I am a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in Astrophysics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Co-advised by Prof. Charles Steidel and Prof. Fiona A. Harrison, my research primarily investigates the circumgalactic medium (CGM) and active galactic nuclei (AGN) host galaxies at redshifts 2–4.

My observational work relies heavily on extensive optical and near-infrared spectroscopy. Utilizing Keck time with integral field spectrograph (KCWI), alongside archival HST and JWST data, my recent research explores the driving mechanisms behind galactic evolution. %My latest work demonstrates that at redshift 2–4, the CGM is more closely correlated with the host galaxies’ stellar mass rather than direct supermassive black hole (SMBH) activity, leading to new investigations into whether black hole feedback is more effective at higher redshifts.

In addition to my observational campaigns, I improve and build tools for the astronomical community including the KCWIKit/KCWIDRP. More recently, I am involved in the development of the SED fitting and image decomposition tool GalfitS, a Python-based software suite that leverages high-performance libraries like JAX for just-in-time compilation and MCMC uncertainty estimation

My scientific interest has shifted significantly in recent years. I have publish first-author paper in the following topics:

Observational Mergers: Identifying a genuine kpc-scale triplet merger system in UGC 2369S and confirming the presence of an obscured AGN within the interacting galaxy cores.

Building Accretion Disk X-ray Reflection Model

X-Ray Outflows and Super-Eddington AGN in local universe: Analyzing X-ray flares in the super-Eddington active nucleus of I Zwicky 1 to detect multiple variable, blueshifted absorption features associated with ultrafast, ionized winds.

Contact Me

yding@caltech.edu