I started my research in astronomy after obtaining my degree in physics from the University of Potsdam. A fair share of my work is based on observations obatained with world-class observatories, like the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile or the Calar Alto observatory in Spain. In particular, I target stellar clusters using a technique called integral-field spectroscopy. It enables me to study the motions of the stars in the clusters in detail, unlock precious clues about the clusters' formation, and find hidden objects such as black holes. Throughout my career I've been involved in the development of MUSE, a novel integral-field spectrograph for the VLT which enables me to study substantially more stars than hitherto possible. MUSE has also povided the motivation for my development of the PampelMuse software.
I am currently a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and academic staff member at the Astrophysics Research Institute of Liverpool John Moores University. My fellowship is entitled `Star Clusters as the Nurseries of Black Holes` and aims at revealing the black holes residing in massive stars clusters in the Milky Way and other galaxies in the local universe.
I worked as PostDoc in the stellar clusters group at the Astrophysics Research Institute of Liverpool John Moores University. My current research focusses on any kind of motion in star clusters, from stellar spins, to binary stars, and the overall cluster kinematics.
My first PostDoc at the Institute for Astrophysics at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen coindiced with the first light of MUSE. The milestones from this extraordinary journey have been captured in this blog.
I did my PhD at the Leibniz-Institute for Astrophsyics Potsdam (AIP), where I was part of the research group on Galaxies and Quasars. Besides the development of the PampelMuse software, I studied a sample of Galactic globular clusters with the PMAS spectrograph, searching for signatures of intermediate-mass black holes in the cluster centres.
Here, I provide some analysis software and data products that will hopefully be useful for your own research.
The software is designed for the optimal extraction of stellar spectra
from integral-field data. It is completely written and python and
available via this GitLab repository. Further,
I've tried to write a comprehensive manual that you can find on ReadTheDocs.
If you use PampelMuse in your research, I'd ask you to cite
this paper and (optionally) the
ASCL entry. Finally, if you have
any questions or suggestions regarding the software, please get in touch.
As part of the MUSE guaranteed time observations (GTO), we are conducting a large survey of massive star clusters in and around the Milky Way. You can find the papers as well as data products from this survey on a dedicated website.
Kamann et al. (2020), MNRAS, 492, 2177
Kamann et al.(2020), MNRAS, 492, 966
Dalgleish et al. (2020), MNRAS, 492, 3859
Göttgens et al. (2019), A&A, 626, 69
Giesers et al. (2018), MNRAS, 475, L15; image credit: ESO/L. Calçada/spaceengine.org
Kamann et al. (2018), MNRAS, 473, 5591