Dr. Emmanuel Momjian
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
1003 Lopezville Rd.
P. O. Box O
Socorro, NM 87801
USA
      
www.nrao.edu      www.nsf.gov    www.aui.edu




My CV (pdf or ps version).

List of my Books and publications

Check out some of my pictures

Astronomy and Astrophysics Links: (select one from the menu)


About me (briefly)

I am a scientist-astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). During the past years I primarily worked on the scientific-astronomical commissioning of the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA). As of Fall 2012, the project is officially concluded. The array has been named as the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to honor the founder of Radio Astronomy. The VLA is the world's dominant cm-wavelength radio telescope and most sensitive interferometer operating between 1 and 50 GHz. Before joining NRAO, I was an astronomer at the world's largest single dish radio telescope: The 305-m (1000 ft) Arecibo Radio Telescope of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC).

My research is focused on high angular resolution radio observations of extragalactic objects known as LIRGs (Luminous Infrared Galaxies) and ULIRGs (Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxies), to study both the structure and the kinematics of the central regions in these galaxies. This research includes imaging of these galaxies in radio continuum, in HI 21 cm absorption, and in OH 18 cm megamaser emission. For this research, and in order to study the nuclear active regions of these galaxies at very high spatial resolution, I mainly use the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) of the NRAO. However, the radio emission from these IR galaxies is very weak. So, in order to have successful observations, the Very Large Array (VLA) of the NRAO, with its twenty seven 25-meter antennas, participates in these sensitivity limited observations. In some of these observations, the giant 305-meter Arecibo radio telescope has been used along with both the VLBA and the VLA.

Thanks to the enhanced observational capabilities of the VLA, I have become actively involved in magnetic field studies through Methanol masers. This work has led us to discover the Zeeman effect in two Class I methanol maser transitions. Visit my publications page to read about the discovery and the follow-up papers on this topic.

I am also involved in the COSMOS HI Large Extragalactic Survey (CHILES). This is a blind HI survey to detect 21 cm neutral hydrogen emission up to a redshift of 0.42 using the new capabilities of the VLA, and will require significant amount of telescope time. The pilot for this survey has been concluded successfully, and the results look very promising to carry out the full survey.

I continue to be actively involved in sensitive VLBI imaging of the radio continuum emission from very high redshift quasars, both radio-loud and radio-quiet. These quasars are believed to be near the epoch of re-ionization, i. e., when the first stars and galaxies started to form (less than 1 billion years after the Big Bang). We have recently expanded this work to sub-millimeter galaxies (SMGs) at z~2-3 to study and determine their nuclear power sources (AGN vs. starburst).

I addition to these, I'm involved in the various ALFA (Arecibo L-Band Feed Array) surveys that target extragalactic sources. These surveys are ALFALFA (The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey), AGES (Arecibo Galaxy Environment Study), AUDS (ALFA Ultra Deep Survey), and ZOA (Zone of Avoidance). These are all extragalactic HI surveys that make-up the E-ALFA consortium. I am also a member of the GALFACTS (GALFA Continuum Transit Survey), which is a spectro-polarimetric survey that targets both galactic and extragalactic sources.


History

If you are interested in history, then you should read about the history of my people, the Armenian people, a real but painful example of a nation's survival for thousands of years (3500 years!). Here are some links:

Armenian History: a web site by Yuri Babayan.

The Armenian Genocide: The first genocide of the 20th century. During the Genocide, 1.5 million armenians perished in the turkish occupied Western Armenia. To read more, visit the Armenian National Institute

You can also read about the armenian genocide at the following web sites:
Genocide 1915
Wikipedia on Armenian Genocide
The Armenian alphabet and language
Armeniapedia: the online Armenia Encyclopedia
ArmenianHouse.org: an electronic library featuring a huge collection of documents on Armenian literature, history, religion and anything else Armenia-related

You can reach me by sending an email to emomjian (append @nrao.edu)

Last updated: Wednesday, 28-Nov-2012 00:36:16 MST