Research Interests

I am interested in discovering the nature of dark matter. I conduct most of my research studying near-field cosmology and Galactic structure, which can offer insights into dark matter subhalos. More specifically, I have been looking into what stellar streams, elongated arcs of stars stretching tens of degrees across the sky, can tell us about the sizes and structure of these subhalos. That research has opened my interest in dynamics and disequilibria in the nearby universe. This includes disequilibrium in the disk shown in phase-space spirals, warps in the outer halo, or the reflex motion of the Milky Way caused by the LMC. More generally, I want to explore the nexus of observational and theoretical astrophysics. I believe that working at the intersection of the two offers huge opportunities to make crucial brekathroughs in astronomy and astrophysics.

Research Highlights

  • Phase-Space Snails in the Disk

    Snails

    My current primary focus is looking at one of the disequilibria in the disk, manifesting as "snails" (or phase-space spirals), in multiple projections!

  • Phoenix Stream

    Snails

    My first first-author paper detailing my characterization of the Phoenix stream in DES data!

  • GD-1 Stream

    GD1

    An analysis of GD-1 using Gaia DR3 to constrain stream members and fit the pertuber causing the spur!

  • Pal 13 Stream Discovery

    Pal13

    We discovered tidal tails around the globular cluster Palomar 13!

  • DELVE Tidal Tails

    Snails

    We are examining globular clusters in the DELVE data (the sourthern sky) for evidence of tidal envelopes or tails!

Selected Publications

  • Tavangar, K. et al 2021. From the Fire: A Deeper Look at the Phoenix Stream. Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal.
  • Drlica-Wagner, A. et al. (2021). The DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey: Overview and First Data Release. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 256(1), 2.
  • Khullar, G; Gozman, K.; Lin, J.J.; Martinez, M.N.; [...]; Tavangar, K.; et al. (2020). COOL-LAMPS I. An Extraordinarily Bright Lensed Galaxy at Redshift 5.04. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 906(2), 107.
  • Shipp, N.; Price-Whelan, A.; Tavangar, K.; Mateu, C.; Drlica-Wagner, A. (2020). Discovery of Extended Tidal Tails Around the Globular Cluster Palomar 13. The Astronomical Journal, Volume 160(5), 244.
  • Li, T.S.; Ji, A.p.; Pace, A.B.; Erkal, D; [...];Tavangar, K S^5: The Orbital and Chemical Properties of One Dozen Stellar Streams. The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 928(1), 20.
  • Tavangar, K. and Price-Whelan, A. (in prep). Modeling GD-1 in Gaia DR3.
  • Tavangar, K. et al (in prep). Understanding correlations between the vertical phase space “snails” across the disk using BFEs and mSSA.

Non-Science Stuff

  • I am of French and Iranian heritage. I spent most of my summers in France growing up and still have lots of family there, but have sadly not been to Iran yet. I speak French fluently and used to speak Farsi but have unfortunately lost almost all my ability over the last decade or so.
  • I'm really interested in making astronomy more accessible. I'm involved with the astronomy outreach team at Columbia and have been particularly thinking about how to ease the transition from classes to research for undergraduates considering careers in astronomy.
  • I like playing and watching most sports. I played soccer throughout my childhood and was a cross country runner of UChicago's track and field team for all of college. In addition to those two sports, I also closely follow tennis (Nadal, Sinner, and Swiatek are my favorite players.)
  • I like to wind down by watching TV shows and movies (mostly movies recently). Some of my favorites are The Wire, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, The Godfather Part II, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Father. I'm always happy to talk about movies or TV with others.

CV