AggieSTAAR: Introduction to HII Regions

This talk was given as part of a weekly lunch talk for the undergraduate researchers in the Aggie Scholarships for Technology Advancements in Astronomical Research (AggieSTAAR) program. In this talk, I gave an overview of H II regions, what they are and how we use atomic physics to study them. I talked in detail about photoionization and recombination and how metals are necessary to cool H II regions. After giving an example spectrum, I introduced how we measure the oxygen abundance of H II regions via the direct method as well as strong-line methods. Finally, I used my experience in the SIGNALS collaboration to show some applications of what we learn about galaxies after estimating H II region abundances. The talk was followed by a Q&A session with the undergraduates, ranging from research to job prospects.

Jun 20, 2025 12:00 PM — 1:30 PM