Phone: (773) 702-8747
Location: ERC 523
Email: hchenkicp.uchicago.edu
WWW: Web Site

The principal goal of my research is to understand the astrophysics that regulates star formation and galaxy growth. Absorption-line spectroscopy of distant light sources (quasars/gamma-ray burst afterglows) offers a powerful probe for studying the unseen matter around luminous galaxies. My main research interest is to study the cross-correlation between luminous galaxies and dark absorbers, in order to understand the recycling of baryons between star-forming regions and dark intergalactic medium.

Ongoing Scientific Projects:

• Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT)

Past Students

GRADUATE: Sean Johnson (2016), Jean-Rene Gauthier (2011)

2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007


Latest Journal Publications

1. "Search for Eccentric Binary Black Hole Mergers with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo during Their First and Second Observing Runs", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 883, Issue 2, article id. 149, 10 pp. (2019) (Oct 2019)
2. "COS Observations of the Cosmic Web: A Search for the Cooler Components of a Hot, X-ray Identified Filament", arXiv:1909.10518 (Sep 2019)
3. "The Physical Origins of the Identified and Still Missing Components of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium: Insights from Deep Surveys in the Field of Blazar 1ES1553+113", arXiv:1909.11667 (Sep 2019)
4. "Binary Black Hole Population Properties Inferred from the First and Second Observing Runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo", The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 882, Issue 2, article id. L24, 30 pp. (2019) (Sep 2019)
5. "Erratum: “Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in 2015–2017 LIGO Data” (2019, ApJ, 879, 10)", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 882, Issue 1, article id. 73, 13 pp. (2019) (Sep 2019)
6. "Directional limits on persistent gravitational waves using data from Advanced LIGO's first two observing runs", Physical Review D, Volume 100, Issue 6, id.062001 (Sep 2019)
7. "Model comparison from LIGO-Virgo data on GW170817's binary components and consequences for the merger remnant", arXiv:1908.01012 (Aug 2019)
8. "A guide to LIGO-Virgo detector noise and extraction of transient gravitational-wave signals", arXiv:1908.11170 (Aug 2019)
9. "An Optically Targeted Search for Gravitational Waves emitted by Core-Collapse Supernovae during the First and Second Observing Runs of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo", arXiv:1908.03584 (Aug 2019)
10. "A gravitational-wave measurement of the Hubble constant following the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Virgo", arXiv:1908.06060 (Aug 2019)
11. "All-sky search for continuous gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars using Advanced LIGO O2 data", Physical Review D, Volume 100, Issue 2, id.024004 (Jul 2019)
12. "Searches for Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars at Two Harmonics in 2015–2017 LIGO Data", The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 879, Issue 1, article id. 10, 28 pp. (2019) (Jul 2019)
13. "Tests of General Relativity with GW170817", Physical Review Letters, Volume 123, Issue 1, id.011102 (Jul 2019)
14. "All-sky search for short gravitational-wave bursts in the second Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo run", Physical Review D, Volume 100, Issue 2, id.024017 (Jul 2019)
15. "Probing IGM accretion on to faint Lyα emitters at z ˜ 2.8", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 486, Issue 1, p.1392-1403 (Jun 2019)
16. "UV diagnostics as barometers for galactic scale AGN outflows", HST Proposal. Cycle 27, ID. #15935 (Jun 2019)
17. "Near-Ultraviolet Follow-up of the X-ray-detected Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium Toward 1ES 1553+113", HST Proposal. Cycle 27, ID. #15835 (Jun 2019)
18. "A Giant Intragroup Nebula Hosting a Damped {Ly}alpha  Absorber at z = 0.313", The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 878, Issue 2, article id. L33, 7 pp. (2019) (Jun 2019)
19. "Narrow-band search for gravitational waves from known pulsars using the second LIGO observing run", Physical Review D, Volume 99, Issue 12, id.122002 (Jun 2019)
20. "First Measurement of the Hubble Constant from a Dark Standard Siren using the Dark Energy Survey Galaxies and the LIGO/Virgo Binary–Black-hole Merger GW170814", The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 876, Issue 1, article id. L7, 15 pp. (2019) (May 2019)

Latest Conference Proceedings

1. "The relationships between galaxies/AGN and the circum-/intergalactic medium at z<1", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #227, id.109.03 (Jan 2016)
2. "The Incidence Of Cool Gas In 1013 m⊙ Halos", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #412.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011 (Jan 2011)
3. "Low Surface Brightness Emission in the Outskirts of LBGs at z 3: Possible Star Formation in Atomic-dominated DLA Gas", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #309.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011 (Jan 2011)
4. "High-Redshift Gamma-Ray Bursts", FIRST STARS III: First Stars II Conference. AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 990, pp. 473-488 (2008) (Mar 2008)
5. "Probing the Interstellar Medium and Stellar Environments of Long-Duration GRBs", Massive Stars as Cosmic Engines, Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, IAU Symposium, Volume 250, p. 457-462 (n/a 2008)
6. "Keck Observations of Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Host Galaxies: Early Results", American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #211, #10.10 (Dec 2007)

Past Visitors:

1. Joseph Hennawi, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (2012)
2. Meg Urry, Yale University (2012)
3. Asantha Cooray, University of California, Irvine (2011)
4. Lam Hui, Columbia University (2011)
5. Aldo Dall'Aglio, Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam (2009)
6. John Mulchaey, Carnegie Observatories (2008)
7. Stephen Shectman, Observatories of Carnegie Institution of Washington (2008)