Smita Mathur
The North Polar Spur (NPS) is a prominent diffuse X-ray feature whose origin has remained uncertain for decades. Using a uniform analysis of archival \textit{Suzaku} and \textit{XMM--Newton} data with new \textit{Chandra} observations, we…
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are intertwined with galaxy evolution, injecting energy into the interstellar medium (ISM) that could regulate star formation as a galaxy evolves. However, the phenomena through which we observe AGN are…
Nuclear star clusters (NSC) are dense and compact stellar systems, of sizes of few parsecs, located at galactic centers. Their properties and formation mechanisms seem to be tightly linked to the evolution of the host galaxy, with…
We investigate the relationship between star formation and X-ray emission from the hot interstellar medium (ISM) on $\sim$kpc scales in NGC 4254 (M99) by combining spatially resolved star formation histories (SFHs) and Bayesian X-ray…
We present a comprehensive analysis of 475 ks (438 ks unpublished & 37 ks archival) XMM-Newton/EPIC-pn observation of a nearby, highly inclined, star-forming, luminous infrared galaxy NGC 3221 through spatial, temporal, and spectral…
We use the full-disk VLT-MUSE mosaic of NGC 253 to identify 2492 HII regions and study their resolved structure. With an average physical resolution of 17 pc, this is one of the largest samples of highly resolved spectrally mapped…
We present the first simultaneous detection of four distinct highly ionized $z=0$ absorbing phases using Chandra and XMM-Newton grating spectra toward the blazar PKS 2155$\hbox{-}$304. We detect the MgXII K$\alpha$ absorption line for the…
We measure thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) Effect in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of $\approx$2.5 million $\rm M_{200}$=$\rm 10^{12-14}\,M_\odot$ WISE$\times$DESI galaxies out to $z$=1.2. We split the sample into quiescent (0.7 million)…
We present ground-based, multi-band light curves of the AGN Mrk~509, NGC\,4151, and NGC\,4593 obtained contemporaneously with \sw\, monitoring. We measure cross-correlation lags relative to \sw\, UVW2 (1928~\AA) and test the standard…
Shadow observations provide a powerful tool to separate foreground components of the soft diffuse X-ray background (SDXB) from the background components. Such observations have now established that the ``local'' foreground is made of the…
In an effort to understand the presence of super-virial gas detected in the Milky Way, we present our findings from isolated galaxy simulations of Milky Way-like systems using GIZMO with the FIRE-2 (Feedback In Realistic Environments)…
Recent observations have revealed a super-virial temperature gas phase at log(T/K) $\sim7$ in the Milky Way, challenging existing galaxy-formation models. This hot gas phase was discovered toward extragalactic absorption sightlines and…
The presence of the $\approx 10^6$ K gas in the circumgalactic medium of the Milky Way has been well established. However, the location and the origin of the newly discovered hot gas at `super-virial' temperatures of $\approx 10^7$ K have…
Hot, \logT\ $\sim$ 7.5, gas was recently discovered in the Milky Way in extragalactic sightlines. In order to determine its location, here we present sightlines to Galactic X-ray binaries (XRBs) passing through the Interstellar Medium…
Our study focuses on characterizing the highly ionized gas within the Milky Way's (MW) Circumgalactic Medium (CGM) that gives rise to ionic transitions in the X-ray band 2 - 25 \AA. Utilizing stacked \Chandra/\ACISS\ \MEG\ and \LETG\…
We analyze 330 ks of {\it Chandra} X-ray imaging and spectra of the nearby, edge-on starburst and Seyfert Type 2 galaxy NGC 4945 to measure the hot gas properties along the galactic outflows. We extract and model spectra from 15 regions…
We study young massive clusters (YMCs) in their embedded "infant" phase with $\sim0.\!^{\prime\prime}1$ ALMA, HST, and JWST observations targeting the central starburst ring in NGC 3351, a nearby Milky Way analog galaxy. Our new ALMA data…
We probe the neutral circumgalactic medium (CGM) along the major axes of NGC891 and NGC4565 in 21-cm emission out to $\gtrsim 100$kpc using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT), extending our previous minor axes observations. We achieve an…
Recent discoveries of a super-virial hot phase of the Milky Way circumgalactic medium (CGM) has launched new questions regarding the multi-phase structure of the CGM around the Galaxy. We use 1.05 Ms of archival Chandra/HETG observations to…
We present XMM-Newton observations around the sightline of Mrk 421. The emission spectrum of the Milky Way circumgalactic medium (CGM) shows that a two phase model is a better fit to the data compared to a single phase model; in addition to…