Maryam Modjaz

Associate Professor of Physics

External Affiliations

American Astronomical Society, German Astronomical Society

Research

My research addresses fore front problems in stellar death astrophysics through extensive and panchromatic observations of various types of massive stellar explosions, specifically Gamma-Ray Bursts and Supernovae, which are among the most powerful explosions in the universe, as well as a growing class of exotic transients. With the goal of understanding their stellar progenitors and the explosion conditions that determine the fate of massive stars, I also study these stellar explosions' host environments and host galaxies, in particular the metallicities at the explosion sites, as a promising new tool for differentiating between various progenitor models. Astrophysics is entering the Golden Age of innovative time-domain surveys that stand to revolutionize our understanding of the transient sky. I'm part of the very successful and current Palomar Transient Factory (see PTF at http://www.astro.caltech.edu/ptf/ ), as well as the large-scale Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (see LSST at http://www.lsst.org/lsst/) planned for ~2016.

Selected Works

  1. Bianco, Modjaz et al (2014), "Multi-color Optical and NIR Light Curves of 64 Stripped-Envelope Core-Collapse Supernovae", 2014, ApJS, 213, 19
  2. Liu & Modjaz (2014), "SuperNova IDentification spectral templates of 70 stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae", arXiv-1405.1437
  3. Modjaz et al. (2014), "Optical Spectra of 73 Stripped Envelope Supernovae'', 2014, Astronomical Journal, 147, 9
  4. M. Modjaz (2011b), "Stellar Forensics with the Supernova-GRB Connection", 2011, AN, 332, 5, 434,
  5. M. Modjaz, et al (2011a), "Progenitor Diagnostics for Stripped Core-Collapse Supernovae: Measured Metallicities at Explosion Sites", 2011, Astrophysical Journal, 731, L4
  6. M. Modjaz, et al (2009), "From Shock Breakout to Peak and Beyond: Extensive Panchromatic Observations of the Type Ib Supernova 2008D associated with Swift X-ray Transient 080109'', 2009, Astrophysical Journal, 702, 226
  7. D. Kocevski, A. West, & M. Modjaz (2009), "Modeling The GRB Host Galaxy Mass Distribution: Are GRBs Unbiased Tracers of Star Formation?", 2009, Astrophysical Journal, 702, 377
  8. M. Modjaz (2008) "Measured Metallicities at the Sites of Local Broad-Lined Type Ic Supernovae and Implications for the SN-GRB Connection'', 2008, Astronomical Journal, 135, 1136
  9. M. Modjaz, et al (2008), "Double-peaked Oxygen Lines Are not Rare in Nebular Spectra of Core-Collapse Supernovae'', 2008, Astrophysical Journal, 687, L9