Latest News from Our Group

Welcome to the EGAMI Group at Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona!
(EGAMI = Extragalactic Astronomy with Multiple/Multiwavelength Interests)

Observational astronomy at longer wavelengths (> 1 µm; infrared, submillimeter, millimeter, and radio) is currently undergoing a phase of dramatic progress, which may be considered as its golden age.  In recent years, we saw successive launches of two powerful infrared (IR) and submillimeter space observatories, NASA's Spitzer (2003) and ESA's Herschel (2009).  Since 2009, NASA's Hubble has also been equipped with a sensitive near-IR instrument, WFC3. In addition, three all-sky survey satellites were launched: JAXA's Akari (2006), ESA's Planck (2009), and NASA's WISE (2009).  Development on the ground has equally been impressive: new facilities such as EVLA, ALMA, and LMT have started operations while existing facilities (e.g., CSO, JCMT, APEX, IRAM30m, PdB, SMA, CARMA, GBT, not to mention a number of 8-10m optical/near-IR telescopes) keep generating exciting results with upgraded instrumentation.  SOFIA also had the first series of science flights in 2010. This exciting era will continue well into the next decade with JWST and SPICA in space and CCAT, NOEMA, and TMT/GMT on the ground.

The main scientific focus of our group is to take advantage of these new powerful observing capabilities at longer wavelengths and to investigate properties of galaxies from low to high redshift. Currently, our research actitivies are mostly driven by large space observing programs with Hubble, Spitzer, and Herschel, but we also conduct extensive imaging & spectroscopic observatinos using large telescopes on the ground such as MMT, Magellan, and LBT.  Many of our on-going projects are multi-wavelength in nature, utilizing information from X-ray to radio.

Our scientific interests are as diverse as the telescopes & instruments we use. The following is a list of science topics our group members are actively working on at present:

(1) z>6 galaxies and cosmic reionization
(2) High-redshift (z>1) IR-luminous galaxies
(3) Mass assembly and galaxy evolution in massive galaxy clusters
(4) IR-luminous brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and cluster cooling flows
(5) Use of massive galaxy clusters as powerful cosmic telescopes

Follow the links on the left for more infomation on individual projects. We are still in the middle of constructing this website, so the information provided is still minimal unfortunately. Please come back later if you do not find information you are interested in (e.g., projects in gray).

As of August, 2011, our group includes 6 research associates, 2 graduate students, 1 research technician, 1 undergraduate student, and a webmaster (see the full member list).  We are somewhat different from a typical research group in that we do not focus on any particular science field.  Instead, our guiding principle is that we follow our interests and work on whatever fascinates us without being constrained by our own expertise or experinece (we are always ready to jump into a new field or a new wavelength regime when necessary).  As a result, our group consists of researchers with diverse scientific/technical interests and backgrounds, working together in a stimulating (as well as relaxed and friendly!) environment.  We always welcome to our group new members (undergrads, grads, and post-docs), so if you're interested to work with us and share the excitement, please contact Eiichi Egami (eegami@as.arizona.edu) or anyone on the member list.