He uses a multi-pronged approach including: large-scale numerical simulations, analytic modeling, and comparison with observational data.
The May 2023 full moon, photographed by graduate student and CIERA member Imran Sultan. This image won runner-up in the 2023 Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition’s astronomy category. “The May full moon is known as the Flower Moon, a name originating from the Algonquin peoples that marks the blooming of flowers during spring. This year’s
Imran Sultan/Northwestern
The colorful Western Veil Nebula, photographed by graduate student and CIERA member Imran Sultan, is a stunning remnant left behind from the explosion of a massive star 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. Located 2,100 light-years away, the nebula resides within the constellation Cygnus (the Swan). Sultan’s photo of the Western Veil Nebula won first place in
Imran Sultan
Artist conception of early starbursting galaxies. Stars and galaxies are shown in the bright white points of light, while the more diffuse dark matter and gas are shown in purples and reds. When scientists viewed the James Webb Space Telescope’s (JWST) first images of the universe’s earliest galaxies, they were shocked. The young galaxies appeared
Aaron M. Geller, Northwestern, CIERA + IT-RCDS
In a new study, the team of astrophysicists who launched STARFORGE discovered that star formation is a self-regulatory process. In other words, stars themselves set their own masses. This helps explain why stars formed in disparate environments still have similar masses. The new finding may enable researchers to better understand star formation within our own Milky
STARFORGE
360° narrowband map of a star forming cloud from the STARFORGE simulations, visit http://starforge.space to see more movies or learn about the project. This 360° movie shows a massive (20,000 solar mass) star forming molecular cloud as it is being destroyed by newly born stars. This happens due to massive stars that are extremely bright
STARFORGE
Snapshot from the first full STARFORGE simulation. Nicknamed the “Anvil of Creation,” a giant molecular cloud with individual star formation and comprehensive feedback, including protostellar jets, radiation, stellar winds and core-collapse supernovae. Learn more.
Northwestern University/UT Austin
This cosmic flower was not grown in nature, but by astrophysicists using supercomputers. At the center of the flower, a simulated galaxy shines in bright yellow. The galaxy is surrounded by multi- colored petals, representing different origins and consisting of many smaller lines; each is a record of the path of matter through space. Simulations
Alex Gurvich and Zach Hafen, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration & Research in Astrophysics (CIERA)
