Michael J. I. Brown

Senior Lecturer and ARC Future Fellow GCHE, Monash University, 2010 PhD, Astronomy, University of Melbourne, 2000 MSc, Astronomy, University of Melbourne, 1996 BSc(Hons), University of Melbourne, 1994 Phone +61 (3) 9905 4498 FAX +61 (3) 9905 3637 Email:Michael.Brown@monash.edu

The NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey

RESEARCH INTERESTS

I am an observational astronomer whose research interests include the evolution of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and the growth of galaxies over cosmic time. I am an investigator in several large projects to survey the distant Universe, including the Galaxy & Mass Assembly survey (GAMA), the NOAO Deep Wide-field Survey (NDWFS), the Spitzer Deep Wide-Field Survey (SDWFS), the AGN & Galaxy Evolution Survey (AGES) and planned surveys with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

My most significant research has been a series of studies on how the most massive galaxies have grown over the past seven billion years (links to these are provided below). I have measured how rapidly galaxies grow over cosmic time by measuring the evolving number of galaxies per unit volume. I have also determined how galaxies reside within gravitationally bound structures of dark matter (dark matter halos) by measuring how galaxies cluster together. A key result of these studies is that the most massive galaxies grow relatively slowly and that the relationship between stellar mass and dark matter mass evolves very little over billions of years.

In collaboration with PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, I will be extending my previous work to encompass much of the history of the Universe and I will be investigating how radio sources populate dark matter halos. This will provide new insights into how galaxies grow over cosmic time, including the relationship between stellar mass and dark matter mass, insights into what regulates the formation of stars in galaxies, and the impact of active galactic nuclei upon the galaxies in which they reside. If you are interested in PhD studies in astrophysics at Monash University or postdoctoral fellowship opportunities, do not hesitate to contact me.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

The Clustering Of Galaxies Around Radio-Loud AGNs
Worpel et al. 2013, Astrophysical Journal, in press

The Clustering of Extremely Red Objects
Palamara et al. 2013, Astrophysical Journal, 764, 31

Star formation in luminous quasar host galaxies at z = 1-2
Floyd et al. 2013, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 429, 2

Tidal Interactions at the Edge of the Local Group: New Evidence for Tidal Features in the Antlia Dwarf Galaxy
Penny et al. 2012, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 758 32

The Ubiquitous Radio Continuum Emission from the Most Massive Early-Type Galaxies
Brown et al. 2011, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 731, 41

Red Galaxy Growth and the Halo Occupation Distribution
Brown et al. 2008, Astrophysical Journal, 682, 937

The Evolving Luminosity Function of Red Galaxies
Brown et al. 2007, Astrophysical Journal, 654, 858

Mid-Infrared Selection of Active Galaxies
Stern et al. 2005, Astrophysical Journal, 631, 163

Spectroscopic Redshifts to z = 2 for Optically Obscured Sources Discovered with the Spitzer Space Telescope
Houck et al. 2005, Astrophysical Journal, 622, L105

All refereed astrophysics publications

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