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I am Professor in Astrophysicist, studying stars and galaxies using computer simulations. Since I was a kid, I love stars and galaxies, but I did not become an astronomer who uses telescopes to observe them, but instead I am a theorist who is trying to explain the physics behind the astronomical observations to understand the history of the Universe. I am also interested in the origin of elements. The Universe started from the Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago, during the epoch only light elements (H, He, Li, Be, B) are produced. Heavier elements (C, N, O...; called "metals" in astronomy) are created in stars and ejected when they die as supernovae. Different elements are produced from different types of stars, and how much elements is produced (nucleosynthesis) is governed by nuclear physics. As stars are born and die, the chemical compositions in galaxies and in the Universe change, which is called "chemical" evolution. Galaxies consists of billions of stars. Following the formation of large scale structures, they sometimes merge each other due to gravitational force, and the shapes of galaxies change, which is called "dynamical" evolution. Using a supercomputer, I am simulating this "chemo-dynamical" evolution of galaxies. Following atomic physics, the elements in stars and galaxies cause dark absorption lines, or bright emission lines, in their spectra, from which elemental abundances can be estimated. Comparing with such observations, I am trying to build a theory of formation and evolution of galaxies in the Universe. I was born and studied in Japan, and got a PhD from University of Tokyo in 2002. Then I worked in Germany and Australia until I got a faculty position at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK in 2011. Now I am lecturing Physics and Mathematics at the university, supervising PhD students in Astronomy, as well as conducting my own research. I have been promoted to professor in 2021. The background picture of the top page is a Japanese straw carpet TATAMI. I'm proud of Japanese culture and constitution (in particular Article 9), and can't live without Japanese food, but I also like European culture and Australian nature too. I am fully enjoying the variety of the world.
2020.11.22 |
