Jeffrey Kenney

Professor, Astronomy

Past Courses Taught

Astronomy 120: Galaxies and the Universe
Astronomy 430/530: Galaxies

Research Interests

I study the structure and evolution of nearby galaxies, especially the environmental effects on galaxies in clusters. Since hierarchical galaxy formation is scale-free, cluster formation is much like galaxy formation and the processes of gravitational interactions, gas accretion, and gas stripping occur both as galaxies fall into clusters and as small galaxies fall into larger galaxies. Thus by studying cluster galaxies we learn not only about their own evolution but also about the processes which occur during galaxy formation. Clusters are the harshest environments for galaxies. In clusters many things happen to galaxies which change them. Gravitational interactions of various types, including slow collisions ending in mergers and fast non-merging collisions, and the cumulative tidal effects of the cluster and its infalling groups. Gas stripping removes the gas while leaving the stars, ending the star-forming phase of evolution. I focus on the Virgo cluster, the nearest large cluster, conducting surveys to understand the main trends, and targeted studies of individual galaxies, to learn what is actually happening. My collaborators use data from many ground-based and space telescopes, including the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. Our data base includes VLA HI (VIVA), radio continuum and polarized radio continuum, Spitzer MIR-FIR (SPITSOV) and optical images and spectroscopy from the WIYN Telescope to study both the kinematics and the stellar populations.

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Recent Publications

List of recent publications